“It Was Just a Joke.” Then Why Was Nobody Laughing?

A group of fifteen-year-olds kept picking on other students.

Their weight.

Their clothes.

Their accents.

Where they came from. What they believed.

Same shit. Every day.

“Solo eran bromas.” — “They were just jokes.”

Except the students on the receiving end weren’t laughing. Some were scared to go to school.

That’s not having a sense of humour.

That’s acosar a alguien — bullying someone.

Five Spanish Expressions. No Excuses.

• Burlarse de alguien — to make fun of someone.

• Meterse con alguien — to pick on someone.

• Acosar a alguien — to bully or harass someone.

• Humillar a alguien — to humiliate someone.

• Contárselo a una profesora — to tell a teacher about it.

Notice the difference:

Se reían con sus compañeros.They laughed with their classmates.

Se reían de sus compañeros.They laughed at their classmates.

One tiny word. One bloody big difference.

“We’ve Got More Enemies Every Day.”

That’s what the bullies said when other students started avoiding them.

Apparently, everyone else was the problem.

Not the daily insults. Not the humiliation.

Everyone else.

Eventually, some classmates stood beside the bullied students and told a teacher. The bullies were permanently expelled.

Fueron expulsados definitivamente del instituto.

Not quite the punchline they were expecting.

Your Turn. Speak Spanish.

¿Qué habrías hecho tú? — What would you have done?

Don’t just tell me “el acoso es malo.” We’re not designing a poster.

Tell me what you would actually do.

Start here:

Si viera que alguien está acosando a un compañero, buscaría ayuda de un profesor y…

Finish the sentence. Explain why. Give an example.

You don’t need to play the hero or put yourself in danger.

But you can support someone without giving the bully an audience.

¿Preparado? ¿Listo? ¡Habla español!

Teacher MiguelSpanish Super Tutor