When I was a teenager in the late ’80s and early ’90s, I used to watch Degrassi High on PBS. Then we entered the 21st century and a network called The-N started airing Degrassi The Next Generation, which was the same school and next generation of kids as Spikes’ daughter, Emma. This show has been around since 2001 and I’ve seen episodes like Spike and Snakes wedding and a school shooting. Since then I’ve seen maybe a handful of episodes. Someone tipped me off to one this weekend that aired on The-N. Oh man, it was a humdinger!

There’s a character in there by the name of Holly J Sinclair. I did some research on this character and found out that not only was she a bully, but she manipulated her best friend (Anya) into cheating on a class assignment and proceeded to turn in Anya for cheating. Not only that, she was appointed as the head cheerleader and student council president by the principal without any auditions or elections. If that doesn’t top it all, she gave a tabloid some bad gossip about a fellow cheerleader named Mia, who is a model and has earned a bit of fame as a result. As a result, her fellow cheerleaders kicked her off the team. Finally, she’s getting her comeuppance here! This girl has taken Queen Bees to a whole new level. You’d think she learned something from this, right? Mistaken!

In this episode, it begins with a girl named Ali and a friend walking down the hall at school. We see Holly J watching cheerleading practice and we see Ali tell her friend that someone seems sour about not being on the team anymore. Holly J turns around and says something smart back. A somewhat sour exchange ensues between the two girls that leads Holly J to approach a guy Ali has taken a liking to, but since he’s a senior and she’s in the ninth grade, he doesn’t want to date her. . He denies knowing Ali when Holly J questions him and we see him tell Ali that they can’t be together. This angers Ali, who yells that she “hates Holly J!”. Holly J, showing no remorse, carries on as usual. Ali decides to take action as nothing can be done to stop Holly J. Ali creates an online group titled “I Hate Holly J” and over 400 students sign up. It starts with insults but continues with comments like “I want to strangle her with my bare hands” and someone else says “I’ll get the rope.” Needless to say, this leads Snake to talk to Ali and her dad at school and we learn that Holly J won’t be leaving her room at her house as a result of this. Ali is suspended and Holly J’s parents go to the police. Ali gets a warning but now has a file, is suspended from school and grounded for two months and loses computer privileges. She also goes to Holly J’s house with Anya and apologizes. When she returns to school, she publicly apologizes and says that she learned her lesson after seeing what she did to Holly J. We learn that she is also banned from the website where the group was created.

What happened here was horrible. Comments like strangling someone and bringing rope are good reasons to involve not only the school but also the police. Ali really crossed the line here and yes she did deserve what she got. I would have done the same if it were me. What bothers me is that Holly J’s behavior has never been stellar either. Why she even started with Ali is what baffles me. Ali was not talking to her but to her friend and expressing an opinion of her when the episode began. Holly J then goes further by confronting that guy and we see her later in the cafeteria talking to more people and Ali is made fun of as a result. Some of the things Holly J has done have been horrible, but what did she learn from all of this? She never learned a lesson from being kicked off her cheerleading squad. She got away with giving up her friend and doing other things. Who do I think is the real bully here? The bully is Holly J and not Ali. Ali was angry and learned something from the experience. Furthermore, she showed and expressed remorse. Anger is a normal reaction, and Ali found a way to deal with this girl. She is a 14-year-old girl who is self-centered but she was sorry and she probably won’t do something like that again. As a result, she was fairly punished and Holly J has yet to express remorse for any of her actions. In fact, her sense of entitlement was heightened by being named cheerleading captain and school president. Again, a lot of this comes to me through word of mouth and research, but again, Ali probably came off as a bully, but the real bully is Holly J. Manipulation, cheating, teasing, gossiping, and hurting others is what she does. . Plus, her sense of entitlement. This right here is what thugs are made of. I hope that after this incident, she will learn something, but I doubt it. I think she owes Ali an apology for even starting anything in the first place.

Friends, there is a difference between being angry and being a bully. A 14-year-old girl who is angry doesn’t have many resources to deal with this. So, she took the only way she felt she could to confront this girl and make her stop bullying. She was caught and punished and yes, what she did was wrong. She should have gone to an adult or listened to her friend keep telling her that what she was doing was wrong. Maybe they could have found a solution on this. Bullies are angry but keep the trouble. They cause trouble and manipulate. Also, they sell others with bad gossip. Most importantly, they never seem to learn any lessons or show remorse for any action. The key here is remorse and if a person never shows any, they are most likely your real stalkers. Something to think about here…