Hillbilly Elegy

by the bully’s treatment.
When I spoke to Mamaw after
school that day, I broke down in tears. I
felt incredibly guilty that I hadn’t had the
courage to speak up for this poor kid—
that I had just sat there and listened to
someone else make his life a living hell.
She asked whether I had spoken to the
teacher about it, and I assured her that I
had. “That bitch ought to be put in jail
for sitting there and not doing anything.”
And then she said something that I will
never forget: “Sometimes, honey, you
have to fight, even when you’re not
defending yourself. Sometimes it’s just
the right thing to do. Tomorrow you need
to stand up for that boy, and if you have