#90 How Does Your Sister Roller Skate

There is a cruel trick that middle school boys play on each other. It usually involves a bully looking for an excuse to beat up another boy. The bully enlists the help of a third person to convince the victim to ask the bully, “How does your sister roller skate?” The victim usually resists because no one wants to ask the bully anything, but eventually, the victim is persuaded by being convinced that this is all good-natured and there is a really funny joke in all of this. Maybe this will produce some goodwill or a friendship with the bully, which is always handy to have when you’re a middle school boy. Naturally, when the victim asks the bully, “How does your sister roller skate?” the bully replies with feigned outrage, “She doesn’t have any legs,” and then proceeds to beat up the victim. Of course, the bully doesn’t have a legless sister; this was all an arranged provocation to justify a beatdown. Read more.