I hate bullies, have no use for them... Yes I had to deal with a few of them while I was in high school and there after. I was a little more fortunate then some kids as I joined the YMCA with some friends, worked out and we learned self defense courses. This gave us confidence to face the bullies.
My closest friend was a  tough Jewish kid by the name of Marty Auster He was raised in one of the roughest parts of NYC before moving to Flushing. He too hated bullies and I think his reputation for taking them out may be still be valid today, throughout the halls of Old Flushing High.

Amen, Sal. I found that the best thing to do is ignore them, because the bullying is usually memtally & emotionally before it becomes physical. If they see they can't break you down, they"ll move on to another target. Of course, if it becomes physical, then you have to stand up to them and very possibly get your ass kicked because they are usually larger than you, or they wouldn't be bullying in the first place. But then, if it comes to that and you have some aggressive friends who go looking for the bully, the bullying will usually stop.
Dean Shapiro had the physical mass that would have served him well as a bully-- and also as a deterant to bullies. It all depended on the eye of the beholder.

Way to go Sal, Jack... most of these bully kids were just plain mean. I remember that some of them hung around the school yards looking for victims while kids were playing handball, basketball.... Not everyone was physically capable of dealing with these troublemakers but they would sure be suprised when one of our group stood up to them.
I had another good friend by the name of Freddie Huber. He was a German & Irish kid and a born boxer, in fact I was there at Sunnyside gardens when he won the Golden Gloves title in his class.
These bullies were in for a big suprise if they decided to cause trouble when Marty or Freddie were around!

Chariie, your my kind of guy.... As far as i'm concerned, use whatever you can if attacked.
I got in trouble once when I used a disgarded plumbing pipe grabbed out of a garbage pail when fighting off some kids who ambushed me. I would have gotten my head beat in if I didn't fight back. Broke a kids arm instead.