When challenged by Vernon, he should have asked to fight in an organized setting (boxing gym) with officials and a referee to oversee the match so no legal action could be taken against him but no, Johnny boy had no balls and wasn't going to do that. Vernon knew it and called him out on it.
shareHe's a high school twerp. Of course he didn't.
shareYep, but Vernon is a real badass threating a kid.
shareA gutless turd.
shareWouldn't there be serious consequences for punching a school principal? It's not like he could punch Vernon out and then everything's fine and dandy lol
shareBENDER HAS ALL THE BALLS...
shareGeez, Bender was an abused child. He had the cigarette burns on his arm to prove it. His father was a screaming, violent bully. Probably hit his wife too and any other kids in the house.
Bender knew nothing but violence and abuse. He emulated his father. That was all he knew from the male role model in his life.
The principal was understandably annoyed at Bender's disrespect. But to threaten a student? To threaten to beat up a teen-ager because he screwed with your male ego? That guy clearly should not have been working with young people. Or else he was burned out and needed a career change. Maybe a job as a prison guard so someone REALLY tough could've kicked his a## and set him straight.
He who shall not be named!
shareThat's because robots usually don't have genitalia (I think his antenna serves some similar function for him). Now bite my shiny metal ass!
shareDoesn't work that way.
Vernon has authority, is old-man strong, and clearly has confidence. Bender has none of these things. All he has is a heart of hate and fear of going home. Hate and fear are crippling.
In reality, he isn't even a real asshole. It's just a persona to cover his real emotions. He's just tired of abuse.
If you, or someone you've known, have lived a life of abuse, it makes more sense.