Bullying, front and center...

reply to post by seagull


Boy oh boy.....I hate bullying and everything about bullies but cmon.....if you KILL YOURSELF because some reject said your hair is not "in" or something about you is not up to par with current social trends, who gives a sh*t? Seriously? I am very aware that much MUCH worse things are said to kids on a daily basis by other kids.....I know because I have been there before. But suicide never came to my mind no matter what was said. In fact, the last time I was harassed by some little turd nugget I went to jail....enough said about that. When you silence the bully in a very unsettling manner people seem to take a hint and back off. If they don't.....then do it again. Make your peers fear you, let them hate, as long as they fear. You will always have one or two friends who know the true you and that is all you need. Maybe this is just the elitest in me but the solution seems pretty simple to me. Eliminate your enemy. Plain and simple. They are bigger than you??? A ball bat seems to bring the big toughies down to size well enough.

This is a complicated issue, with many people on all sides of it reacting too strongly or not strongly enough... trying to fit every case into the same label. Suspending or expelling a student for mild teasing, telling a kid to learn self defense when they're on the verge of suicide from psychological abuse.

I think there are a few key issues not being looked at.

One is that there are a ton of counseling resources for victims but very few for bullies. Johnny is depressed because he is being bullied, let's get him councilor and let's punish Billy for being mean... what's almost never asked is why is Billy being so mean, what's going on with him that he is acting out in a such a way?

Another issue is parents or people in general wanting a bubble wrapped society in which almost anything is a wrong we must safeguard against and punish for. Five year old Susie pulled Mark's hair... now she's got a little label in her school record that she's a bully, instead of the teacher or her parents telling Susie that there's another way to tell another child she thinks they are cute.

Lastly there's people that say well it's just kids being kids and look at every case as the victim and adults in the situation just need to toughen up... I think people like this are the biggest hold ups in our society today who don't want things to change because it might mean that they have to be nicer themselves. Which circles back to my first point... why do they want to be this way?

reply to post by JayinAR


It's a fact of life though. There is always gonna be people smarter than you, stronger than you etc. And a small handful of those people are gonna be complete pricks about it, some not even realizing what they are doing really, until it is pointed out to them. I was lucky, I had my "uncles" to confide in, I always felt it was difficult to talk to my parents as a kid. They told me point blank how it worked, and it wasn't until I took their advice and beat the snot out of the leader guy that it stopped.

Also, in hindsight, I see my mistakes. Being the flawed human being I am, I let the pendulum swing too far. I went from the quiet kid, afraid to get in trouble, to the psycho kid that didn't give a #. So yeah, even I am not perfect. I can't say I turned into a bully though, it wasn't really that. I could have accidently killed someone if I went that far with it. But I did become a pretty bad kid, didn't have to fight a whole lot after the can of hurt I poured onto that rich snob bastard lol.

A parent's job is to prepare their kid for the real world. Too many try to shelter them from the real world, then when they are thrust butt ass naked into the wolves den called life, with no defenses taught..... Well it's a sad sight. Why you get so many college kids/military recruits that can't handle anything on their own.

reply to post by seagull


bullying is just another word for aholes, there has always been and always be. People learn to deal with it or they dont. The reason its a big deal right now is because they want us looking at non issues while they get away with murder. It would behoove you to give up this crusade against bullys(aholes) and focus on a real issue.

reply to post by DocHolidaze


A real issue? We're going to have to agree to disagree here, I'm afraid.

When people, kids and/or adults, have to fear going to school, or work, or can not even consider home a haven, it's become an issue that needs addressing.

Now I admit to being somewhat biased on the topic, but it most certainly is an issue.

Just recently, I broke up a domestic abuse situation. Somebody decided that his girlfriend would make a fine punching bag. I disagreed. No, I didn't succumb to my baser instincts and put him in intensive care, but I did sit on his dumb ass, until the cops arrived.

I've seen it many, many times, and probably missed it many, many times.

Bullying. Abuse. Differing words for the same damned thing.

When we see it, we need to act. Whether stopping the action, or calling people who can.