Will B. Taking a Stand Against Bullying
According to Bullyingstatistics.org , there are close ties between bullying and teen suicide. Although there are numerous parents who chalk bullying up to a part of growing up, there is a significant difference from light hazing, giving your friend a hard time in jest or just picking on someone because you’re in a bad mood on any given day.
The kind of bullying I am talking about is that relentless bullying day in and day out attacking a person’s character with the purpose of doing real mental damage. Physical bullying should not be tolerated in any situation. A child or teen needs a place they feel safe in order to grow mentally, socially and spiritually. Being accosted by physical violence and verbal abuse on a daily basis does real long-lasting damage.
Bullying cannot simply be handled like it was when I was younger. When I was young, I learned the reasoning behind bullies because I was a victim of a bully. Billy or whatever his name was…. really a very forgettable individual, bullied me most the summer before I had had enough and decided to make a stand. My friends and myself waited for him one day we knew he would be coming by and after the meeting (which I won’t go into detail)s he never bothered anyone again. This is most likely not the way to go about taking care of a bully these days. With lawsuits being thrown around at the drop of the hat, it would most likely bring about charges of assault or a civil suit. The proper way in this day and age is to notify a teacher, principal or police officer. I have read about parents of bullies and even schools being sued in civil court as well. So if you’re a parent or person of authority, it is best you take this matter very seriously, if not for the child then for your wallet.
Now as to the reason a bully is a bully. It really is quite sad. Although I make no excuse for their behavior, it’s not acceptable to bully. Some reasons are low self-esteem, being bullied themselves at home by abusive parents or relatives, tradition taught by a parent who was a bully and being mentally unstable are just a few reasons.
If you know someone or are being bullied, please let someone of authority know. If that person does nothing, contact another and let them know about the first contact not doing anything to help. If you see someone being bullied, stand with the person being bullied and speak out. Bullies hate to be confronted. They mostly look for easy targets who will not say anything or tell anyone. Parents, teachers, principals and officers need to take every case seriously. You may just save a teen from suicide, at the very least you will make their life immensely greater by putting a stop to it.
This is Will B. Saying See Something, Say Something.