Bullying

[Antonio the Sixth]

Am I the only one that finds the general conversation surrounding bullying completely off base? We encourage victim mentalities and persecute children who are often the most troubled. We ignore the crisis of confidence and insist nothing negative ever be said to our kids. Yet we make bullies out to be criminals, essentially bullying them and likely setting them up for failure. I think bullying is a problem, but I don't think it's the problem we're making it out to be. It's only going to get worse if we keep treating our children like helpless losers.

I was the fat kid in high school, so I was pretty directly affected by bullying. I quickly learned not to seek help from teachers or my parents, since doing so was entirely ineffective and generally led to an acceleration of the bullying and further isolation from my peers. None of the kids stepped in. Even the teachers who witnessed bullying did very little. As someone who is still dealing with the effects of 20 years of being called human garbage, I assure you: Bullying is indeed the problem we're making it out to be. Bullying conditions victims to just accept the bullying.

The biggest issue with bullying, I think, is education. Teachers need to understand what it is, and what to look for. Teachers need to understand how bullying happens in 2013, and the signs to look for with regard to internet/social media bullying. Educators don't just have a responsibility to teach -- they have a responsibility for the well being of the children in their care when those children are in fact in their care. Too often, teachers look the other way because "kids will be kids." It's bullshit.

The only way to take the power away from bullies is for teachers to be more proactive in looking for it. The burden needs to be on the teachers and administrators to notice it and stop it on their own, and not have to wait for a student to reach the breaking point -- a mental breakdown, a school shooting, or suicide. If we wait for the weak and oppressed to rise up against their aggressors, we're going to be waiting a very long time.

This, x1000.