'Bullying'

[Adagio]

When I was in 1st to about 5th grade I was bullied a lot, but the teachers didn't do anything to stop it... from 5th grade and up I just got "cold", I started to learn to ignore it

Being bullied didn't do my any good though... now I'm working on getting these cold feelings away from me... if I wasn't bullied back then I would have been in a better situation now than what I am

[Mrs. Tuberski]

I remember when I was in high school, all the kids who did their work and got all a's were considered nerds. I stood up for them when they were being bullied in front of me. I even got into 3 fights with both girls and boys(the bullies) for their behavor . Bullying people wrong. i remember one case in point, this guy was a real nice guy however he was very smart and didnt dress lik all the other folks. Some girls started to f*** with him actin like they liked him and wanted to go out with him. I felt so sorryfor the guy I knew the girls were messing with him and he didnt. After bout five minutes i told the girls to cut the S*** and leave him alone. needless to say the guy got pissed at me and i fought two of the girls for being a**holes.

[Berzerker]

Given how many people commit suicide with a knife or a bottle of booze because of childhood traumas, I'd say we could do without out it. But what ya going to do other than reprimand the bullies or kick a few out of school to send a message? I'd rather hire a big kid and send him around to bully the bullies (you up for the job Ted?), Poetic justice is a very good teacher

[Kidlicious]

I used to get bulllied by girls in 7th grade. I'm suprised I didn't kill myself.

[Dr Strangelove]

Just because someone wrote an article doesn't make it true. Is there really any proof that the Columbine shooters were ostracised as being probably gay? IIRC one of the Columbine students had been a member of the football team. He had tried out for quarterback the season prior to the incident. After failing to make first string it has been said that he began to quarrel with other team members, especially the kid who beat him for the first string position - who as it happens was the guy who reportedly tried to run him down after a particularily vicious quarrel. The labelling of the future shooters as being gay was probably more a reflection the typical teenages inability to deal with interpersonal conflict than rampant homophobia.
It was also reported that one of the shooters actually had a hate website. From what I've heard these guys would very likely have been more sympatico with Matt Sheppherd's killers than Matt Sheppherd. There dress has been described more like neo-nazi than goth. I might also point out that they chose Hitler's birthday as the day for their revenge. Finally it should be remembered that one of the boys had his girlfriend buy one of the weapons used. How many gay guys have a girlfriend willing to do that for them?
Prior to the massacre these guys had vandalized the home of another student. Shortly before their attack the had been caught attempting to steal a radio from another stident's car.
What I've heard about these two makes me doubt that they were two victimized kids pushed over the edge by cliques of homophobic bullies. In a way they resemble Timothy McVeigh, guys with frustrated ambition who turn their frustration towards another outlet.

[notyoueither]

Doc, I was looking for reports of a couple of young men up here who topped themselves after being the victims of bullying involving '******s'. What I was looking for wasn't easy to find (go figure, since it wasn't 'big' news). I found that bit about the Columbine kids that still made the point.

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Mrs. Tuberski
I remember when I was in high school, all the kids who did their work and got all a's were considered nerds. I stood up for them when they were being bullied in front of me. I even got into 3 fights with both girls and boys(the bullies) for their behavor . Bullying people wrong. i remember one case in point, this guy was a real nice guy however he was very smart and didnt dress lik all the other folks. Some girls started to f*** with him actin like they liked him and wanted to go out with him. I felt so sorryfor the guy I knew the girls were messing with him and he didnt. After bout five minutes i told the girls to cut the S*** and leave him alone. needless to say the guy got pissed at me and i fought two of the girls for being a**holes.

Mrs T. is the ish.

Me you and Pekka could have formed some Justice League or something.

[MRT144]

i picked on a kid named cooper in 4th and 5th grade. we are now best friends.

[notyoueither]

Is he the one who suggested porn?

[MRT144]

no. he lives 800 miles now, but were still tight.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Oerdin
It depends on the definition of bully. Beating people is wrong but if some hyper protective law maker wants to make name calling bullying then that's just lame. These things should be handled at the lowest possible level because those are the people who best understand the context and circomstances and so are the best informed to make a decision. Draconian rules almost always cause more harm then good by stupidly punishing the not guilty or over punishing the barely guilty.

Yes definately. My experience with these kind of rules is that it makes it really hard to fight back. When I was a kid I never started anything but if anyone else did I made sure that I finished it (usually via a good strong kick to the shins) this usually resulted in my getting suspended etc. at least as much as the bullies or the nerdy kid (me) being the only one that actualy cared about or was deterred at all by the thread of suspension.

[Agathon]

Adults don't have to put up with this crap. I was never bullied at school. A public chair-throwing fight with the biggest guy in my form pretty much put everyone off the idea of messing with me.

Some of the stuff that goes on at high school, particularly among girls, is a disgrace. The teachers know about it, but generally choose to do nothing, and parents don't help either. The first thing that happens when a school punishes a kid is that the kid's parents turn up to complain. This only happens if the kid is a ****. If the kid is basically OK, his parents don't care. weird...

What needs to happen is for schools to come down like Jehovah on students that play these games. The ones that do use the rules to protect themselves using plausible deniability even though everyone knows they're a ****. What needs to happen is throwing away all that and arbitrary punishments for the **** heads.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Agathon
Adults don't have to put up with this crap. I was never bullied at school. A public chair-throwing fight with the biggest guy in my form pretty much put everyone off the idea of messing with me.

Some of the stuff that goes on at high school, particularly among girls, is a disgrace. The teachers know about it, but generally choose to do nothing, and parents don't help either. The first thing that happens when a school punishes a kid is that the kid's parents turn up to complain. This only happens if the kid is a ****. If the kid is basically OK, his parents don't care. weird...

What needs to happen is for schools to come down like Jehovah on students that play these games. The ones that do use the rules to protect themselves using plausible deniability even though everyone knows they're a ****. What needs to happen is throwing away all that and arbitrary punishments for the **** heads.

Right, but knowing American-style "zero tolerance" what will happen is that the guilty, the bystanders and the victims will be punished in roughly equal measure.

[Dis]

rite of passage?

no. I don't think so.

bullying is harmful. But I don't think most schoold take the right approach to bullying. In fact, there may be no real answer to stop it. it's human nature.

but just because something is human nature, doesn't mean we should celebrate it.

I was bullied when I was younger. Though it was mostly through intimidation. I have never gotten my ass kicked come to think of it. I actually did beat up one kid when I was in elementary school. He wasn't a bully though. I can't remember why I hit him. I just remember the other kids cheering me on. Peer pressure got the better of me .

But anywas, I was still small. And this cuban kid bullied me. He never took my money though. I never had any money. And as I said, he never beat me up. He just intimidated me. Yeah, real scary. I know I have no right to complain. And I don't complain. It wasn't a big deal. But it's still not something I would call a rite of passage. I don't think it's healthy. I'm still intimidated by people. It sucks being a small person . And it's not like I'm quick to make up for it.

[Dr Strangelove]

It seems to me that Norway supposedly came up with a sort of system within their schools to combat bullying that has been praised as being highly effective. After Columbine the Clinton administration asked states to try the system in their schools. A few school systems across the country tried it, I don't know if there has been a study of the results. The system requires more active involvement of teachers in the conflicts between students beginning in Kindergarten.