Bullies

The news lately has focused on bullying. Sadly, bullies are not ones who just came on the scene, they have been around for decades, probably centuries. I think everyone who has gone through adolescence has been bullied or, heaven forbid, been a bully. Then there are the fewer than you think that have escaped the bully altogether.

Coming of age in the late sixties one could have been bullied because of weight, the way you dressed, where you lived or the car your parents drove. Then there were issues of coke bottle glasses, bad teeth or acne. Contacts were not an option, rich kids only had braces and was there even a dermatologist then? The pain of being ridiculed relentlessly at school for these issues was as intense as it is now. However, if lucky, you could go home to a loving family, regroup and prepare to face it all again tomorrow.

Yesterday, for instance, if a girl was loose or if a boy was suspected of not really liking girls, we didn't know what Gay was, their actions spread as far as word of mouth. Today, these kids can have a rumor about them circulated to 500 or more within minutes. I don't think that the bullied kid ever considered suicide or actually committed it back then. Or, not that I had ever heard of.

I feel so sad for the children and their families I am currently reading and hearing about who took their own lives as a result of relentless bulling. As I've said, it has been going on forever, we now have the opportunity to hear more about it.

I wish I could have more insight on how to cure this epidemic. I think the bully is like cancer and here to stay. They do follow you into your adult lives but you are so much wiser and more equipped to handle them.

For the Bullied you will grow to be a more compassionate person. The times you have been ostracised led you to discover great things. Everyone will eventually think that you are special. People will cry when you go to heaven.

For the Bully, you will probably face a future of jail time, become an extreme redneck or become very wealthy or famous and will die with no one caring one way or the other as long as they get the money. If you were this mean as a child, I fear you haven't gotten any better.

Now from a parent's standpoint, I don't encourage trying to shield your children from what is going on in the world. They are so much more mature than you were. at an earlier age. They started kindergarten being exposed to a computer, they cannot remember a time when someone didn't have a cell phone. This is the 21st century and how times have changed. Embrace it. Fact is the best people come from homes where there is love and support.