The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Rockman]

It's usually not about what's on the victims web pages. It's what's being passed around on every one else. And it's not so much the fact that bullying and things that are posted reaches your home and sanctuary via internet. It's that it reaches the rest of the world. You could make friends or date girls that didn't go to your school and they would never know that you got picked on all the time as long as you didn't tell them. Now your considered a weirdo if you're under 30 and can't be found by a search engine.

That's a great point.

[Keb]

Exactly, but at the same time the other side can't come out with absolutes. They can't say that all bullies are doing it because they're insecure. I hate that word.

People will bully. People will get bullied. There's very little to do about it.

I can understand your point, and I kind of agree. Its not always insecurity that makes a bully what he or she is. Sometimes they have superiority complexes or they feel they can do it because they've seen others do it. In most cases a bully is someone who gets pushed around his or her self and they feel the need to take out their anger elsewhere. There is always a reason for someone being the way they are.

[Strict31]

You can't just pop a bully in the nose. Most of the reason people get bullied is because the others are bigger and stronger than them. Saying bullshit like "bullies are insecure" or something just makes the whole thing even worse.

People don't bully because they're insecure, or because they've got Daddy issues or whatever other bullshit we get fed. They bully because they're dicks.

People don't get bullied because they're strong, it's either they're socially unacceptable in the bullies eyes.

You can't get rid of it.

That's like saying people are mean because they're not nice. People aren't dicks just because of a random toss of the die. If a person is being a dick just because he can and for no other reason, that's not normal. Oh, it happens with sufficient frequency to make people think it's normal, but it fuckin' ain't.

So, if someone gains satisfaction from causing others pain, whether physical, mental or emotional, then, yeah, there's something wrong with that person that goes beyond simply being a dick.

[Strict31]

Exactly, but at the same time the other side can't come out with absolutes. They can't say that all bullies are doing it because they're insecure. I hate that word.

People will bully. People will get bullied. There's very little to do about it.

Well, you certainly can't make a law to stop it. It's something that every individual who encounters it will have to deal with for himself or herself.

[Regulator]

It's usually not about what's on the victims web pages. It's what's being passed around on every one else. And it's not so much the fact that bullying and things that are posted reaches your home and sanctuary via internet. It's that it reaches the rest of the world. You could make friends or date girls that didn't go to your school and they would never know that you got picked on all the time as long as you didn't tell them. Now your considered a weirdo if you're under 30 and can't be found by a search engine.

1. No you're not.
2. What difference does that make anyway? If you're 25 and being bullied online, you're just a pussy and need to grow up. This is about kids who can't handle it, so I don't really see the big problem with not having an internet presence until the kid is old enough to handle it if they're having that many problems.

[~Alima~]

I think a lot of the problem is with technology today also, but I think it's not just the bullies making it bad as it is the faceless crowd/mob of sheep who laugh and continue the torment. It's hard to keep the depression from building to extremes when it seems like everyone else out there "feels" the same way as the person who started the bullying. I know it's different in every situation, but with youtube, blog sites, etc., it's too easy for a fire to spread.

[ZombieRed]

I think anti-bullying campaigns in schools go about it the wrong way.

They had those anti-bullying campaigns but they don't do shit. It's pretty much just some old people/teachers saying "stop bullying m'kay? It hurts people's feelings." Well yeah that's the point genius. That's what the kids who bully are trying to do.

Instead anti-bullying campaigns need to focus more on people being bullied. Teach them to grow a thicker skin.

[GLX]

No.

When I was in high school, my school had a rule that if two people were fighting, both would be suspended. So even if someone attacked you and you tried to push him off you and keep him back, you'd get suspended. It was wack. You'd get suspended for getting your ass kicked, basically. Kids who got picked on got suspended just as much as kids who didn't.

In my middle school, there was a kid named Jordan who was a bit socially awkward. People used to bug him and push him around and shit and he'd just fucking wail out on them because that was the only way he knew how to defend himself. He kicked so much ass but he always got suspended and whoever was picking on him got away scott-free. Kind of lame.

I got called "nigger" and "paki" all my childhood but I never fought back because apparently, the one time I did, I was told that kicking the shit out of someone for calling you a bad name is wrong.

That's utter bullshit, on the school's part.

[Rockman]

I think anti-bullying campaigns in schools go about it the wrong way.

They had those anti-bullying campaigns but they don't do shit. It's pretty much just some old people/teachers saying "stop bullying m'kay? It hurts people's feelings." Well yeah that's the point genius. That's what the kids who bully are trying to do.

Instead anti-bullying campaigns need to focus more on people being bullied. Teach them to grow a thicker skin.

easier said than done

[Strict31]

easier said than done

Nothing that is worth doing is easy.

/yourmomjoke'd

[ZombieRed]

easier said than done

Obviously, I'm just saying that that's who the anti-bullying campaigns need to target. Of course it won't be easy to do though. Things like this never are.

I was bullied in Grade 7 pretty heavily and a little less frequently after. It was pretty hard. Eventually I got over it and became stronger but arguably not until my last year in highschool. I still wish I could have gotten past my issues a little faster though.

[Rockman]

Obviously, I'm just saying that that's who the anti-bullying campaigns need to target. Of course it won't be easy to do though. Things like this never are.

I was bullied in Grade 7 pretty heavily and a little less frequently after. It was pretty hard. Eventually I got over it and became stronger but arguably not until my last year in highschool. I still wish I could have gotten past my issues a little faster though.

I dodged a bullet with the bully thing. People just left me alone and I didn't bother them either.

There was one time in 9th grade I had a kid who would always pick on me from time to time. Eventually I mentioned it to my father for some reason and he took it to the school board which led to this kid getting into considerable trouble (his parents were very involved in PTA and all that crap). Anyways after that he left me alone, though he had promised to beat the crap out of me after school, which never happened. Last I saw him he was a huge burn out from all the drugs he had been doing his whole high school career.

[Arion]

The difference IMO is that previously your home was a safe haven from bullying. But now, thanks to text, e-mail, Facebook, etc it follows you into the home. End result? Bullying 24/7. That's a whole new level of abuse right there.

That's a good point .

[subliminal]

From the responses, it seems like everyone had their share of bullying and withstood it. What makes things so much worse that these kids can't and end up killing themselves. Or what did you people have that they didn't that helped you through it? Friends? The support of your parents and teachers? I don't know why it's a bigger issue now, it's not like kids are killing themselves more now than ever before. Or maybe with the moderated views on homosexuality, family and friends of the victims more vocal about the deaths as due to 'gay' bullying.

[Strict31]

From the responses, it seems like everyone had their share of bullying and withstood it. What makes things so much worse that these kids can't and end up killing themselves. Or what did you people have that they didn't that helped you through it? Friends? The support of your parents and teachers? I don't know why it's a bigger issue now, it's not like kids are killing themselves more now than ever before. Or maybe with the moderated views on homosexuality, family and friends of the victims more vocal about the deaths as due to 'gay' bullying.

I think it's a combination of things, but there's an undue importance placed on the Internet.

The Internet is a social venue, of course, but unlike any other social setting, it can be turned off. That's not just perception. That's a reality. It's all a matter of how much importance the person places on internet socializing.

I think it's also possible that this shit is just being reported more often. A kid killing himself because some assholes made fun of him in school isn't a story. A kid who kills himself after receiving a bullying email that made fun of him is a story.

The media can easily skew the focus of the audience by placing one or two stories into heavy rotation.