BULLYING

Bully. Either you are one, were one, facing one, or faced one.

Whenever this sensitive topic comes up, there usually are two pressing thoughts- who bullied, and who had been bullied. Then you move on to other thoughts like why, how and so on. There is no lie that this isn’t a problem. Many walk away or clam up due to the difficult and sensitive nature of the topic.

Some people bully others to feel better about themselves and in turn, cause their victims to feel powerless. It all starts with the bully. There are many cases where the bullies were also bullied by a third party and they end up taking out their frustration someone else. Another possibility is that they live in a hostile environment, possibly their home situation meaning they could be having family problems. Some people will respond with sympathy but some will say that no matter what the backstory, they do not have the right to mentally and physically torture someone else.

When we come to the victim, there are usually more people who are sympathetic towards them. The victims usually feel really insecure after hearing insensitive remarks about them and they feel inferior to the bully and eventually let the nasty thoughts get to them. They lose self-confidence and self-esteem and eventually lose the will to do anything. They do not feel like participating in school or even have the courage to attend school at times due to their fear of their tormentors.

Sometimes, you may not even realize it but you may be a bully. You may say words that you feel are okay but don’t exactly realize their impact on the other party. Sometimes, you don’t really think about what you say or do and end up hurting someone’s feelings. You may not be able to comprehend at first but a simple comment on somebody’s appearance or personality can emotionally hurt them. And a continued stream of such comments may even lead to them losing interest in their hobbies and daily activities and could eventually lead to suicidal thoughts when their spirit is broken enough.

Among all kinds of bullies, there is one thing in common. Bullies make you lose faith in humanity. They make you think about respecting people, caring for others’ feelings, and how you can’t seem to find that in the world anymore.

If you condone bullying in any way, you are taking part in it. Some people may consider mocking someone funny, even though it is anything but funny to the victim. Small remarks made can add up to a lot of pain and suffering.

Bullying is especially prevalent in school, so it is the responsibility of students to protect their classmates and to show everyone the dignity and respect they would like to be treated with. But when the victim is very affected and the bullying seems to be never-ending, it must be brought to the attention of someone in authority, like a teacher. You should speak to a teacher or a counselor you trust and know will do something to stop the bullying.

You may not see bullying, you may not be aware of it, but it is happening and it causes unimaginable pain to the victims. If someone is hurting another person, be it emotionally or physically, consciously or unconsciously, they it is unlikely they will stop unless someone stands up for the victim and tells their tormentor to. Bullying is everyone’s problem; everyone has to be part of the solution.

Treat others the way you want to be treated.