|
"You're such a loser!"
"Ohmigod, shut up you idiot!"
"Ugh, she's such a dork!"
Bullying takes place every day, and we don't even notice. And if we do, most of us don't do anything about it.
I'm sure you've all seen all the anti-bullying ads. They're not out there decorating bus stops and school walls, you
know. There's so many out there because bullying is a very serious problem that most people don't seem to realize exists...or
if they do they don't really care. Oh, of course, they act like they do, but when they witness bullying, they ignore it and
walk away.
| You're a bystander if... |
|
|
| you stand idly by, look away, or even encourage the bully by laughing or cheering him/her on. |
I guess you can't really know what it's like to be bullied until it happens to you. And until you know how horrible it
is, you can't really be bothered to stop it. While telling you my experience probably won't change your mind about bullying,
I'll try:
When I was in the seventh grade I was bullied.
It probably wouldn't have been so bad if they had hit me. You know, hurt me physically. That way I would've been able
to fight back. I could've taught them a lesson and they would've left me alone.
But, unfortunately, that's not what happened.
I was bullied by girls. And most girls are vicious when it comes to bullying! They hurt you emotionally, bring you down
with words and looks and gestures.
I don't know how many times they called me a nerd because I told them I liked studying and getting good marks.
I lost count of how many times they would whisper amongst themselves, look at me, and laughed hysterically.
They pointed at me, rolled their eyes, "whispered" rude things about me just loudly enough so that I could hear what
they were saying...
I know, it doesn't sound like much. But when you don't have any friends to comfort you because nobody wants to get on
the wrong side of the popular girls, when you have their cruel words and eyes following you everywhere you go, for a whole
school year, it does a number on your self-esteem.
While I got over those immature girls that made my life miserable in grade seven, the scars they left behind didn't
really heal until I was in grade eleven. My self-esteem was totally destroyed. I thought I was a loser, an ugly, worthless
freak.
I finally got my self esteem back, even though it took four years. But that's just because I was lucky to make real friends
and have my parents' support. There are so many kids who are bullied but don't have anybody to turn to, or they don't have
the strength of character to move on.
| If a kid has enough confidence to be different... |
|
|
| ...less confident kids will give them a hard time about it to feel better about themselves. |
| Most bullies pick on smaller kids... |
|
|
| ...BECAUSE THEY ARE LESS LIKELY TO FIGHT BACK. |
So many kids who choose suicide as an answer.
It's so sad, especially since this could be stopped so easily if we all just stood up to bullies before the problem became
huge.
I know you've heard the whole "Bullying hurts" thing. But did you know it's true? It actually hurts people! It's not
just a cute little catchy slogan to advertise bullying posters.
BULLYING HURTS!!!
Please, help stop bullying.
Help stop the reason why so many kids choose suicide as a way out.
If you witness somebody being bullied, don't be a bystander. Pull the victim away from the bully or tell the bully to
stop.
If you're a victim, TELL SOMEBODY! Tell a parent, a teacher, a friend, or another adult you can trust. Even if people
don't believe you, keep telling until somebody does.
If you're a bully, stop your immature behaviour! Grow up and find more constructive way of bringing up your self-esteem.
It's very simple. We can all work together to help stop bullying.
|
