...huh?...it takes courage?...wtf?!?!?...it takes courage to not kill yourself because life is much tougher then death...you're lucky you are a mod and you are under their protective envelope otherwise I'd get reasl nasty with this BS... Kabuki Joe
...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...you have evolved ONLY because of society there to back you, otherwise you'd be gone... Kabuki Joe
I am very much what you would call a pacifist, but I basically agree with these sentiments. I have no qualms with walking away from a fight that would only involve me, but it is necessary to stand up for someone else. In my somewhat limited experience, showing that you're not scared to back down is often enough to deescalate the situation, especially if you can combine it with the proper dialogue. But to stand by and watch someone get bullied, physically or otherwise is unacceptable. That's the real tragedy of this situation, in my school the rest of the students would not have let the bullies get away with it, we would've told them to shut up or get out.
...I grew up in the real world, not the "make believe" world...I have seen the absolute best in people and I have seen the worst...the first time I had a gun pointed at me was when I was 13 or 14, the last time was at a dogfight that went bad...leaps back and forth?...the only thing I can say is I need to bring topics back to reality, away from "make believe"...I can tell by reading a lot of the posts on here that most of the posters live in the "make believe" idealistic world and have no clue just how bad things are...drug use, dirty sex, no morals, etc, etc, etc...our children are far from innocent and to "make believe" otherwise only hurts the parents...if you choose to think otherwise, then it's on you, not me... Kabuki Joe
Have schools done this? I think it is a great idea, I would have joined in high school and I bet even kids that sit on the fence with bullying might get involved, especially if it was something that colleges would take into account when going through applications. I was always for anti-bullying rules, but recently I have changed my view on the legislation. Where as it looks good on paper it doesn't always translate to much of anything in practice. In some areas I think it goes to far, at my recent back to school night we were told if a child refuses to play with someone or let someone play with them it is considered bullying and the student will face reprimand if caught doing so.
I see that some of the people on the left that I label "dancers", have some serious competition. What was that rant of absolute random crap you just threw out there? You call me naive, then you compare heated political discussion to Bullying kids....then when i question you on it..you trot out this bunch of gibberish about the real world? Just stop it. I've seen as much real world as you or anyone else in my 43 years. Do you even have kids Joe? Or are you running off at the mouth with your "make believe" without having any "real world" experience to actually form an opinion with?
...what are the circumstances?...you could be stepping into an issue you know nothing about...one of my old friends and his 2 brothers were beating up their bother-in-law who was beating their sister...3 black dudes with bats vs 1 black dude with out...if you walked in on this and tried to help the dude getting beat, you would be on the wrong side (like a few that tried to step in), but if it made you feel better, so be it...their sister never got beat by this guy after this again... Kabuki Joe
Yes, I wasn't giving much in the way of details, every situation is different, but in general I stand by what I said.
If you're faced w/a growling pit bull or any dangerous dog, what are you going to do? Look for a weapon and use it if you find one? Are you going to punch, kick and fight back when it attacks you? 2-legged or 4-legged, why does it matter? Are you going to defend yourself, even if you have to use physical violence? I would think you would - it's called 'human nature'.........
Suicide is a very selfish act - but those people who quietly and not telling anyone what they plan on doing must live in a black world of such despair, hopelessness and pain that you and I couldn't possibly relate to. All they want to do is end the pain and that's the only way they can.....
If a person was dead serious about killing themselves, they wouldn't tell a soul - they'd just do it and they'd make sure they didn't botch up the job and end of a living vegetable.......
I agree. There is a time and place to fight back, no doubt. Problem is, there are situations when you simply cannot. When I lived in Phoenix, if you went to a Mesa school, they had a zero tolerance policy for violence. My boss had a son who was getting bullied. One day a kid punched him so he fought back. Even thou he was attacked, he (along with the other kid) was expelled because of the no violence policy. I believe you have a right to protect yourself. And it seems like this thread has whipped up a frenzy about attacking bullies. But I ask you, the girl being teased about her brothers death, does anyone HONESTLY think she's gonna walk up to these bullies and kick their ass
Oh I agree. But I can't feel bad for them because for those people I just believe that they weren't meant for this life anyways. It wasn't their purpose. My heart goes out to their loved ones, however. It's just not that difficult to end your life and every person who attempted suicide that I've been aware of was far from mentally challenged. I've just always had an embedded disdain for the emo types (the ones who quietly kill themselves usually aren't the emo types, they're usually people you wouldn't in your wildest dreams imagine doing such a thing). I'd much rather extend my goodwill out to people in the crossroads of life and death who, you know, want to live...
All bullying should be met with corrective punishment. Since bullying in schools is often humilating more than anything, perhaps the people responsible should be made to wear their underwear on their heads for a week or use a toothbrush to clean out the cracks in the pavement of the common quad area where students gather? Enough of that and I'd say there would be a very fine example set for other would-be tormentors. I find it hard to believe that school staff allow blatant bullying to go unpunished in this day and age. Bullying isn't the only cause of gay teen suicides BTW.
You know, I know you went thru a pretty horrible experience of being bullied, lived w/some depression and b/c of that, I would think you'd have more compassion for people and the intellect to realize not everyone is alike. Instead, you lump everyone together - everyone is different. Some kids are easily intimidated and fearful, some are not. It's great that you learned to 'empower' yourself and plow right on thru the verbal & physical attacks when you were a teen, but the kids who aren't able to do that, it doesn't make them less of a person...... some kids who are the victims of a bully just needs more help in getting thru those yrs and that support should start w/their own parents, but often it's not.....
...we are talking about several things in the same topic; bullying, parent's awareness, and harshness of reality...I gave examples on all 3 counts...and I have 24 year old daughter that fits the mold of someone that could have been bullyed...she was introverted, a little off in appearance (by her own choice) and extrememly sensitive...she had issues...and when we tried to deal with them she would cry and like I told her over and over and over "crying does nothing but shut dialogue down"...I'm proud to say that she has made enormous progress in her ability to confront people and not cry...she makes me proud when we go at it and she doesn't get upset, she says what she needs to and we move on...it's huge for me because I don't need to worry about protecting my little flower anymore... Kabuki Joe
I think bullying is always going to happen. The problem is that the current generation is growing up to be a bunch of sissy, narcissistic *******s who feel they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. What should have happened is that these guys should have been brought to the principles office and paddled in the butt until they could hardly walk and then sent back home. I guarantee that they wouldn't act that way again.
It's unfortunate that he couldn't find a reason to live, but what are you going to do? You can't see the future with these types of situations and you can't change human nature. People suck, let's regulate them to death (not). Sorry buddy, as long as we're under this sun suffering will continue. Had that same person been born 100 years ago before PC garbage and emasculation of males went rampant maybe he'd stiffen up his upper lip? Maybe not. But you can't deny the fact that he WAS meant to die. He died. That's all I'm saying.
Not all kids are capable of stepping up to a bully - some of them are physically disabled, but still have to go to school! Some are mentally challenged, but still go to school! Those 2 types of kids right there are prime targets for bullies! And you think they have the ability to 'rise against' the bullies? Get back to reality....