Why do people bully each other? What’s the point? Where does it get them in life? Adults think that they know the answer to these questions, but they don’t. There are so many studies on these questions, but who knows how accurate they are. They feel that because they were once kids too, that they can answer all of the questions that have to deal with kids/teenagers. If you are ever bullied or a witness of someone being bullied, then stand up, speak out, and be heard, because as someone brilliant once said: There is no time like the present. Bullies should not rule anyone’s lives.
All over the world there are bullies. They come in any shape, size, race, anything, because there is no limit to who can bully. You may think that there is no way that bullying will never truly be gone, but we can do something about it to at least decrease it. According to behavioral-management.com schools that have bullying programs have decreased bullying by 50%. The other 50% are provided with help and support. Even if we can’t get rid of bullying, we can still help those who are being bullied. There are about 13 million children who are bullied in the United States. There is not enough being done about bullies. 13 million needs to become 0. For some of these kids the only reason that they are bullied is because of the clothes that they wear to the color of their skin. If you see someone being bullied, find a teacher or responsible adult right away because you are considered a bully by just standing there watching.
Bullying is wrong, because you are not only hurting the person that you are bullying, but yourself too. Behaviorial-management.com states that a bully is 5 times more likely to have a criminal record when they are older because of violence when they were younger. The adults may think that they have the problem relatively under control but we as teenagers and children still have a part in this. We can stand up for others, if that was us being bullied wouldn’t we want our friends to stand up for us? Even if they aren’t your friend, it doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to be bullied; you can be nice to them to show them that you are looking out for them.
According to the CDC Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. This is only in the U.S, think about the rest of the world. Australia, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia? What about them? When will the bullying stop. You may say that you know that bullying is wrong, but what about all of those kids who are bullied on accident by someone saying something that they didn’t mean? In ‘A Corner of the Universe’ a man in his late 20’s has a problem with his brain, and because he is different everyone makes fun of him. This man hangs himself because of the torment that these people put him through. In Buffalo a 14 year old committed suicide because of the torment and teasing that he went through every day at school. In Illinois a 10 year old girl took her own life on November 13th, 2011 because she was bullied by kids at school, at home and even at the store because of her appearance. If this keeps up there will be no children left in schools because even if you are a bully, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t bullied as well. Right now we have to be more careful than ever with what we say and do because you don’t want to go around hurting people’s feelings and not realizing it.
Speak out and be heard, don’t hide from your fears, you have to face them and embrace them especially if that fear is bullying. In the U.S. we are doing a lot to try to prevent bullying but you have to cooperate too. Even if that means telling someone about something that you are not comfortable with, this person has to be stopped. Don’t let your life be ruled by bullies.
