Jared Walker / Staff Writer
Bullying has been a real problem for years.
October was National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, which is pushing the issue to the forefront of the nation’s consciousness.
Many educators and legislators are under pressure to prevent bullying in many schools and are implementing programs such as A Classroom of Difference, Steps to Respect and Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports.
These programs teach empathy, interpersonal skills and respect to those who don’t fit in to the mainstream.
How is someone who is defenseless supposed to take action? Most people would say to fight back. Teachers aren’t doing squat to stop it. The bully gets off with a warning while the bullied gets suspended.
At my high school, if you got into a fight you and the other person would have to pay $250. I do not think that is fair because if you are defending yourself you should be responsible. School officials should take more action against bullying.
With all the technology in this day and age, cyber bullying has become a real problem with the creation of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social websites. Cyber bullying has become more and more frequent. What are we supposed to do about this issue?
Many kids in recent years have committed suicide due to bullying.
This could be because of the countless beatings, tauntings, and other forms of abuse. Lately it seems it has a lot to do with sexual preference. How many kids have to take their life before we do something about bullying?
It should not matter if you are gay or lesbian or if you’re smart or dumb or popular or whatever.
No child should have to feel so threatened and be in so much pain, that he or she has to take their own lives just to put a stop to torment.
It sickens me.
Besides fighting back, there are other ways to handle bullying. The bullied could try to stay away from the bully. There are vocal groups of naysayers who believe that focusing on social emotional skills training and urging students to be accepting of those who are different to the weakening of America.
In October, 15-year-old New York student Felicia Garcia threw herself in front of an oncoming train, after allegedly being taunted by multiple football players at her high school.
Earlier that month, Canadian teen Amanda Todd took her own life after making a YouTube video detailing her history of being bullied mercilessly, online and in person.
If you see anybody being bullied or taunted don’t just stand there, do something!
