As kids, there's somehow the fear that these bullies can end your life if they want to. Everything is blown up, and occasionally that kind of awful thing does happen.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
My message to kids who bully other kids is: You know it's wrong! What's really going on? Try not to make somebody else's life miserable because you are.
It's the bullies who are afraid, are the ones that do all the fighting. It's not the secure kids that get out there and fight. It's the insecure kids.
Many kids who are bullied feel helpless. Sometimes, they think the only thing they can do is hope the problem will go away. But there are things you can do to get some control in the situation and it starts with developing a strategy and a support system.
Kids aren't born to be bullies, they're taught to be bullies.
By the time a child reaches out to an adult, the vast majority of kids have been dealing with the bullying and trying to ignore it for a long time.
A lot of kids are bullied because of their sexual identity or expression. It's often the effeminate boys and the masculine girls, the ones who violate gender norms and expectations, who get bullied.
I'm lucky that I've never been bullied personally. There are always going to be kids who are mean and say stuff, but the people that matter to you - the people you love, like your parents, your siblings, and your friends - those are the people you should listen to.
Bullies may be the perpetrators of evil, but it is the evil of passivity of all those who know what is happening and never intervene that perpetuates such abuse.
As for kids who are struggling personally, ignore the bullies! Who cares what they think? A lot of the time, they're not thinking, so you shouldn't take their words to heart. Ignore, ignore, ignore, and keep pushing forward.
My kids are all pretty big and tough and strong, and I don't worry about them being bullied - the reverse, be kind to people and don't ever be a bully yourself, and I think they've followed that.