The Revelation--on bullies

"You appear in a god-forsaken alley. Then, you look down, only to find yourself engulfed in a growing shadow that looms upon you ominously. Sensing impending doom, you crane your neck towards the source of this eclipse. To your utter petrification, you see the dark silhouette some sumo-sized behemoth of a man, towering above your puny stature, looking as though he could devour you up that very instance. "

Bullying

The first article explains what bullying is. On a small scale, simple things like causally joking about someone, or 'just-for-laughs' racist jokes can be acts of bullying. On a medium scale, we have the 'public enemy number one' effect, where someone is generally discriminated for being notorious for something like being fat, or being teachers' pets. However, the worst in the scale usually occurs when teens take things into their own hands as a result. For example: the Columbine Shootings of 1991.

I used to have this attention-seeker of a friend in primary school. However, I soon started to observe him change drastically. It was then that he told me one day that a new member had just been born into the family. I immediately realised that the change was due to the attention problem again. His parents were probably giving him even less attention then, and it must have gotten on his nerves. This frustration was then vented out as aggression, in terms of verbal abuse, and at times, physical abuse. He had become a bully.

This is a personal experience, and is a very suitable example as to how bullying does not necessarily have to be large-scale, yet still affect people. It also shows how bullying is not uncommon in schools today. In my opinion, bullying is a vicious cycle. It all starts with someone turning into a bully because of very emotional circumstances, and this causes victims to turn bullies too. Peer pressure from neighbourhood gangs and school gangs convert good innocents into chauvinistic, uncouth, uncivilised, smoking, gangsters who are a disgrace to themselves, those around them, and to their society. Fear of losing out in society, not being socially accepted, and not getting enough attention also turn people into sadists who find pleasure in the suffering for others.

The solution? As seen in article two, one must bully-proof oneself. One way is to retailiate--this usually paves the way for the vicious cycle that I have just mentioned about. Another way is to basically have confidence in oneself. Being able to tolerate 'friendly' but demeaning remarks, being able to stand up to those who claim superiority to one, are a couple of examples that illustrate the positive effects of sef-confidence and improved self-esteem. If all the victims of bullying could be like in the second way, then all the bullies would lose their masks that hide their true insecurity. This would make them drop bullying. For victim to bully converts, counselling can be sought to help one solve his or her emotional problems, but this time at the expense of noone. Schools are implementing strict disciplinary measures, and counsellig services too to ensure both the psychological and physical well being of their students.

Why not eradicate this "virulent mutation" from the face of this Earth, annihilate hatred, and work towards a more utopian educational community?

(534 words)