No More Bullying!

Since the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi, the issue of bullying has again reared its ugly head. 11 years after Columbine, the bullies that keep our educational institutions in a constant state of chaos have not only gotten more brazen, but they've used the Internet to take their campaign of abuse and mayhem world-class and world-wide.

So who is to blame, anyway? The victims of bullying? There are some psychologists who tell us that victims of bullying need to just shake it off, not let it bother them, and just accept it as a fact of life -- in other words, "just ignore them," like moms used to tell us geeks back in the day. That's good advice, but it doesn't teach bullying that their actions are wrong. If anything, it sometimes makes bullies try even harder to mess around with us. So the victims are not to blame for what's happened.

The schools? Probably, but watch them actually admit that they allow it to happen? Case law in New York states that schools are not "insurers of their students' safety," because they can't monitor every single thing that happens. And if it does happen in front of a teacher or security guard, they look the other way. But does life get better if they actually do get involved, have a few assemblies, and start anti-bullying clubs? Hell no -- those kids get worse and tell the school to kiss off!

You know whose fault this really is? The bullies' parents. This is why these kids think they don't have to treat others with respect. This is why they don't acknowledge that a school has authority over them. This is why they think it's completely normal and natural to cause pain and humiliation of those who are weaker or less intelligent than they are. This is why they have no morals or ethics to speak of, and this is how they get away with it their whole lives. Their parents did not even bother to teach them how to behave.

So message to all those parents out there -- check out what kind of reputation your kids have. Do they take pride in smacking others around? Do they get a kick out of excluding others from their little circle of friends? SIT them down, GET their attention, and explain that this is NOT the way to BEHAVE! The rest of the world at large will thank you for setting a better example!