While there is such a thing as real bullying, I suppose, the anti-bullying campaign has more to do with political correctness and a liberal social agenda than with actual bullying.
Yes sir! The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Bullies that are physically violent never receive a just punishment.
This why I posed the question when does teasing become bullying? Some schools define any teasing as bullying. In my case the teasing brought to my attention that I was annoying others. I started working hard to overcome it best I could. I found if I did things like art and music, it got better.
@Ken Anderson You can combine the two threads if you want. I usually do a search, but didn't on this one. I guess there are different levels of bullying. I didn't go to schools where elementary aged kids beat up other kids or stole their lunch money. No one picked on kids who were mentally challenged or came from a really poor family. It was more about the things someone could do that was stupid socially, but may avoid those things because they didn't want the other kids calling them names or laughing at them. It was part of growing up and learning how to fitting in. I'm not at all indicating it's right, I just wonder in a culture that prohibits any sort of peer correcting, is doing the kid a favor in the long run.
It’s hard to believe people still see bullying as one big kid pushing around one smaller kid. Or, give a reason for the ganging up - they dressed or spoke differently, they had a funny voice... things good parents still teach their children: not to be rude or nosey, not to behave badly to someone in order to get attention. Gossip is a form of bullying. This is about gossip intended to seriously harm someone, to make them socially obsolete, not about someone getting a facelift. Gossip and bullying are perfect ways to relentlessly tear someone down, with zero consequences and zero accountability. It’s power shrouded in secrecy and cowardice. Bullying Techniques Gossip Works every time. Nothing is needed other than a mouth to spread it and ears to listen. A very primitive and effective way to get power over someone. Fixation. When people have heard gossip about someone, they gawk. It used to be children and less bright people who unabashedly stared and glared at a stranger. Shunning Behavior Examples: Not acknowledging someone. Not making eye contact. Showing no emotion and as little response as possible if they approach you. Turning your back to them. Shunning and ignoring someone works well - cruel and damaged people do this to their spouses and children when they want to “make them pay” for something. Physical Aggression At school, while changing classes, boys might “accidentally” knock into their target or try to physically intimidate him. It’s quick and easily denied, without cameras. If the target defends himself or complains, he may be accused of exaggerating and be labeled as the problem. A Big Win for the Actual Trouble Makers. Bullying, especially school bullying, is very easy to hide.
I disagree, Von. I believe that some bullying causes mental anguish without any physical harm whatsoever. Also the hate on social media is a form of bullying without any physical contact.
These silly anti-bullying campaigns have led some schools to impose ludicrous levels of political correctness on children whose hopes of ever being able to think for themselves are dashed every day they report to school. Some schools have banned any references to "best friends" because that excludes those who are not best friends. True enough, there will always be kids who have a hard time fitting in but, rather than forcing every other kid to pretend that they fit in when they don't, wouldn't it make more sense for that child to develop people skills? Shouldn't learning to live among other people be among the skills that children learn in school?
Peer correction isn't really accurate when you consider kids form their initial opinions from their immediate environments. It isn't pure, it's already contaminated by the world they were born into.
I have to stand on my point here understanding that teasing can cause some mental anguish but it is not bullying. It is clear that there are degrees of bullying like repeated threats but that's not teasing.
Good-natured teasing, if such a thing exists, should stop when someone makes it clear they don't like it. Someone once told me that when her family moved and she started going to a new high school, a guy was "picking at her" pretty often. One day, she teased him back, along the same lines. One of his friends came up to her later and told her she couldn't sit with them at lunch anymore. The other guy didn't like what she said. Anything that causes mental anguish, between one student toward another, is bullying.