Bullying

This topic has always been important to me. I was teased in school for being small and shy with a lot of insecurities. I have spend the time since we started planning to try to get pregnant on trying to figure out why bullying happens, who's targeted, and how it can be stopped. The real problems are that there are no good answers to those questions. I just spent the morning reading a bunch of articles in Huffington Post on bullying, Zach in my lap watching Sesame Street (channel 23 9am).

When I read about Bulliside I cry. Suicide is never okay and I truly feel that the bullies should be tried for murder as adults. The administrators who've been told about the bullying and did nothing should as well. Bullying will continue as long as adults do nothing. One of my biggest concern is that Zach will be bullied and when I go to work with the principal to stop it, the Bully's parent's will be in denial that their son or daughter could possibly be so horrible and let their brat go unpunished. Personally, I'll never go to Jason Cole's father's gas station because of how that bastard treated me in school. Dan Dickman was the worst.

I do know that empathetic kids tend to not bully or be the victim and have made it a point from the beginning to teach Zach empathy both through words and example. He's got such a wonderful understanding of emotions both in himself and others. If he's ever a bystander, he will know who to tell. I didn't. In fifth grade a classmate but a thumbtack upside down on another classmate's chair. I saw it and didn't say anything. The next day, after all the other classes were let in to the school, the principal talked to us about bullying. When he got to the part about "and if you see something it's important to speak up" he said that quite blatantly in my face. My teacher knew I saw who did it. I've since spoken up and bullying I'm witnessing and experiencing. Hence the trouble Dan Dickman got in for teasing me for small breasts during gym class in the seventh grade.

I am blessed to have grown up in a small town with teachers that defend the Bullied and punish the Bullies. At lot of Bullies are doing it out of the desire for parental attention, they have a parent who is a Bully (usually a cutthroat "anything to get ahead" person), or have their own insecurities and are taught that weaknesses are bad so they hide them by picking on other's weaknesses.

My brother treats my emails like spam so I doubt he reads this blog, my parent's read it rarely but are embarrassed by my openness so they don't often, the people I originally sent the link to say they've never read it, Josh reads it when there is a new post, I am certain Josh's mom reads it since she's that kind of mom and Lisa might sometimes but is very busy. It's most likely High School classmates who read this blog having got the link from Josh's facebook page. It's private so anyone else got it from one of Josh's friends posting it on their public facebook page. All is welcome. My guess is someone reading this witnessed me being teased or knows Jason or Dan. Maybe even witnessed me being bullied (Bobby Comer) and never said anything. Bobby was nice to me when Jason wasn't around but participated when he was.

I hope someday those questions can be answered and Bullying will be taken more seriously by ignorant administrators. Victims need to have the support I had.