As I mentioned in the ‘what were you like in high school’ thread, I was bullied for a short time in 8th grade by girls I was best friends with in primary school. For some reason, they turned on me and pretty much made my life hell for a couple of months. I was called names, they spread ridiculous rumours about my family and was even threatened by their older brothers, who would follow me to my horse paddock and chase me home with clumps of wood and shit. What made it worse was that they all lived near me, so I couldn’t escape it unless I stayed inside.
My younger sister actually bashed one of the girls, swung her around by her hair and then kicked her when she was on the ground when they came down to our paddock. She ran off crying. I’m the eldest of four girls but I was a wimp back then and wouldn’t stand up for myself. Then I made friends with this hard ass girl who was a couple of years older than us who would tell them to fuck off and leave me alone. Guess they were either scared of her or they got bored of picking on me but it stopped pretty much after that.
Its funny cos one of the girls that picked on me in high school actually tried to add me on Facebook recently. Thanks but no thanks, heffa.
Anyways, I see my fair share of bullying at work, and it mostly comes from girls. The boys all seem to get on fairly well together, but theres always bitchiness between the girls. One day they will be best friends, and the next they’re hanging out with someone else so they don’t want anything to do with you. One particular offender (whos since left for high school) would always target a certain girl and call her fat, call her mum fat (they’re not fat at all) and make her cry all the time. It got to the point where she would call her names everyday and wouldn’t leave her alone.
We encourage our kids at work to resolve any conflict without violence. Bullying will not be tolerated at all. Its crucial that they are taught how to protect themselves - how to act confident, and how to stand up for themselves, verbally - not physically. Childern with good social skills and confidence are less likely to be targeted. Bullies seek attention, they may do it to feel cool, or popular or just pick on others to have some sort of power over them. They could have an esteem problem themselves - calling another child names etc might make them feel better. The offending child should be encouraged to look at how their bullying is affecting others. They may not know the extent of the damage they’re causing, and realise that nothing good is going to come out it, for the child being bullied, and for themselves.
