You can’t honestly say, you’ve never been bullied, physically, or verbally, in your lifetime so far; Someone has put you down at some time at some point and it hurts.
Words do hurt, we’ve seen countless teens committing suicide, which has now been renamed ‘bully-cide’, in the last few past years. They simply cannot deal with the pressure or people constantly putting them down. Symptoms include; feeling vulnerable, their self-esteem plummeting, their confidence remaining at a steady zero, and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
Bullying has been going on since the beginning of time, coming with tales of a big hulk picking on the vulnerable scrawny helpless guy. The target,in most cases, some people describe.
The victim, of this endless harassment, who depending on choice, fights to thrive to make it end, but stays passive.
That’s the absolute worst thing the victim can do; if they want the torture to end, they have to stand up, its instinct, otherwise known as adrenaline, to fight or flee.
To say no to their tormentors.
To say no to societal pressure.
To say no to giving in, and staying a passive doormat for others to walk all over.
To say no to that bully, whose asserting this control, this power over his/her victim.
Bullies are people who are insecure, they’ve been bullied in their pasts, and haven’t been taken seriously, and are merely, not in control of their own meaningful lives. Bullies have their own problems, they can’t solve, nevertheless try. The people who are ignorant and don’t understand, are prominent causes, why people initially bully.
It is not the victim’s fault, whatsoever, why they’re bullies, it’s the bullies’ problem why they bully, but its up to the victims whether they assert themselves.
But, the most successful option to end this vicious cycle is to speak up.
When I was younger, this kid was undoubtedly bratty, used to pick on me, because not only was I quiet, but an easy target. When I couldn’t take it anymore, when the bullying got bad, I remember some days crying in school, and wailing home to my parents, told a few teachers, but it became utmost certain that the only one to stop him, was myself. I reminisce the time I spoke up. He was trying to be in control, trying to boss me around, but I couldn’t take it anymore, and yelled at him to shut up, strongly, and loudly. The effects were magic. He’s left me alone, to this day. Speaking up is the most self-empowering, relieving thing a person getting bullied can do, and after taking this step, you’ll feel so much more relieved. They’ll be more careful next time whether they try to call you that name, or give you that dirty look in the hallway, or even try to assert control.
As Dan Savage once said, “That life gets better.”