The city of Mentor, Ohio was voted one of the “100 best places to live” this year by CNN and Money magazine, however four teenagers in this town did not see it that way. They were bullied and committed suicide as a result of that. Four innocent lives taken by their own hands in a matter of only two years. Each one had their own horror story. These are just a few of the many that have committed suicide due to bullying.
Bullying has been around ever since mankind has learned of our ability to reason. People neglect to put their ability to good use. And for that reason everyday there are people who are bullied and people who bully others. Bullying is a serious issue that effects everyone. Everyone has either been a victim of a bully, bullied someone, or knows someone who has been bullied. There is none left untouched; everyone is effected. Sometimes people are bullied by classmates, family members, and sometimes by complete and total strangers. Bullying affects everyone, but what is it?
According to the Webster’s Dictionary, a bully is a person who is mean and cruel to weaker people. Surprisingly, the same dictionary tells us that the word ‘bully’ was an archaic word that meant ‘sweetheart.’ And what does a bully look like? Bullies don’t wear signs to warn us of their presence. And bullies may not even be loud and obnoxious or easy to hear as they approach. Bullies, like their victims, come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Bullies look just like you and me.
No matter what the appearance of the bully, he has many methods and weapons at his disposal to use against his victims. In the past, bullies have made use of the unplugged methods of hurting their victims: they gossip, they physically attack, they verbally wound, and they emotionally cripple. But bullies today have become more creative thanks to electronic inventions that have allowed them to plug in and really do some cyber damage. The National Crime Prevention Center over 40% of all teenagers that have Internet access have reported being bullied online. Cyber-bullying may not seem dangerous, but it’s one of the hardest to track and stop.
Now that we know what the definition of what a bully is, we wonder, why do people bully? People bully for as many reasons as there are stars in the sky. A bully may tease someone because the bully believes that he is superior to his victims. A bully may tease some because he wishes he was superior to his victim, or a bully may tease someone because he was a victim of bullying himself. Bullying in his mind, is an okay thing to do, but he doesn’t realize--or he just doesn’t care-- how much damage he does to the other person.
According to the National Education Association everyday 160,000 students will miss school for fear of being bullied. Many turn to cyber school, but even there cyber-bullies prowl. As the bullying gets worse the persons pain grows. They begin to find it easier to agree with the bully then deny him, and blame themselves for being bullied. Some even blame themselves for all the problems of this world. Many, far too many, commit suicide.
Suicide is the murder of one’s own self, but in most cases it is motivated by an abuser, and bullying is abuse. According to the National Youth Violence Protection Resource Center 1 in every 12 teenagers attempted suicide last year. Many people don’t understand suicide. How can your life be so awful that you have to end it? The truth is you can’t understand it until you have been bullied to the point were you have to cry yourself to sleep, wishing that you won’t wake up the next morning, and you awake to face the torture that awaits you. After living in constant fear, some feel the only way out is in death. Once you reach that point you can never return to normality, and many spend their lives with low self-esteem wondering what they did wrong?
So how do you stop it? What can we do to put an end to the madness? All you have to do is stopping hurting people and start helping others. Instead of making fun of people compliment them. It will help you both. I know not everyone will listen to me and bullying will never end, but if we can prevent at least one child from having to go through that torture, then isn’t it worth it. If you see someone being bullied stand up for them. Don’t be afraid! Instead of walking away or just standing and watching, stand up for them. It will help you and them more then you will ever know.
Think, if only the city of Mentor, Ohio would have heard to this message. Then, they might have been able to save those four lives. If only they had been able to see the pain and heartache those four teenagers had been feeling. Then, they might have been able to save them. For those innocent lives it is too late, but it’s not too late for the rest of the world. We can prevent this from happening again. If we can end bullying we might just be able to save a few precious lives, from the harsh and hurtful affects of bullying, or we can continue bullying and see how many more lives we can destroy.
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