The earliest documented instance of bullying goes back to February 28, 1825, when Eton Scholars George Alexander Wood and Alexander Wellesley Leith were charged with hazing the Hon. F. Ashley Cooper to the point of death on February 28, 1825 at Aylesbury Assizes. Safe to say, then, that bullying has been around probably since anyone reading this can remember.
The reasons are many, varied, and all dumb. Jealousy, a desire to look tough or be popular with a particular group of people, extortion (mostly for school lunch money, natch), or simply to get attention. All of which can easily be accomplished in many other forms (though extortion isn’t highly recommended).
Yeah, this article probably sounds a little glib at this point. Even like I’m not taking this very seriously. Totally understood why it might sound like I’m making fun of this whole thing, but that’s the farthest from the case. It’s simply impossible to fathom even why this sort of thing goes on.
Certainly peer pressure still plays a part in it. What better way to look cool than to disparage those that seemingly aren’t seen as such? Was that what Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei were thinking when they streamed a video of Tyler Clementi having sex in his dorm room all over the internet, leading Clementi to jump to his death? Hey, the kid’s gay. Nobody likes him, anyway, right? Let’s humiliate him! That’ll be a scream!
And a scream it turned out to be - much of Rutgers campus (where Clementi went to school), Hollywood and the gay community screaming for these two kids’ heads on a platter for being asses.
Of course, Rutgers has a reason to scream in outrage. To a point, Hollywood might, although it’s either sad or funny (depending on which side of the coin you look at) that it takes a high-profile suicide for stars to pay attention to anything other than their own careers or publicity and get “political” for a moment without mentioning that this has been a long-standing problem that plagues gay and straight people alike.
Article comments
1 - grimmless
Alright dude, you've made your point. You don't have to give me your lunch money anymore.
2 - diana hartman
I've met very few parents who stood up for their kids and/or stood between their kids and bullies (to include school officials who'd rather a parent stayed out of it). I'm glad to read about a parent doing so.
Standing up for my pre-teen son 15 years ago wasn't a popular move, but then I wasn't in it for the popularity. I can't imagine a less loving thing to do for (to?) your kids than to stand aside instead of having their backs.
Anyone who doesn't advocate for their kid might consider signing up for a nursing home now since there's no telling where a bitter 60-year-old is going to put you.
3 - Jenni
My daughter was bullied by a neighbor all through her last year of middle school. I stood up for her. I was talking to somebody at the school on a daily basis. When the administrative staff clearly refused to listen to me, I reported the incident to their bosses, and eventually I got in touch with the head in the Department of Education, and was amazingly listened to, and things started to change for the better. The principal of the school she went to was fired. Granted it came to late to help my daughter, who is still taking medication for anxiety and depression because of this ordeal? She is slowly getting stronger, but she still lacks the self-confidence she used to have. The bully’s “mother” and her young friends, still harass me to this day (over 1 ½ years later). I’m sure their obvious drug problem was a big factor, but that’s their problem. I can clearly see why the girl became a bully, and hope she find the help, safety, and security that she needs. I finally after talking with law enforcement about this more times than I can count, have enough evidence to prosecute these people. It’s been a long hard road, but if I had to do it over, I would have stood up for my child just like I did. The worst if nearly behind us and thanks to all the support I’ve received from friends and family, not to mention countless prayers, we survived and we will continue to do so.