<p>I think that bullying has become worse since social media is such an important part of teenage life.
It is sad to see, sadder if it is your child because they are all vulnerable</p>
<p>Thanks–this resonated deeply with me because I was a victim of bullies from 2nd grade through 12th grade. Our D was a victim for a much shorter period of time because H & I knew the dangers of allowing her to be a victim. She learned to fight back and build a strong network of friends, all of which have stood her in good stead.</p>
<p>Very artistically done and covers a lot of ground in a short period of time.</p>
<p>I was bullied from kindergarten up until about 7th or 8th grade- more or less my entire K-8 school experience. I didn’t know what it was at the time and since it started so young, I didn’t realize it wasn’t normal. My parents never experienced bullying so I don’t think they quite knew what to do when it started happening to me. </p>
<p>They tried going to the school but since my parents were not members of the parish, their word was not given much weight. I begged them to let me stay though- public school was more terrifying to me (I have no idea why in retrospect) and they have said it was one of their only regrets (letting me stay). I didn’t let on how bad it was at the time and they never knew the full extent of it until I opened up at some point in high school. I was not being physically bullied, just emotionally and verbally. This was just before bullying became a widely recognized problem. </p>
<p>I was very lucky that I had a strong relationship with my parents and many of their friends. I think it’s why, to this day, I have stronger relationships with those much older than myself than I do with my peers. That’s not to say that adults don’t bully (they absolutely do) but adults seemed better able to look past my birth mark than kids were. </p>
<p>I broke down and cried when I saw this video. I consider myself recovered from all of that but obviously I still have some deep scars. Could be one of the reasons why I fight so hard for those who don’t necessarily have the strength to stand up for themselves <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>I was physically bullied–hit in grades 2-9. It finally stopped when there was a gang war over me in intermediate school and when we were tracked academically and the kids who bullied me were no longer in any of my classes. I think it also helped that I had a strong and protective BF in HS. At a 25th HS reunion, one of the guys said, “Oh, isn’t it sad that <a href=“his%20buddy”>bully</a> died.” I stared at him and said, “Sorry, but no, I am not sorry because he hit and bullied me all through elementary school and I do not miss him at all.” The guy was astounded and said, “But you’re a girl!!!” I replied, "Yes, and I was a girl then when he hit me [the guy had selective amnesia as he did nothing to protect me when his friend beat me decades before and he was the bully’s shadow]. I stopped attending HS reunions shortly after that, remembering why I didn’t have many “warm, fuzzy” memories from a lot of the folks I knew from childhood.</p>
<p>I remember in middle school, a kid used to taunt me at the bus stop. Then one day, I started punching him, and he took about three hits before he waved his hand for me to stop. Then apparently he started a rumor that he was going to jump me at the bus stop, but instead he came to shake my hand the next day. dumbass…</p>
<p>But I admit I was a bully too sometimes. There was always at least one kid who got picked on by everybody. I wasn’t mean or anything, but I wasn’t very nice to them either. It’s hard for a lot of people, but they just have to persevere.</p>
<p>My D sent me that video, noting “I know you’ll hate this, but it’s worth watching.” Well, she was right. I thought the worthy message was lost in the headache-inducing beat, frenetic imagery and bad poetry (or whatever you’d call the spoken part).</p>