"No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is." - Unknown Author
According to the dictionary, a bully is a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.
Though I agree with the definition, I don't believe a bully targets just smaller and weaker people; I believe their cruelty has no limits or boundaries as to who they verbally attack.
This goes for everyone--think before you speak, type, or send. Your words are powerful weapons, so use them wisely.
Bullying has become an action that is far too common inside and outside of schools. It isn't your typical "give me your lunch money or I'll beat you up" anymore. Bullying has evolved into actual abuse. It starts at a young age and truly never stops--from young kids pushing each other around to adults doing the exact same thing.
With social networks, phones, and computers being so easily accessed, cyber bullying has become a very common occurrence. Social media is a deadly weapon used by nearly all bullies. Simply because it is easier for someone to hide behind a screen and spew hateful words than it is to confront someone in person. And, quite frankly, for no reason at all. Bullies have underlying problems and insecurities that no one knows about. They will use that as an excuse to lash out on others--that is why it is important to remember that it is not you, it is them.
The many forms of bullying are frightening. It's not so much like the mean girls you see in the movies throwing out cheesy insults, either. Bullying is now making statuses about somebody, texting them, taking a picture of them and posting it online, talking about them when they walk by, laughing at them, and so on. I have found this to be very common in high school; typically among girls but not limited to boys, also. There are kids out there that are too scared to go to school and face those that hurt them. No one should ever feel like he can't go anywhere because of the fear of other people, especially school. While you are on one end of a screen saying hurtful things about someone, they are on the other end of it feeling the horrible effects of your hurtful words.
Beating someone verbally is the worst thing you can do to them. If someone is different from you, it does not make them small. No one is going to look like you, be like you, act like you, or have the same interests that you do. That is no excuse for you to treat them like they are weak, and it does not make you better than them, either.
We have all experienced a bully in some way, shape, or form. Often times, it is something easy to brush off and roll your eyes at; however, others will not be able to do that so easily. For some, as the hurtful words continue, so does the self-loathing. It is truly sickening knowing that bullying leads to the consideration and attempts of suicide. A person can only take so much, and sometimes they feel though as if that is their only option, and that is the sad truth.
Bullying someone no matter what age you are is vile. It is inhumane. And it is wrong. The name calling, the whispering, the posts about others online, and the way some are treated needs to be put to an end. When these things are done, those victims are being destroyed mentally, making them feel like they are worthless. Everyone around us are human beings and are very fragile. Remember that the next time you feel the need to bring them down.
Those names you get called, the way you get treated and looked at, I know that hurts you more deeply than anyone will ever be able to understand. But remember, those and that person are only temporary. Do not let these people define how you feel about yourself and make you feel small. You will move on from this, you are strong; however, they will always be a bully. I once read that if someone is trying to bring you down, they are already below you. That is solid truth and you need to remember that.
You could either be one of two people: the one who smiles at others and lifts them up, or you could be the one who destroys someone mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Who do you want to be?
