Letter to the Editor,
There was an article in the last edition of The Rocket about bullying. I agree with several of the points the gentleman made such as the fact that bullies exist outside of school and I also believe that we should be teaching victims to realize that it is not their fault. These are all valid points in my opinion.
However, as much as I agree with these specific points, I strongly disagree with the idea that a bully’s behavior is in any way excusable. The author suggests that the bully may be mean because perhaps her mother yelled at her that morning. I think it is unacceptable for anyone to put his misery onto anyone else even if he had a “bad day.” Let’s go back to the days when people said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Today, if you look at any websites covering the topics of bullying, they all stress the importance of the child understanding that it is in no way his fault. Some people may be just mean and miserable. Bullying isn’t about the victim; it is about someone being mean and cruel.
Having said this, I don’t think bullying is something that can be completely stopped. Bullying is something that exists everywhere, even outside of school like mentioned before. Someday you might find yourself being bullied by someone like your boss or anther coworker. The key to bullying lies in teaching the victim that it is not his/her fault. In today’s society, technology makes it near impossible for anyone to escape from bullying. Social media, texting, and even email are all outlets for bullies. Children can no longer go home to escape the horrors of bullying; it follows them everywhere. This is why we need to stress parent involvement in children’s lives to prevent bullying and we need to teach our children that it is never, in anyway, their fault. Bullying is never excusable. I cannot stress enough to encourage people to express their anger or problems in a constructive way rather than forcing their miseries onto another human being.
