River: Bullying

[mdlbear]

Phoebe Prince, South Hadley High School's 'new girl,' driven to suicide by teenage cyber bullies Via a chain starting with Megan Kelley Hall, through seanan_mcguire to admnaismith.

The Daily News headline is misleading: there was physical bullying, too. And I don't like its tone. This one from Slate is better. There are too many to list, or even to look through. Some of the comments are harrowing.

Didn't we learn from Columbine? Evidently not. Most victims are like Phoebe -- they take it out on themselves.

I didn't get physically bullied, as far as I can remember. It was all verbal -- they called it "teasing". And luckily there were other geeks in my junior high and high school -- we called ourselves the Chess and Bridge Club and holed up in the Latin teacher's classroom before school started. Thank goodness, too, for tracking -- we mostly had our classes with the other geeks. Unlike some people whose stories I've seen, my parents never took the bullies' side, but they didn't have much advice for me, either.

The scars are still there, when I think to look for them. Mostly I never thought about them, which is probably the biggest scar of all. I still don't know where they all are.

Comments

[dsmoen.livejournal.com]

Yep, I totally hear you on all of the above.

Managed to blurp up some of my later scars, but still haven't looked at the earlier ones.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I know precisely where each of my scars is, how wide and how deep each one is, who called me "Martian" or "walking dictionary" or "four-eyes", who pummeled me every day on my way home from school. I remember throwing up into the shrubbery as I walked to school every morning for an entire year, my stomach in knots at the prospect of having to face those people again. I also remember each adult who said, "Why would those big boys want to hit a little girl like you? You must have done something to provoke them!" and "Why are you making up stories to get those good kids in trouble?" and "If you would just try to act 'normal' and stop being so smart and weird, there wouldn't be any problem!" and "Don't let them get to you. Just ignore them, and they'll get bored and stop."

{several more pages of this sort of thing redacted}

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

My scars are still there too; I just try to think about those times and those "people" as little as possible.

They were trying to destroy my happiness. The best revenge is to be happy anyway.

bullying

[roaringmouse.livejournal.com]

I have been reading both the newspaper website (www.thebostonglobe.com)and keeping track via www.wbztv.com and www.thebostonchannel.com. So, far two boys and a girl have been charged. One of the boys have been just charged with DUI. There was a possible sexual assault. The prinicpal and the school district superintendent have both been asked why are they still at the school during a town hall meeting. However, yes, it is the suburbs of Boston. But the mentality in this area is rural redneck... I know I grow in this part of the world.

[roaringmouse.livejournal.com]

I forgot this part. I saw my bullies at the 15 year reunion. Karma.. most were drunks and as narrow minded as before. They live in the same area and did not go to college.