Jezebel: school bullies

Schools Start Taking Cyberbullying Seriously

Margaret — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:20:00 EST

A new California law will allow schools to expel students for cyberbullying: "You're dealing with some very fragile egos at these age levels," says the assemblyman who authored the law. [UPI]

How Many Kids Have To Die Before Bullying Is Taken Seriously?

Dodai — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

From the Megan Meier case to the cheerleader beatdown, it seems like bullying has gotten out of control. A new report out of Japan reveals that there are over 38,000 unofficial middle and high school web sites not overseen by the schools and half contain hateful messages. 40% have sexual slang and 25% display violent words like "drop dead" and "i'll kill you." It's just talk, right? They're just kids! You said — and heard worse things when you were their age. But consider the 18-year-old boy whose classmates posted a nude photo of him on one of these unofficial school sites. To add insult to injury, they sent him e-mails demanding money — blackmailing him. The teen dealt with the problem by leaping to his death at school.

Here in the US, a 12-year-old Brooklyn girl tied a belt around her neck and hung herself in her closet last week. Maria Herrera's mother claims that kids at school would "harass her, curse at her, call her 'train tracks' because she had braces" and "cut her hair." At Maria Hererra's memorial, classmates left notes that read "I am sorry" and "We won't bother you." Maria's mother says she went to the school to complain about the bullying and nothing was done.

In the UK, teachers have been instructed to crack down on bullying, manipulation and vicious behavior. But here in New York state, anti-bullying legislation has been proposed, but not passed.

Bullying is not new, but suddenly, we're living in a world where everyone's a critic. Cutting other people down is commonplace, a sport — from TV shows like America's Next Top Model and American Idol to blogs, MySpace and Facebook. Vicious words have always been present in school settings, but when we're in a society that seems to thrive on schadenfreude, how can kids feel like anyone gives a damn?

Cyber Bullying Common In Japan School Web Sites: Study [Reuters]
Bullies Blamed For Pre-Teen's Suicide [Gothamist]

Earlier: The Meanest Girls At School Are Often The Most Popular
Girl-On-Girl Crime: Schools Step In
If You Can Handle A Really Depressing Teen Suicide Story Right Now...

Hating Gwyneth Paltrow

Anna — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:30:00 EDT

Starpulse is reporting that Gwyneth Paltrow's almost-equally-as-annoying husband, Chris Martin, ran into a former schoolmate recently and "couldn't resist the opportunity to show how successful he had become."

He says, "I bumped into a guy who used to give me hell at school. He was a bully who always said I wouldn't make anything of myself. I had great pleasure asking what he was up to now. He wasn't up to much. Then I turned around and said, 'This is my wife Gwyneth.' His face dropped and he looked really embarrassed.

We think it's safe to say that — unless he'd been living under a rock in the Cotswolds for the preceding half-decade — this former schoolmate had probably already heard of Coldplay and Chris Martin's marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow. So we prefer to think that he was more embarrassed for Chris than by him.

Coldplay Star Gets Sweet Revenge On School Bully [Starpulse]