mandymoore

Topsyjane

Meiran

also, I don't mean "forgiveness" in a religious way. It's a concept that is certainly separate from god in my mind. It's a key to being free from your past and being the awesomest person you can possibly be!

amy amnesia

Single.

Nelle_Yecats

One day she put her hands on my friend, and a circle formed. I was scared that my friend was gonna get beat down. She surprised me by beating the crap out of that girl in front of our entire grade. It was, in a word, AWESOME.

My mum taught me how to fight when I was six, and basically told me if someone were to lay a hand on me, I better give them the kind of beating they'd never forget. Only in self defense of course.

Also...there's something to be said for bullies who learn their lesson. Kudos to those who admit it and have turned it around.

ETrain

I had death threats that were so seriously delivered (things like "we can push you under the bus as it drives off and say you tripped") that I would always sit up front so I could get off the bus and sprint home before the others could catch me.

My sin? I was a bookworm type--a little girl that at 12 could recite Nietzsche, Plato and the periodic table but couldn't understand the dynamics of the pack mentality of teenagers.

I was 5'2 when I gave up on high school at 16--a thin, neurotic girl that took 15 years to finally realize that I have power over my situation. Oh, and I never told my parents. I was ashamed to admit that I was that 'stupid' that I couldn't somehow make the world like me.

I hope his parents win and move. To Billy - hang in there hon. You're worth 1,000 of them. Prevail, move on with your life and forget them. Since I left that hideous world I have been a volunteer firefighter, a search and rescue specialist, and am now the senior database administrator for a very large website and a metalsmith in my spare time. The last time I checked, two of my tormentors were alcoholic wash-ups and another was still living at home with his mother at 39 with no prayer of ever being a productive member of society.

alorinna

arirang

Then, many years later, my mom told me that a boy I'd always thought of as one of the main bullies cried to his mother because he said I picked on him and called him fat. I have absolutely no recollection of this, but I don't doubt it.

So, not that this is true for this kid or every kid, but my suspicion is that many victims of bullies are bullies themselves from time to time. It's all part of being a kid. This one will probably grow up to be super sensitive and get all the ladies.

Beki

Oh. And on behalf of those people you bullied? F**K YOU.

Neopatra

Tea Em Gee Eff

Neopatra

If it makes you evil, I'm right there with you. I would have had a great time with that tidbit ; )

Meiran

lovingyourworkrightnow

Triphena

Siblings are great. And yes it was very amusing, I didn't find it funny then but now... I giggle about it.

Pheromonal

On a somewhat related note, however, on High School Reunion I actually laughed out loud when the "popular girl" said she had been married four times. Does that make me evil? :D

Tea Em Gee Eff

cde

It never works that way, and that is probably one of the hardest, most painful lessons of life. That person who made your life hell probably doesn't even really remember you. You drive up in your nice car, knowing you have a nice house and happy marriage, that you've succeeded in becoming successful AND a good person...

And they don't give a shit. They have their nice car and their good job too. They probably don't even remember you. You've spent half your life trying to get the best revenge by living well, and they don't even remember your name.

Sorry, I'm a little bitter lately. I was bullied because my parents didn't make as much money as the other kids parents, but I didn't see that as sufficient reason to act like I was stupider than they were. I have achieved a bit with my life, and my first reunion is this summer. I can't decide if I should go, or just say "screw it" and have a party with my actual friends instead.

Meiran

fetishizedarmadlilo

haguenite

the_wiggle

the_wiggle

the_wiggle

the_wiggle

I went to a small private school and got bullied even worse than in elementary school. I am dark-skinned, I developed early, I'm a big nerd, all the usual stupid reasons. The only thing that saved me was when I learned to be sarcastic - turns out that if you laugh instead of cry, it's less fun for them to torture you.

This happens EVERYWHERE. Bullying is part of our culture which is based on popularity contests and high school hierarchies. When adults still act this way at work and in their personal lives, how are their kids going to learn any different?

durgalicious

thumbelina

Awww, poor little bullies! They're victims themselves, wah wah wah. Poor, poor them. Whoever said 'you can bite me' in a previous comment? I'd like to buy you a drink someday. And then a few more and maybe an order of nachos.

But the people I really hate are the teachers/administrators/parents who do NOTHING about bullying, like the teacher in the article who said the victim 'had it coming to him'. Oh sure, the people at the school say they have a 'zero tolerance' policy about bullying. But they can't be everywhere and see everything. So when there's a fight, the bullies are going to lie and claim that the victim started it. And other kids don't want that same thing happen to them, so they aren't going to going to contradict the bullies either (unless they are awesome). So nothing gets done and they figure things will work themselves out via the 'laws of the jungle'. And so continues the wonderful cycle.

I salute the previous posters who have grown up to become teachers against bullying. It's too easy to just say, bullying is human nature and it's always going to happen and we can't do anything. I'd hope that would make people aspire to be something better than just a tank of squabbling crabs.

Topsyjane

blossom_culp

pheagan

Well, that, and being the new kid at a prep school.

And, thirteen year old girls are evil. Seriously. Fuck waterboarding - just put suspected terrorists in a room with a bunch of seventh grade girls: they will be crying and begging to talk in no time.

I am only sort of being facetious.

On the upside, though, the article also said that psychologists are discouraging giving out drugs for these kids and instead encouraging therapy to help them develop better social skills, and to learn to cope with day to day stresses in interacting with one's peers. Wish they had thought of that when I was in junior high...

That_little_attention_whore

MomoMcgee

Now my S/O's son is a bully -- his mother encourages it -- and I want to beat him repeatedly until he gets the message that bullying is NEVER acceptable. He's no longer welcome in my home because he torments my dogs.

Bindarra

Bullies are likely the way they are because they are victims themselves. A lot of them are abused at home. My second grade bully, I found out years later, was being sexually abused by her father during that time. Bullies are in pain, and want to inflict pain on someone else, to deflect from their own pain.

Laws should be passed so that schools have ZERO tolerance of bullying, and school teachers and administrators must stongly enforce the no bullying laws, and not turn their heads when they see or hear a child being bullied. I raised my now 16 year old to respect and love her self, and not take crap from anyone, and to treat others as she would want to be treated. The Golden Rule is cliche, yes, but it's a good rule to follow.

cynicchick

AnnieGetYourFun

I was a nerd till sophomore year in High School but never had bullying problems. If somebody pushed me and the adults around didn't care to do anything I was expected to push back. My Dad would pay my God Brothers to toughen me up and teach me how to fight.

Final

I was teased mercilessly growing up. Grades K-6 were pure hell and grades 7-12 were only made better by the fact that I made friends with a bunch of other picked-on kids. I was teased for some strange combination of being too smart/too creative. It culminated in 9th grade when a group of people I thought were my friends invited me to a get-together at Jamba Juice which was arranged for the deliberate purpose of heckling me/calling me names.

Being teased in high school made me horribly depressed, angry, and at times very fucked up in the head. I graduated early from high school to get away from a lot of the bitterness I experienced as the result of having been teased. This guy that I had a crush on in middle school ended up getting arrested for being involved in an elaborate school shooting plan when we were in 10th grade. They had written a hit list of about 16 people, and one person on the list was this girl who used to yell at me in the halls, throw shit at me in class, spread rumors about me, and call me horrible, nasty names and basically made all of middle school horrible for me. When I heard that she was on the list, my first thought wasn't, "Oh no, how could my friend even consider killing Ashley?" It was, "Dammit dude, why did you have to get caught? That bitch could have been toast!" After that, I knew that I had to get away, and that I wouldn't be happy so long as I were in high school. Three years later, and I am mentally sound and happy and doing quite well. It doesn't last forever.

Jadoremonchat

BicSharpie

Tea Em Gee Eff

I was bullied, though, and unfortunately it was by my stepbrother and stepsister, so there was no escape. Making it worse was the fact that I totally idolized them, which, in retrospect, might be why they felt so comfortable treating me like shit. My dad and stepmom didn't do much, rationalizing it by saying that I needed to stick up for myself. (Didn't hurt that my stepmom was pretty abusive to me as well.) Anyways, I was validated a few years back when both of them, independently of one another, apologized to me for the way they had treated me when we were kids.

I'm embarrassed to say that, in high school, I was a Mean Girl quite a bit. I think it's because I had no concept of how to have a respectful relationship. To me, they were all about power struggles. Now I know better, but it took a while.

whynotshesaid

Of all the things I hate this girl for -- still burning strong all these years later -- I hate her most for making me even just a little like her. However, karma didn't wait for her to grow up, and an incident senior year of high school made her a pariah. (Worse than sex/pregnancy, take my word for it.) I doubt I'll ever see her at a reunion, so I'll never have to choose between confrontation and turning the other cheek.

Savvy-faire

prissy76

andromache

graham_but_not_a_cracker

graham_but_not_a_cracker

That poor kid was by all appearances fairly normal, except he had some major emotional issues that led him to make up increasingly aggrandized stories about himself which he just had to tell everyone, and upon being provoked he would usually have a screaming crying meltdown, which often included throwing things and trying to hit people. We girls would tease him and provoke him mercilessly, and when he'd inevitably end up crying and trying attack us the boys would use it as an excuse to knock him down and make him beg for the right to get up. Our schemes got increasingly elaborate over the years and the torment increasingly worse, literally to the point where the bullied boy put a pencil through the thigh of one of the boys who was worst to him. He got a similar treatment from adults as Billy - at best he was advised to fight back, at worst he was accused of causing it all. All the more frightening considering how we're talking about a kid who was eight when this started. It died out in sixth grade when his mother was head chaperon for the girls on a class camping trip, and she told us what we could tease her son about, and encouraged us to do it as often as possible. I can honestly say that was one of the most sickening and awkward moments of my life (and trust me, she detailed out such things as bedwetting and thumbsucking, so I doubt it was a clever ploy). It was a terrible wake-up call as to how truly fucked up his life was, and most of us left him alone after that.

He moved out of state after that (for his dad's job, not because of the bullying), but in 11th grade some of us got together and wrote him him an email apologizing for what we'd done to him. I doubt, though, that it helped him at all. But yeah, middle school and high school for me were the karmic kick-back, for sure...

The Boyg

MadameOvary

To make it worse, the teacher didn't help me at all, and would make sarcastic comments about "Tracey hiding in the bathroom again." Ugh...

Too bad we moved away...I'd love to hear that those jerks were paying in spades for their bad karma. *sigh* Thanks for letting me vent, ladies. :(

Tea Em Gee Eff

Yeah, he has iron-cast balls. I also know a guy who was bullied and ostracised till he was 18 and went to university. He was the only guy from his school to get into Cambridge, and now he's one of the most popular guys in my year. Figures.

yourfacemymace

land surveyor k

weetziebat

I really think I, hopefully, have never bullied anyone, though I suppose everyone has though few will admit to it. Truth is the smallest action can have an affect on someone, and you never know when a small brush off when you're feeling pissy can really hurt another person.

lifeisgoooood

Stupid grade school.

nerdsausage is a busysausage

nerdsausage is a busysausage

here

NOLAgirl

BicSharpie

laughingacademy

cde

I did end up talking to the kid (and his older sister) when I went back to public school. No resentment towards me really.

cde

BicSharpie

Can you see how you might not be conveying your experience with the intent you meant to?

PICKLES IN MY TUNA

<- the chubby girl growing up

lindsayt

Dauphine

petuniacat

nardo218

BicSharpie

takeitasred

BicSharpie

OMFG A MAN ON MAH INTERWEBS?!

That's basically what you are saying.
If he was a woman saying she got bullied for having big boobs at 12, which you hear about all the time, you would not be reacting the same way. Or if he said he was ridiculed for having a small dick, or a girl for having no boobs at 16/17.

cde

PICKLES IN MY TUNA

They can't prove that you are/are not small. However they have just admitted to studying your package as a group, therefore they have caught the gay.

Xavoc

She seemed to decide I was worthy confidante, though, for some reason. Many a math class was spent listening to tales of her weekend orgies. *shrug* I just blushed and said "that sounds nice."

nardo218

I'd imagine that for boys to tease and spread rumors about the size another boy's dick (a part of his body he's probably very self-conscious about) would be extremely hurtful and embarassing.

petuniacat

PICKLES IN MY TUNA

TheGuvnah

However, most kids get bullied for the same reason most adults get bullied. Scapegoating, mob mentality; everyone at a certain age is in so much pain and they take it out on an available source. Sometimes the kid is or acts gay and the kids think that makes him open season to be dumped on. Every society needs a pressure valve, somewhere to release all the hatred and anger they have to store up.

Sometimes it takes a reason that the populace feels makes the bullying justified. Maybe the kid who's bullied is annoying. He's a geek, he has no social skills, he's a curve breaker, he reminds teachers of quizzes and homework. However, nothing exists in a vacuum; sometimes the kid who's bullied is mean or obnoxious to start with - the Dustin Diamond effect.

"Kids can be cruel" because they have poor abstract thinking skills and aren't good at putting themselves in another person's place. They think of others like the most thick headed Republican you've ever tried to debate with. The bullied kid must be ALL BAD because he's an other, he's different, he's not like the rest of them. The bullying is okay because they're not bullying a real person.

nardo218

The worst bullies, far and away, were the rich ones. I knew which bullies with bad home lives or behavioral problems, and I could at least kind of pity them. Like they weren't total wastes of oxygen and it wasn't really all their fault if they'd just had a better example. The WOOOORST bullies were the rich kids, because--to my junior high mind--they had the resources to know better. They were barely self-aware, of course, but juuust enough to know that mommy and daddy had major bank, and that's where their attitude came from. Dicks.

tscheese

Me too. Maybe if "social awareness" was presented as a school subject, with tests and readings and homework, I'd have been able to figure some of it out, since all of it sailed right over my bookworm head as I studied. I am only half-joking (apparently I haven't lost the earnestness!) because there's got to be some way to help those exuding the aura of the weak described so well in the crab study above.

takeitasred

i was never bullied... i think it was because i made myself forgettable- never stood out for any reason. i was taking enough beatings at home. i feel bad now that i never stuck up for any of my peers that got bullied.

halestorm

sarabadara

cde

Also, after having gotten to know a lot of people from different income levels, I've learned that even some of those from very wealthy, privileged, "perfect" backgrounds have grisly skeletons in the closet.

petuniacat

Over the years I've tried to understand why I always seemed to say/do the wrong thing, and why everyone else was so repulsed by me. I thought maybe it was because I was introverted, awkward, seemed slow but was actually smart in a bookish/geeky way, or because I was from Africa & living in council estates, bad areas, etc in a school full of blonde rich girls with beautiful houses. But actually, talking to my little sister, who went to the same school and was wildly popular, she said it was none of those things. It was just that I didn't know how to make my differences work for me - I was just too earnest, sincere, lacking in self-awareness, and completely blind to social patterns.. figuring out how groups worked, how to present myself, and how to gain respect in the adolescent hellhole that was our school.

So, maybe, basically, I was just a social retard. I doubt this counts for all bullying (some bullies are just assholes).. but in my case, that's probably what marked me out as the loser.

spikenard

that comment was way out of line but pretty typical for him...

TheGuvnah

cde

Yeah, no, basically the only way to stop them is the Ender Wiggen route. Beat one of them so severely that they become afraid of you and never touch you again.

Xavoc

You can just blow me. Eat me raw, and bite down hard.

The kids that made my life hell, and scarred me for eternity were the assholes with the wealthiest families, every privilege and advantage, and parents (and hordes of other adults) who were always on their side. Even when they were wrong. Especially when they were wrong. Parents who bought them new cars, horses and ski-boats while they were carrying straight-D's through high school. Never said no to them about anything. Never used an unkind word or a harsh tone of voice to them, in fear of bruising their pwecious self-esteem.

While I was never a moment's trouble to anyone and consistently got good grades, they were the kids who always had drugs because their parents made sure they always had money. They were the kids who held keg parties in their parents' homes before they were old enough to vote. Their parents raised a generation of bottomlessly-selfish, consciousless monsters.

Those of us who had less money, less privilege, Goodwill clothing and absentee parents ("She beat you up? What did you do to MAKE HER beat you up?")didn't go around making anyone's lives hell. We were too busy working shitty afterschool jobs, keeping our grades up, trying to stay invisible, and trying to stay alive.

So don't hand me that line of crap about the secret suffering of bullies.

And one more thing: They stopped bullying me when I started fighting back. Viciously. Hooray for ME.

Neopatra

When I was in school it seems like it was the same kids getting harrassed, over, and over again. If you showed weakness it was dumping chum in the water.

Still, I wonder why assault charges aren't being filed here? Why can't the mother file a police report? (J.D. Regent?)

If an adult socks a guy in his office in the face, his ass will be at least temporarily impounded by the po-po. WTF?

lola82

At one point years later I was attending an eagle scout ceremony for a friend (dressed in all my boy/eagle scout gear) and the principal came up to me to tell me how wonderful it was to have so many fine upstanding young men in the school, and that I was one of them. I chewed him out, including swearing, in front of my parents and peers. All my parents could say later on was "Wow, he really deserved that didn't he." while chuckling. It took them a good while to come to grips with everything I'd had to overcome in my life peer wise. I still had a long ways to go in growing past much of this, but I can't stand to see bullying behavior go unchecked.

I spent some time as an assistant scout master after I turned 18, and tried to help a kid that reminded me a lot of myself. A few years later he took his father's service revolver and killed himself.

Xavoc

yikesalways

cde

My best friend's parents actually said this to me in high school. We were both shy and smart, and were therefore picked on (never physically though).

Her parents turned to us one day and said (I'm paraphrasing) "They pick on you because you're different. You're different because you're smarter than they are. Right now is the best time in their lives, but you two will go on to better things. Then you'll be able to come back for high school reunions, and you'll see that we're right." It actually DID make an impression, and helped us both to care a little less about being "different". Of course, we were laready about 16 at the time, so htere was a light at the end of the tunnel.

And truth be told, I live in NYC, my dream city. I make one hell of a living, and I'm great at my job. I have the best husband ever. My life is, in short, really awesome.

Sometimes I go back to visit my mom and see the "popular girls" from high school. They invariably have the same haircut and same clothes. I'm gussing they're not living their dream life.

yarnmule

I agree with you. I've worked in public education for 10+ years and when the environment is diverse, there is less violence between students. When I say diverse, I mean a diversity of groups/cliques for kids to find their niche. It's when you have one dominate group that all hell breaks loose.

It also helps that our athletic teams frequently get their asses handed to them. It keeps a physically strong group of males fairly humble. The choir, band, art club and theatre groups have more accolades then the athletic teams at my school. Put it this way, I have more male students that wear eyeliner than wear a varsity jacket.

Articles like this remind me to be vigilant, my school is a unique environment but that doesn't mean bullying isn't happening.

thelmabeldwin

petuniacat

sarabadara

Cam/ron

On the hand, classmates, neighbors and cousins have told me that I was a "retard" most of my teenage years because of my nervous tics and my odd-sounding speaking voice. All of that abuse made me very shy, introverted and more comfortable speaking my mind through the keyboard than my mouth (surprise, I went on to become a professional writer).

Cam/ron

There was a story on the local (Seattle) news a couple of weeks ago that sent chills down my spine. A developmentally disabled girl in her early teens was "befriended" by several other children who told her they wouldn't be her friend unless she stole money from her mom's purse and gave it to them. She was in a special needs classroom and once her mom found about how she was being bullied and taken advantage of and brought it to the school's attention, aides were assigned to the classroom so that someone would have their eyes on the girl every second of the day. Still, the school let her slip through the cracks - it was later discovered that an older boy was going with the girl into the bathroom and having sex with her. The aides apparently didn't notice what was going on, or didn't do anything about it. To make matters worse, the girl was seeing a counselor, and had told the counselor what the boy was doing to her. The counselor didn't report it to anyone - apparently her supervisor agreed with her that it didn't need to be reported under the law. Now the girl's mom has her in a private school, and is suing the pants of the school.

petuniacat

mercymercyme

I never really understood why I was bullied, I think the worst part about it was that I was bullied by people I thought were my friends. I'd like to think that they were going through some hard times themselves but the fact that thinking about it can hurt as much today as it did back then because it happens at such a critical stage in childhood, makes it hard for me to forgive and forget. There was a lot of bullying going on in my town starting in elementary and staying with you through high school.

I really feel for that kid, and hope that when I have kids that they don't end up on either end of that spectrum.

waytogeaux

HPgirl

snidelywhiplash

Neopatra

satori

And let me just say, I went to an ubergeek hs, Bronx Science, and let me just say. bullying? Still happened. People were just vicious.

HPgirl

It's no surprise that some children act out by punishing their weaker peers in the same way. Unfairly, pointlessly, cruelly, and possibly with a strong physical component.

Evil-Jeremy

MsFeasance

Oh yeah, and there was a series of angry drunken emails sent to a former friend about 10 years ago. But a few months as a 1st grader and 2 months of emails hardly seems like I deserve all this shit.

goldenmonkey

ULookinAtMyJunk is the Hate Mitigator

As much as I would like to think I now can forgive people and as deeply as I would like to think I've buried this, I find it amazing how just reading something like this can bring back the memory of the fear as it it were yesterday, along with a hellish amount of anger.

About a month ago, at the gym, I saw a woman around my age who had the same type of red hair as one of the bullies, and the same physical build. I couldn't relax until I got close enough to her face to know wasn't her. (Yes, I actually got off the elliptical machine early to walk past her.) If it had been her...? What would I have done? Confronted her? That's exactly what the part of me who would give up an elliptical machine with a 30-minute limit was going to do.

And no, neither bully has come to any of the high school reunions. I don't know if they've changed. I would like to think they have. But I would also like to think I have.

bratkeeper1729

I've been teased and made fun of virtually all of my life. I was born pigeon toed, add riddled, with a big lower lip, I've had tinitus and hearing loss since the age of 2 due to ear infections, and light sensitive eyes. My last name serves as a convenient replacement to Rudolph as well.

So, where to start? I've been accused of being retarded because of how I walked, called a n*gg*r based upon my large lower lip, called a ch*nk because I squint a lot due to my eyes being so sensitive to light. (Oddly enough I'm a pale-assed whiteboy, that was apparently born a poor black/chinese one.) In kindergarten I was nicknamed the pokey puppy because kids thought I was slow and stupid. Not only am I gifted with add and attention span issues that were untreated until adulthood, but I don't hear people very well either. So, I miss directions, or misunderstand them.

Most of my days in school were spent merely wishing that people would leave me the f*ck alone. The bullying really only got worse as I grew older. Teachers assumed I was stupid, because I wrote slowly. (Yet my standardized tests always showed differently) Classes that required me to show my work (math) showed me to be struggling, because I couldn't complete the work satisfactorily in the time I had.

In high school my belongings were stolen and vandalized, my car was broken into several times. I was punched, stabbed repeatedly with pencils over the course of a year in spanish class, and had a razor blade run down my arm.

My final oral exam w/ my Spanish teacher revealed the following phrase, "Wow, you actually really do know this. Why weren't you applying yourself?" Upon telling her why, and holding back the tears of shame while doing so, she responded with, "Yeah, I really should have done something about that." She'd known about the harassment the whole time, and had done nothing.

And here was the kicker. If you ever told anyone about what was going on, the kids would redouble their efforts to make your life miserable for getting them in trouble.

What separates the bullies from the bullied? Being different.

Xavoc

But talking wistfully of a time when people are more accepting of each other is really silly. This is a trait that is part of what makes humans so survivable of a species that we've lasted this long. Aggression is dangerous and hurts people, but it's essential to those same people protecting themselves from future hardships. Life is not safe, never will be, anyone telling you different is about to take advantage.

The key is helping the children learn that they should never count on being protected, but also understand how it feels when you are protected. If you are always protected you will never know the difference, and you will never understand the impact you have when you protect someone else.

emptee_head

BicSharpie

Some states have tougher anti-bullying laws, but we really need federal legislation that spells out exactly what schools have to do about this stuff, and then holds them to it.

apollonia666

This kid is getting picked on because his parents baby him too much. Someone needs to teach him to inflict physical damage whenever he's physically attacked (the bullies will find an easier target) and to stop reacting emotionally every time someone teases him. People hurt him for sport because he lets them do it.
He's 14 and should have more respect for himself than to let people treat him like this. It's time to man up.

jeanclaudevandammage

petunia942

While I was very seldom the victim of out-right bullying, it was only because I was really good at pretending to be somebody other than myself so that i could fit in with whichever group happened to be around at the moment. So knowing that there was that one person who would accept me for who I really was, even if it was just for one class period a day made the rest of the day so much easier.

I don't know if I'm making any sense so I'm going to stop now by saying thank you to tscheese and all the others who helped look out for others, and specifically Jaclyn Oakley - THANK YOU

whats_in_a_name

As for why bullying continues to exist, there are too many good theories. The main one is that everybody craves power in one form or the other, they learn about that at the playground, the classroom, the streets and home. With power, comes strength, liberty and independence - and often times, the desire for that sadly comes at the expense of others.

Cam/ron

amy amnesia

Word. My 99% white junior high was one of the least tolerant and diverse places on earth.

takeitasred

From that point onward I seemed to get into one or two fights a year. But that was enough to let them know I would only take so much.

chargernj

I know. I was being overly simplistic. What I meant is that I've noticed (and yes this is a gross generalization) societies with a homogenized, "Christian," insular population seem, despite what they say to the contrary, to be a lot more socially tolerant of bullying and generally brutal behavior in their children than do diverse, politically liberal places like NYC. Not saying a boatload of badness doesn't go down at NYC schools every day. I'm just saying that while right-wing, religious, fanatical red-state types decry New York as evil, at least we don't put up with our kids beating the crap out of other kids. Or, you know, shooting them.

ihateyourescalade