Well, time for me to jump into this thread.
I've always been bullied my whole life. But I never really took it seriously. I just told myself "He's being dumb and whatever he said was dumb. I know that if he continues to do that, it won't help him get anywhere. I am who I am and nothings going to change that."
On the second to last day of school, a kid (who's bullied everyone before) came up to me, saying I was a "dumb ---- asian who should go -------- himself." I felt a ball of rage and anger begin to grow in my stomach, and I was about to explode. But, my friend came over, and she said "Don't listen to him" and gave me a pat on the back. I'm grateful that she did. She stopped me before I could even suggest to myself to start a fight.
Now, this may not have been as severe as some people's stories, it shows that even when you feel hated, others are there to help you.
Here are some tips to countering bullies:
- Stay with friends. If you're with your friends, bullies tend to stay away. If they mess with you, they mess with your friends. And even if the bully tries to bully you; you have a few witnesses there to report him/her.
- Tell them you mean business. If this means outsmarting time, telling the teacher every time they bother someone, or even just standing up for yourself, this strategy works. It allows you to show a dominance over them. This scares the bully so they'll stay away from you. Even if people call it "snitching." I find it funny to watch them get angry as they get dragged away to the principals. Consider it a "way of ridding a nuisance for everyone." You just did everyone who gets bullied by that person a huge favor.
- Stay away from the bully. This might not be the best way of dealing with a bully, but if they arent causing too big of a problem for you, you can disregard it. After all, if they don't change now, then their future is ruined. You don't get involved, keep working towards your goals, and you'll end up at a brighter place than them.
Sometimes, telling the teacher may not always work. They just say "ignore them," or "move to that seat," and you're all like "What the fudge that doesn't make a difference." Or maybe the bully isn't scared of the teacher.Well, then you can get people like the assistance principal or principal involved. This raises the stakes and with the bully knowing you have the power to eventually give them a punishment, then they'll stay away from you. If they aren't scared of that, you can just tell the adult every time you see him/her bother you or someone else, until they get time out, suspended, etc.
Unfortunately, sometimes bullies just aren't afraid of things like that. So, sometimes I try to befriend them; I help them out with stuff, and they started to become nicer to me, knowing that I can help them with school in return of not bothering me.
If all else fails, then you can either just stick to ignoring/staying away from them, or if it's too big of a problem, transfer to another class, or if extreme, another school.
OR the bully gets suspended for the rest of the year.
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On the subject of "Self Defense" :
Self Defense is a
great thing to learn, don't get me wrong. But sometimes people don't think about what they can do to someone with that type of power, or even how to use it. I've seen some people try to defend themselves by starting a fight, and
they themselves turned into a bully after that.
I'm not saying that learning Karate, or whatever, is bad. I'm saying that
with power comes responsibility . And I don't feel that everyone who has power is responsible.
Self Defense should be used when you are in "real danger." For instance, guy threatens you with a knife? Sure, you can beat him. Guy trying to shove drugs into your mouth? "sure, you can beat him too.
Guy get you anger? Don't.
^ People who use violence to settle disagreements are usually the people who think teachers are "unfair," or that their school is "stupid." These are people who don't see what they do wrong. So, before you decide to destroy the bully's face, please remember to
EVALUATE YOUR DECISIONS, CHOICES, AND CONSEQUENCES.
But what do I know; Im only 13.