"Bullicide" / "Bullycide"...

[ChefChiTown]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/07/01/pn.teen.bullicide.iain.steele.cnn

(Video Clip)

For those of you who don't know (because I didn't until I watched this clip), "bullycide" occurs when somebody, more than likely a child, is tormented by a bully to such a degree that they end up committing suicide.

After seeing this clip, I looked up some other articles on bullycide and I was shocked when I found out that bullycide is on the verge of being considered a form of involuntary manslaughter. Meaning: If a child teases, torments, picks on and bullies another child, the bullying child would be charged with involuntary manslaughter if the child he/she picked on ended up killing himself/herself.

Legzman started a thread not too long ago about the "Pusification Of America" and I really wanted to put this article in there, but I thought that this might deserve a thread of it's own.

So, what do you think? Is "bullycide" really a serious thing and should these bullies be treated as killers in situations like this, OR, is this just another form of parents refusing to teach their kids that life isn't fair?

Personally, I think it's kind of silly. Kids get bullied ALL...THE...TIME. It's part of growing up. Kids are dicks. When I was in school, it was hard to find a kid who wasn't a dick, you know? I got teased, I got made fun of, I got laughed at...I turned out ok.

This is where the parents need to step in and stop being fucking hypocrites. Now-a-days, parents treat their own children like saints and baby the shit out of them, refusing to raise their voice or even slap them on the wrist when it's appropriate and well deserved, yet, they'll turn around and treat other people's children like they're the spawn of Satan and demand severe punishments for their actions, especially if their own child is a victim of their actions.

It's ridiculous. Kids are mean. Kids are punks. Kids make fun of eachother. Kids laugh at eachother. Kids cry. Kids get hurt. But, kids also get over it. It's part of growing up. The more we baby our children and keep them sheltered from reality, the more often sad stories like this will keep popping up.

My parents raised me with realism. Not optimism or hopes of fantasy; REALISM. They explained to me that life isn't fair. They explained to me that kids will pick on me. They explained to me that people would make me cry.

They also explained to me that even though life isn't fair, there are still a lot of things that are pretty amazing, so I shouldn't let life get me down. They explained to me that even though kids will pick on me, I shouldn't care what those idiots thought of me because I shouldn't want to be friends with people like that anyway. They explained to me that even though people would make me cry, other people would also make me smile, so I shouldn't let a few tears ruin my day. They also explained to me that the world doesn't revolve around me and that I should expect to have hard days every once in a while.

Apparently, this kid was raised to believe that the world revolved around him and that life was perfect. Well, I got news for you parents...it's not. Stop lying to your children and raising them to believe that nothing bad will ever happen to them. Because...it will. So, be a good parent and teach your kid how to deal with pain, because they're going to feel a lot of it throughout their life. Quit putting the blame on everybody else when your child gets hurt and help them become strong enough to handle the pressure of life before it's too late.

 

[zaxxon]

I think bullying is a big problem, and it's a bigger problem than it used to be. Kids aren't just bullied at school, but there's also Cyberbullying taking place online.

Bullying isn't just causing "bullyciding", but it's also why we're seeing the number of school (and college) shooting skyrocketing. Teachers can't, or aren't doing anything. Parenting is non-existent. Everyone wants to shift the responsibility to someone else.

Being a victim of bullying doesn't make a kid a pussy -- but a lot of them just don't know how to deal with it these days. It sounds like you had some parents who taught you well. Unfortunately most kids these days only have 1 parent, and a lot of kids don't have one parent who really cares about them, or knows how to raise them. It's not enough for us to just say "It's the parents problem", because this just perpetuates the endless circle of blame.

What I'd like to see is a class taught in middle school, maybe just a half a semester, which deals with how to deal with bullies, because bullying is a problem even after you get out of school. Sort of like a speech and communication class. Basically a "how to not be a pussy" class, focusing on conflict resolution, and if necessary self defense.

 

[Jagger69]

It depends on the degree and type of bullying and whether actions have been taken in an attempt to stop it without success. Bullying isn't legal for adults (harassment or even assault) and it shouldn't be tolerated outside normal bounds for kids either. There's a big difference between teasing a kid because he's fat or has zits or wears glasses and taking physical action against him, extorting money from him or making serious threats to physically harm him on a continual basis. Normally, if adults or authorities intervene in the bullying, it stops. Problem is, a lot of kids are embarrassed to report the bullying and they allow it to spin their lives out of control....even to the point of contemplating or even committing suicide. I do not believe a child should be held legally responsible for a suicide that took place ostensibly due to his bullying if the bullying was never reported or acted upon by parents or authorities. You can't expect kids to police themselves as adults would (or should). If, on the other hand, there was an attempt to intervene without a positive result and the bullying continued and perhaps was even accelerated, I think there should be some serious ramifications under juvenile law for younger kids (below 16) and, depending on the type and level of the bullying, even more severe penalties for kids in their late teens who should be old enough to know better. Each incident should be looked at individually and no blanket punishment policy should be invoked in my opinion.

 

[BlueBalls]

Chef you're taking a very narrow view of what bullying actually is. Yes teasing and name calling is one form of it which can be bad enough. But there are varying degrees of bullying; that include threats of violence, to actual violence along with psychological torment. All of which can lead a young mind into what they feel like is a hopeless situation with only one way out. If a child is going to be as vindictive enough to carry out these sorts of assaults on another for a sustained period of time then they deserve to be reprimanded for them. And if that includes charges then so be it.

You talk a lot in your post about how children should be told that the world does not revolve around them and that life is hard and whilst I agree with that sentiment, you only seem to be looking at it from the victims side. What about the abuser, why should they have the right to make another persons life and especially at that age whlst their minds and personalities are still growing, why should they have the right to perform these actions whether verbal or physical upon another child without any consequences for doing so? Yes life is hard, but it's people like that who have some sort of superiority complex and who feel pleasure in dishing out misery to others who should be ranted against in your post, not those who are the victims of such actions. There is no place in any society for a person like that, these actions are disgraceful and should be made public for all to see and judge.

If someone has pushed another to suicide because of their actions then they deserve to be punished for them and I hope this law is introduced because there are far to many bullys out there who are never punished for there actions against another. Which will, if unpunished lead to the mentality that those types of actions are acceptable and they are not.

 

[Magnet]

Bullying is a problem through middle school but once I got into highschool I didnt see a whole lot of bullying going on. Maybe I was just out of the swing of things but generally people liked each other in my class.

I think part of the problem is kids dont get to settle it like they used to. You know with fighting? Teachers now a days tell the students to tell an adult, well when you do that, chances are you are going to get picked on even more.

I would also like to see some of these kids use some common sense. You have these girls sending naked pictures of themselves or having sex at 13 or 14, well what the fuck do you think is going to happen?

Kids these days have no common sense.

 

[ChefChiTown]

Chef you're taking a very narrow view of what bullying actually is. Yes teasing and name calling is one form of it which can be bad enough. But there are varying degrees of bullying; that include threats of violence, to actual violence along with psychological torment. All of which can lead a young mind into what they feel like is a hopeless situation with only one way out. If a child is going to be as vindictive enough to carry out these sorts of assaults on another for a sustained period of time then they deserve to be reprimanded for them. And if that includes charges then so be it.

You talk a lot in your post about how children should be told that the world does not revolve around them and that life is hard and whilst I agree with that sentiment, you only seem to be looking at it from the victims side. What about the abuser, why should they have the right to make another persons life and especially at that age whlst their minds and personalities are still growing, why should they have the right to perform these actions whether verbal or physical upon another child without any consequences for doing so? Yes life is hard, but it's people like that who have some sort of superiority complex and who feel pleasure in dishing out misery to others who should be ranted against in your post, not those who are the victims of such actions. There is no place in any society for a person like that, these actions are disgraceful and should be made public for all to see and judge.

If someone has pushed another to suicide because of their actions then they deserve to be punished for them and I hope this law is introduced because there are far to many bullys out there who are never punished for there actions against another. Which will, if unpunished lead to the mentality that those types of actions are acceptable and they are not.

You're right...the parents of the bullies need to step up to the plate too. But, most kids are dicks through most of their school years, so bullying should be expected. I'm not trying to divert any of the bully-parents' responsibility, but if the victim of the bullying is taught and raised to know the realities of life, those kids will have a much easier time dealing with bullies.

When I was in school (grade school), there was a kid who ALWAYS used to pick on me. He used to slap books out of my hands, call my mom and dad a bunch of names, make fun of my weight, my haircut, my clothes, etc. But, since my parents taught me how to deal with people like that, I knew that it wasn't the end of the world. I knew that I could get past his torment and move on with my life. It came to a head one day where he said something smart about my dad and then I shoved him to the ground as hard as I could. From that point on, he never said another word to me.

I'm not saying that every single kid who gets bullied should start a physical fight, but their parents should be teaching them the harsh reality of life and educate them on how to defend themselves (physically, verbally and emotionally).

Bullying is a problem through middle school but once I got into highschool I didnt see a whole lot of bullying going on. Maybe I was just out of the swing of things but generally people liked each other in my class.

I think part of the problem is kids dont get to settle it like they used to. You know with fighting? Teachers now a days tell the students to tell an adult, well when you do that, chances are you are going to get picked on even more.

I would also like to see some of these kids use some common sense. You have these girls sending naked pictures of themselves or having sex at 13 or 14, well what the fuck do you think is going to happen?

Kids these days have no common sense.

Exactly...kids are irrational morons, not that that's a shock. The second that a child who is getting picked on tells an adult, that child is only going to get picked on, made fun of and beat up even more than they already were. I'm not saying that's cool, but it's the truth.

I remember hearing stories from my parents about "back in the day" when they were in school and how things used to be. The stories that involved fights or bullies almost always ended in something like, "So, we got into a fight and kicked the crap out of eachother for a while until some adults pulled us apart. After that, we became friends". But, now-a-days, parents and teachers get WAY too involved with trying to protect these kids from ever experiencing any sort of pain, even though their involvement and over-protection is doing nothing but causing these children even more pain.

Over-protecting your child isn't going to prevent them from getting hurt. They're going to get hurt no matter how well you protect them. It's just the manner in how they're getting hurt that might differ. But, if you teach your child how to react to the pain, whether it be physical or emotional, you'll be saving them a lot of distress throughout the course of their life.