Bullying is not cool. I'm not for it, but please read everything that I say very carefully as I have some rather 'against the grain' opinions about it.
First off, bulling isn't a new problem. It's been around for a long time. And it isn't exclusive to high school (we just call it harassment when we grow up and can sue for lots and lots of money). But since last fall, when several gay teenagers committed suicide after being bullied, society has FREAKED OUT. We are calling this an epidemic of bulling targeting gay teenagers and many schools are enacting zero tolerance policies towards bulling or hazing.
I have only two points to make, after which, feel free to rip me and my opinions apart in the comment section. I'm used to being told off by now.
Let me say again: bulling isn't a new issue. But once we get an usual spike in a specific age/gender/nationality spike, we all act like no ones ever been bullied before. I find this rather puzzling because, well, lots of people have been bullied from one degree to another. And while it SUCKS....you gotta get over it. We act like high school is the best part of life (it isn't), and the rest of your life will be in comparison to your peak years in high school (really, it gets loads cooler after high school), and that nothing that ever happen to you will ever be as cool as orientation/vacations/proms/homecomings/graduations (ugh for REAL?!). High school might be the best years of some peoples lives, but if you don't make that big a deal of it, well, life goes on. Don't let the negative parts of a very brief four years be the highlight of your life! Yes, enjoy your time there and treasure the fun you had, but life will go on and you're gonna be a totally different person after college then you were as a wimpy little freshman. If you are getting bullied, get thick skin. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but if you let an idiots opinion about you alter the rest of YOUR life, who wins? Hint: it ain't you kiddo. Don't ignore the problem and do nothing, but please don't listen to trolls who only want to bring you down. You'll look back and realize that during your high school years, what you thought was so awful wasn't actuality that big if you don't get yourself worked up over it. Your hormones and emotions are going berserk right now, so be careful before you give into any emotional reaction to pressure.
Now for my second thought on bullying: it doesn't only happen to gay teens. I've mentioned before that I'm a Christian, ergo, I was at one time a Christian teenager. For all the attention that gay teenagers get for being harassed, there are lots of kids with strong religious beliefs who are bullied and harassed just the same. And while the 'gay teen suicide epidemic' has caused the uprising of lots of programs like the whole 'It Gets Better' project, what about the religious teens? They get bullied just the same, but you don't see any celebrities making commercials for Christian teens getting bullied telling them they'll be ok. Double standard much? I get that Christian kids are given a bad rap for being 'intolerant' or 'judgmental', but isn't that kinda judging a whole demographic of people you don't know? Hmmmmmmm. Just like there is a wide range of gay-ness (for lack of any better word) from flamingly flamboyant to hidden in the closet, there are Christians who are more tolerant and there are those who are...well....less tolerant. Personally, I believe that we are ALL sinners who need God's love and redemption. God loves sinners, but hates our sins. I'm a lying, lazy, cheating, hypocrite. God loves me just as much as you, whatever your story may be.
So that's basically it. Help those who are hurting, don't let your hurts define you, nothing lasts forever (least of all high school).
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