SAYATA

Almost all the comments in the article I was reading (not linked with) are screaming for the so called Bullys to be punished as animals. These aren't animals. They are children just as poor Phoebe Prince was a child. The people in the comments are about as cold blooded as the children in spewing hate just because they can. Prosecutors who want to destroy the lives of the nine children are no better than the "bully" they would define these children as. I guess they would be more happy if there had been ten suicides rather than just the suicide of Phoebe Prince.

Suicide is a major problem in our broken society. Make no mistake. And it is not because of bullys, though they make a convenient target in government and media propaganda.

I would guess if you did a poll, a large percent of people would vote that they have been the victim of a bully but they would never describe themself as the bully. No one projects hate without rationalizing some excuse for that hate. I am not saying the rationalization is valid. I am saying it is always there.

Often the "class bully" is the outcast. When you have 9 kids picking on one kid, that isn't the typical bully situation, that is mob behavior. That is the mob behavior you see when the media and society gang up against Tiger Woods or John Mayer or 9 kids who probably had no idea what they were doing to Phoebe Prince or whoever the media is leading society to hate this week in trying to project a feeling of moral superiority.

Take American Idol. Isn't that the perfect example of how a group of people behave badly toward the "losers." How much of the criticism of the judges is actually constructive and how much of it is just different ways to tell the performers they suck. But if one of the "losers" kill themself should the judges be prosecuted for making the contestant feel bad about themself. Should all the people who didn't vote for the contestant be rounded up and charged. Of course not.

The bottom line is our broken society is not going to be fixed by prosecuting nine ignorant kids (except of course if real laws were broken beyond the concept of bullying.) The starting point is teaching those kids by example on how to nurture, and care, and want to help and not hurt. The starting point is teaching kids how NOT to empower their enemies. Don't give anyone, be it a bully, a mob of kids, teachers, judges or anyone the power to make you feel bad about yourself. Don't allow anyone to break you by destroying your confidence. If you have weak points, you know what they are, so work on them. Have fun in making yourself a better person.

Some people pick and tease without malice. It only becomes hurtful if you hear it that way. Sometimes the best way to respond to teasing is just to laugh and tease back. Don't obsess on every word spoken because most people who say shit to you usually don't even know what the hell they've said. It is a moment. It isn't your life. It isn't their life.

School and work places can become like a dark tunnel in which you feel as though you can't find your way out. Always remember, there are better ways out than hurting yourself or other people. If a person is verbally abusing you and it isn't just playful teasing, then walk away from that person and don't let them in your thoughts. Ignore them and don't keep epowering them. If a person is a physcial threat to you then get a restraining order.

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Articles:

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http://bostonist.com/2010/04/01/south_hadley_superintendent_defends.php - Position of this article is that the school should have done more.

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Another Article I won't link to because there was something funky going on with the website but in that article it pointed out that the name calling began with Phoebe Prince doing the name calling toward another girl and the dispute between that girl and the others and Phoebe Prince just kept escalating.
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http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/01/phoebe_prince_suicide_high_sch.php - In this article, I think they project their own past into the news item. They seem to forget we are talking about children and not jackals and not terrorist. We are talking about children.
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http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/6683432.php?contentType=4&contentId=5831636 - This article gives more details on the actual bullying and the charges. It also references other suicide / bullying cases.

From article: Six teens - four girls and two boys - face charges including statutory rape, assault, violation of civil rights resulting in injury, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly and stalking. Three younger girls face delinquency charges.

According to a letter from Prince's high school principal, what began as "mean-spirited comments" at school soon found their way online, something experts say is far more dangerous.

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http://www.slate.com/id/2249424/pagenum/all/ - This article is thoughtful and gives a lot of insight. It suggest things differently from what I suggested. The problem I have with some things said in the article is I think it is important for kids to learn how to handle themselves. I don't believe in mob mentality as this article seems to promote. Obviously, the approach to handle a situation depends on the situation itself. Big brother does not always correctly read or understand the situation. Who is the bully???? When a kid stands up for themself and does kick the bully down here comes big brother calling the bully the victim. I know first hand, that happens. The school pimp and tattle tale often is the bad guy (in my opinion) but he always seems to get by with shit. That is the reality that kids live with. How bad is it when the kid not only has to put up with being unpopular with the kids but also has to put up with shit from teachers. Point is, sometimes it is best to let the kids handle things themselves and for the teachers not be so quick to jump in. Point is, for the media and government not to be so quick to second guess how the school handled the situation because hind sight is always 20/20. Sometimes it is best when the school stands back and unfortunately sometimes it is tragic when they've stood back too long. The world is not utopia. Shit happens.

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