Everyday Canvas

Bullying

Prompt: Have you ever been bullied as a young person? Why can't we forget our childhood bullies? What do you think about bullying?

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I guess I was bullied at times but not to the degree that it left any lasting scars on me. On the plus side, I learned how to avoid bullies if and when I could.

We can’t forget our childhood bullies because of the kids who might have pointed at us and snickered, confirming our worst imaginings about ourselves and reinforcing our low self-esteem. Then there could be the embarrassment and feelings of shame heightened by a sense of helplessness and aloneness as well.

Most kids fear telling their parents about the bullying because being bullied can be difficult, at best. Then, there is that useless parental advice, ”Ignore them!” or “Hit them back,” which never works in the first place.

Bullying is the worst form of torture for it may lead to anxiety, depression, and physical problems for life. When kids lose their safe zone and even their homes are tough places, childhood turns into an awful experience. Children, as the result of bullying, may even question their own judgments, especially when people they may have deemed as friends go along with the bullies and don’t hesitate to start rumors. This may make the bullied children feel confused about judging their peers and relating to them.

It may just be that at one time or another any one child could have been bullied by friends, classmates, neighbors, and even by a few adults. Some people can get over the bullying and lead fairly happy lives; yet, others may clearly recall the pain of it years later.

Wounding people knowingly and with little or no reason also hurts the bullies by turning them into little terrorists. Thus, I think, bullying in any place or time should be stopped by the parents, teachers, school staff, and the owners and moderators of internet sites. Childhood should be a happy or at least a productive time in a person's life. To ruin it or let others ruin it is unconscionable.