Are kids this mean in other countries :(

josevolution

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bullying_one_town

Or only in here USA what a fucking shame i think American kids have lost all human compassion ...

redrock

Sadly, this kind of thing is everywhere. Bullying is getting to be such a massive problem. It's not just your 'lunch money' bully either - some kids have got this down to a cruel, fine art. May sound like a real 'oldie' but I don't remember this was such an issue when I was at school (a long time ago!). Surely nothing that a clip around the ear couldn't put straight.

polaris_x

as said before ... this is just a product of society ... mainly, the adults ... we see assholes everywhere, including here ... some people get off on it ... and most think it's harmless ...

well ... sad to say, it isn't most of the time ...

josevolution

redrock wrote:

Sadly, this kind of thing is everywhere. Bullying is getting to be such a massive problem. It's not just your 'lunch money' bully either - some kids have got this down to a cruel, fine art. May sound like a real 'oldie' but I don't remember this was such an issue when I was at school (a long time ago!). Surely nothing that a clip around the ear couldn't put straight.

I agree i don't remember shit like this bach when i was in school in the 70's now it seems like it's out of control kids being driven to kill themselves is just sad ...ughhh .

eyedclaar

I swear to god that if I was the parents of these kids, there would be more than one funeral taking place. The part about the bully girls laughing at the funeral... heads would have rolled. And I don't care if someone thinks that is wrong.

Jeanwah

josevolution wrote:

redrock wrote:

Sadly, this kind of thing is everywhere. Bullying is getting to be such a massive problem. It's not just your 'lunch money' bully either - some kids have got this down to a cruel, fine art. May sound like a real 'oldie' but I don't remember this was such an issue when I was at school (a long time ago!). Surely nothing that a clip around the ear couldn't put straight.

I agree i don't remember shit like this bach when i was in school in the 70's now it seems like it's out of control kids being driven to kill themselves is just sad ...ughhh .

I was basically going to say the same thing. Were we more resilient back in the 70s? Parents taught their kids to stand up for themselves also, because playground fighting was so common.

josevolution

eyedclaar wrote:

I swear to god that if I was the parents of these kids, there would be more than one funeral taking place. The part about the bully girls laughing at the funeral... heads would have rolled. And I don't care if someone thinks that is wrong.

I thought the same thing those girls wopuld of walked out of there crying or that school is going down i'm sorry but shit like this gets me totally nuts , i have two teens one in 8th grade the other in 10th and this shit hits close to home .......

mikepegg44

polaris_x wrote:

as said before ... this is just a product of society ... mainly, the adults ... we see assholes everywhere, including here ... some people get off on it ... and most think it's harmless ...

well ... sad to say, it isn't most of the time ...

it has nothing to do with Adults being assholes and everything to do with the lack of discipline. Every parent wants to be a best friend. Kids aren't afraid of discipline from their parents or the schools. It is a joke...

gimmesometruth27

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

Jeanwah

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

Yet...it is one's choice to participate in online chats and Facebook. No one is holding these kids down and forcing them to use a cell phone either... I'm just saying... It may be a sign of the times to use all these gadgets, but unplugging IS an option.

eyedclaar

Do parents never get involved or what? I'd be in immediate touch with the other parents and be like, "if your kid so much as looks at my kid again, I will burn down your motherfuckin' house while you sleep. And then I will wait down the block with my rifle and pick off anyone who manages to make it out the front door. Understand?"

The things I have done for far less... Christ, this shit makes my blood boil.

Godfather.

so sad.

Godfather.

norm

Jeanwah wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

Yet...it is one's choice to participate in online chats and Facebook. No one is holding these kids down and forcing them to use a cell phone either... I'm just saying... It may be a sign of the times to use all these gadgets, but unplugging IS an option.

catch-22...if a kid doesn't participate in the latest trends, technology etc they'll be even more ostracized and still get bullied

Jeanwah

norm wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

Yet...it is one's choice to participate in online chats and Facebook. No one is holding these kids down and forcing them to use a cell phone either... I'm just saying... It may be a sign of the times to use all these gadgets, but unplugging IS an option.

catch-22...if a kid doesn't participate in the latest trends, technology etc they'll be even more ostracized and still get bullied

That's not necessarily true though. If you're getting bullied through Facebook or myspace, would you really let it continue by participating? I think that perhaps kids do, and it leads to the suicides. Which doesn't make sense. You unplug, ignore and do everything to get away from the bullies, not actually respond and give them the satisfaction of hurting you. And your point brings up the whole resilience issue that this teen generation doesn't seem to have.

Jason P

There were a few underprivileged kids in my class that were not very smart or attractive and they were the butt of a lot of ridicule . . . I was probably guilty of it when I was younger. Luckily, my friends and I realized that it wasn't cool by high school and we actually defended these same kids.

When I was a freshman, the senior class messed with us big time. I had a senior who for whatever reason decided to lock-in on me and try to make my life hell. I stood my ground and after a month or so he decided to look for weaker targets. I did have my revenge though. About six months later, after a high school b-ball game, I took seven large potatoes that had been soaking in warm water all day and jammed them up the tail-pipe of his car with a rubber mallet . . . and it was 0 degrees at the time. It was quite enjoyable to walk out after the game and see him in the snow trying to chisel out frozen potato with a coat hanger. :twisted:

BinauralJam

Did you not see the new Karate Kid?

eyedclaar

Jason P wrote:

There were a few underprivileged kids in my class that were not very smart or attractive and they were the butt of a lot of ridicule . . . I was probably guilty of it when I was younger. Luckily, my friends and I realized that it wasn't cool by high school and we actually defended these same kids.

When I was a freshman, the senior class messed with us big time. I had a senior who for whatever reason decided to lock-in on me and try to make my life hell. I stood my ground and after a month or so he decided to look for weaker targets. I did have my revenge though. About six months later, after a high school b-ball game, I took seven large potatoes that had been soaking in warm water all day and jammed them up the tail-pipe of his car with a rubber mallet . . . and it was 0 degrees at the time. It was quite enjoyable to walk out after the game and see him in the snow trying to chisel out frozen potato with a coat hanger. :twisted:

Y'all know about Hayduke, yes?

norm

Jeanwah wrote:

That's not necessarily true though. If you're getting bullied through Facebook or myspace, would you really let it continue by participating? I think that perhaps kids do, and it leads to the suicides. Which doesn't make sense. You unplug, ignore and do everything to get away from the bullies, not actually respond and give them the satisfaction of hurting you. And your point brings up the whole resilience issue that this teen generation doesn't seem to have.

i was looking at it from a peer pressure point of view...in my opinion, it's the first level of bullying

gimmesometruth27

Jeanwah wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

Yet...it is one's choice to participate in online chats and Facebook. No one is holding these kids down and forcing them to use a cell phone either... I'm just saying... It may be a sign of the times to use all these gadgets, but unplugging IS an option.

yes it is a choice to participate in facebook. but imagine how you were as a kid. if all of your friends were doing something like that, would you feel left out if you did not participate in it? would your friends ridicule you or give you a hard time for not participating in facebook? imagine if you were the only kid in your class that does not have a cell phone. in my experience, feeling alone, and singled out made things even worse. i imagine it would be the same way today. kids just wnt to be accepted, and if they do something that makes them stand out by not having a phone or a facebook it can make the ridicule worse. i work in a doctor's office and every day i see 10, 11, 12 year old kids with cell phones texting while i am in the room trying to take care of them. in my experience with hundreds of kids in this practice, most normal well adjusted kids have phones and are on some sort of social media. the ones that are very introverted do not have those things.

Jeanwah

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

Yet...it is one's choice to participate in online chats and Facebook. No one is holding these kids down and forcing them to use a cell phone either... I'm just saying... It may be a sign of the times to use all these gadgets, but unplugging IS an option.

yes it is a choice to participate in facebook. but imagine how you were as a kid. if all of your friends were doing something like that, would you feel left out if you did not participate in it? would your friends ridicule you or give you a hard time for not participating in facebook? imagine if you were the only kid in your class that does not have a cell phone. in my experience, feeling alone, and singled out made things even worse. i imagine it would be the same way today. kids just wnt to be accepted, and if they do something that makes them stand out by not having a phone or a facebook it can make the ridicule worse. i work in a doctor's office and every day i see 10, 11, 12 year old kids with cell phones texting while i am in the room trying to take care of them. in my experience with hundreds of kids in this practice, most normal well adjusted kids have phones and are on some sort of social media. the ones that are very introverted do not have those things.

Actually, when I was a kid everyone would actually pick on the few bullies in the school. I'm not sure if it was because there were only a few kids needing to bully others or what. No one liked the kid who's last name was Ponzi who picked on everyone. I remember specifically a bunch of peers running around the schoolyard chanting..."Ponzi thinks he's Fonzie". Strength in numbers, I suppose. We weren't mean kids by default.

If I had been the only not participating in something, I probably wouldn't have been too happy, but I dealt with it, and then it eventually was forgotten about. I was picked last plenty of times in P.E. Embarrassing, yes, but not the end of the world. Oh, and what if I was the only one without a cell phone because my parents wouldn't let me? My 11 yr. old nephew w/ a Justin Bieber hairstyle doesn't for this reason. He has a healthy outlook and doesn't get harassed just because my sister won't allow him a cell phone. ETA: Actually, maybe he does get harassed. But knowing him, he'll probably tell them to shut up and get lost. He's resilient because of growing up with older brothers busting on him and bullying constantly. He fights them back or ignores them. I guess what I'm getting at is that resilience and parent involvement aren't what it used to be.

norm

Jeanwah wrote:

I guess what I'm getting at is that resilience and parent involvement aren't what it used to be.

ain't that the truth

Hugh Freaking Dillon

this scares me, particularly because of my 12 year old nephew. He was a premie, so he's a bit socially delayed (connected or not, whatever). He gets bullied all the time at school because he's "weird". My sister in law cries constantly about it. But he has found friends in the neighbourhood and their church, so that's good. But not many friends at school makes for a LONG school year.

He's an only child, and I get really concerned for his mental well being.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

can you imagine losing all 3 of your kids, two to suicide and one to a drug overdose??? Motherf**ker. Actually, I know a woman (distant relative) who lost her whole family. Her daughter drank a bottle of some chemical that seh thought was vodka (it was in an old vodka bottle in the garage), her son killed himself, and her husband died of cancer.

Left with nothing. No one. She's a recovering alchoholic. Can't say I blame her.

haffajappa

Hmmm... that's weird...

When I signed the contract for my iPhone last month I think I missed the clause that said user may be subject to bullying...

haffajappa

Thinking of the differences between the 70s/80s and now, if we're talking about the parents and involvement, it might be because of the way things are and the cost of living. I mean, how many people do you know have a stay at home parent? I have a few friends that were lucky enough to have their mom home all the time and live off their father's income, but I think most people in this day and age can't get away with it... So lack of parental involvement might stem from the fact that they just can't be there...

redrock

haffajappa wrote:

So lack of parental involvement might stem from the fact that they just can't be there...

Don't think it's just a lack of parental involvement. Plenty of families where both parents work have fine kids. It's how you spend your time with your kids and what you teach them. I think one of the big differences is the lack of community and community involvement. When I was a kid, if someone of the neighbourhood saw you do something 'naughty', either your parents knew before you got home or you were taken back home by the scruff of your neck by said neighbour to face the wrath of the parents. Nowadays, everyone turns a blind eye.

Digital Twilight

redrock wrote:

haffajappa wrote:

So lack of parental involvement might stem from the fact that they just can't be there...

Don't think it's just a lack of parental involvement. Plenty of families where both parents work have fine kids. It's how you spend your time with your kids and what you teach them. I think one of the big differences is the lack of community and community involvement. When I was a kid, if someone of the neighbourhood saw you do something 'naughty', either your parents knew before you got home or you were taken back home by the scruff of your neck by said neighbour to face the wrath of the parents. Nowadays, everyone turns a blind eye.

Hit the nail on the head there I think. Respect isn't taught anymore. So many parents think their only job is to feed them and but clothes on their backs, nothing more.

Byrnzie

eyedclaar wrote:

I swear to god that if I was the parents of these kids, there would be more than one funeral taking place. The part about the bully girls laughing at the funeral... heads would have rolled. And I don't care if someone thinks that is wrong.

If that was my daughter and I saw those two girls laughing at her body I'm pretty sure I'd end up in jail.

It makes you wonder what those scum bags were doing at her funeral in the first place.

Hideous little brats.

catefrances

when we send our kids to school we do so assuming theyll be looked after and out for. i would hope that if my kids were ever bullied theyd let me know... but im not sure they would. the main reason for any reticence would be that they know what this momma bear is like in defense of her young.

haffajappa

redrock wrote:

haffajappa wrote:

So lack of parental involvement might stem from the fact that they just can't be there...

Don't think it's just a lack of parental involvement. Plenty of families where both parents work have fine kids. It's how you spend your time with your kids and what you teach them. I think one of the big differences is the lack of community and community involvement. When I was a kid, if someone of the neighbourhood saw you do something 'naughty', either your parents knew before you got home or you were taken back home by the scruff of your neck by said neighbour to face the wrath of the parents. Nowadays, everyone turns a blind eye.

Hmmm, that's very true!
Both my parents worked long hours (and still do) and my brother and I turned out fine. I think anyways lol

tremors

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i think the main difference between the 2000s and the 1970s is that technology has made bullying worse nowadays. i know in the late 80s when i was bullied, when i got home it stopped. sure i got prank calls and my house got tp'd a few times, but when i got home the harassment stopped. nowadays kids have cell phones, facebook, twitter, etc so they can not escape. they log into facebook and see what other people are saying about them and that hurts them, they get texts because the bullies are not calling the home phones anymore, it never stops and the kids can not get away from it. i think it is much more difficult to be a kid now than it was back then. life was so much simpler then and it was easier to escape. there is no escape today unfortunately...and school districts need to recognize that and take appropriate proactive preventive action instead of having to react to the problem. like this school...one suicide= tragedy, 2 suicides= conicidence?? 3 suicides= big systemic fucking problem...

This is very true, and a growing problem in the UK as well. I don't think 'switching off' is an option, because a lot of the bullying is increasingly proactive and aggressive - ie not just talking about someone - but sending targeted messages to cellphones, direct messages to the victim's social networking accounts - they could unplug everything, but then lose all their real friends as well. Also, just because they are not participating, doesn't mean the bullying slackens off - the bullies can whip themselves into a kind of frenzy online - it IS so much easier to 'gang up' on a vulnerable person these days, using modern technology. There are idiots filming bullying and beatings and putting it up on youtube and everyone can join in for a laugh - if young people do become a target they are in real trouble. I don't know what the simple solution is unfortunately!