Bullying - AGAIN

With the focus once again on another teenager that has committed suicide because of bullying, the focus is once again on prevention. While I find that this is very important, I think that we need to start focusing on putting some actual pressure on these bullies. I think we need to come up with a plan that says "look, if you do this shit, you're gonna get X as punishment." I have no idea what that would be, but I think we need to start looking into it.

The reason for my big push to actually punish bullies, is the fact that they actually use suicide as a bullying technique. They tell kids to kill themselves. They think that it shows that they are weak. You think that these bullies feel bad for what they did? Do you think that kids killing themselves actually shows the bullies anything? It doesn't. It doesn't show them that what they did isn't acceptable, it doesn't do anything.

I'm not against suicide. More than a lot of people I am all too aware of how much pain you need to be in to be at that point where you know that ending it is the only thing that will make it better. People talk about people that commit suicide as being selfish, and weak. It's the opposite in their minds. They think they are helping people by not being around, and it takes a lot more than most people have in them to take your own life. It's programmed into us to be afraid to die. To take it upon yourself to go against that is very difficult. No matter what people think.

I personally think that these bullies need to pay. I think that it's time we start throwing them in jail, or making them part of chain gang, or charging them a fine that they can't pay, so they have to spend the rest of their teen years working it off. That's my personal thought.

Bullies never go away. I know this to be true, even as an adult. That doesn't mean we have to sit here and let them get away with the disgusting behaviour that they have decided is okay.