When Fads Turn Violent

For some reason, bullying as become a main point of interest in America.  It has almost become a fad.   Has it all of the sudden become popular to kill yourself or others because of some one's opinion of you (either on the internet or in person)?  If that was the case there would be a lot of blood on my hands.  I normally don't pull punches when it comes to writing about how idiotic some people are and killing yourself is the ultimate form of idiocy. 

I do however feel the need to point the finger also at the parents of these kids.  Who else is going to tell them to turn the computer off and take a Xanax? 

The teachers?  Overworked and underpaid you think they give a damn?  One less student to mouth off during their 50 some odd student English class. 

The school staff?  All they are worried about is kids bringing guns to school.  I do believe however that if they put a more proactive program in place maybe these bullied kids wouldn't kill themselves (or maybe others?  Columbine anyone?). 

The parents need to monitor their children.  Don't give me that crap about "I WORK TWO JOBS AND YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD IT IS."  It's called common sense.  Pay attention to your kids and maybe, just maybe they could learn some ethics and know that is is NOT OK to bully and it is NOT OK to respond to bullies with violence upon themselves or others.

Seems this is also a hot button with normal everyday people as well.  We submitted a poll question yesterday to see how people sided:

POLL: What is your take on the bullying situation recently in the news? Should the government step in or is it the job of the person/family to make sure things are taken care of?

Here are some excerpts from the flood of responses:

"I think this is the best idea so far...  http://www.tmz.com/2010/10/08/mma-fighter-daniel-puder-gay-anti-bully/"

- Michael S.

"Should be the family/guardians' job to teach their kids about bullying and NOT do it...but we all know how fabulous (NOT) some parents are about teaching their kids right from wrong so then the government should step in to put something in place in schools to teach kids about bullying. However, they need to implement other staff in schools to cover this, it should NOT be the responsibility of "regular" teachers to cover all of their other curriculum and bullying too. Teachers have enough to teach and handle already."

- Jill S.

"The government has no place in this.  It starts in the home but I do think schools have an obligation to be aware of what's going on and enforce a very stringent anti-bullying rule."

- Rexanne M.

"The worst thing that happens is not the physical abuse, but when it is not addressed by those kids look up (teachers & administrators), the kid assumes that the point of the bullying must be true and therefore their self esteem is damaged, leading to many issues later in life."

- Randy H.

This all ties together.  Chicken and the egg.  Unfortuantely in this case, the chicken has a gun and the egg has a knife.

Related Stories:
Schools Battle Suicide Surge, Anti-Gay Bullying
Rutgers E-Mails Subpoenaed, Anti-Bullying Law Proposed