Bullying is an ever-growing problem in American schools. It is an abhorrent, vile act that has become startlingly common. It has many forms. Verbal. Physical. Emotional. Each one is just as damaging as the last. Sadly, bullying is overlooked and, at times, completely ignored. That is all of our faults. We all must care more, show more empathy towards those who are bullied and remember one thing: bullies are scared people. Ultimately, those who feel insecure and frightened enough to pick on others are little, scared people themselves. Whether their fear expresses itself as anger, frustration, or any other emotion, it is just fear. It dominates their lives, and isolates them. So what do they do? They find people who are just as afraid as they are and make other people feel bad to elevate themselves. They feed off of other people’s sadness, like a parasite. But this parasite can’t feed alone. A bully needs confirmation, acceptance by society, even if it is just a few other people, all of which are just as afraid as the bully themselves.

A bully can not- will not- continue to bully others if they are alone. The one thing they desire, over anything else, is acceptance. If others say that their acts are okay, then they will continue to do them. No amount of PSAs or assemblies will stop it. We as students, as decent, caring, empathetic human beings, must put a stop to it. We must stand up to bullies, stand up against something that we know is wrong, something that happens every day. Bullies must be shown that what they do is wrong and that it will not be tolerated. The most powerful thing one can do to stop a bully is to call them out in front of a group. It will take away their power and expose them for what they are; weak, scared people, striving for acceptance.