gentlefox18 said:I honestly feel like people in this world carry far too much influence over one another, especially since they seem to have no concept of the weight of their actions or the damage they can inflict. Take a former classmate of mine, for example. pick on him relentlessly, yet if I were to step in and defend him, I’d likely end up being targeted and insulted right along with him. I find myself searching for just one decent person—someone who actually understands the gravity of what they're doing—but there's nobody to be found... I look around and I simply can't believe it. It's baffling how people can be so incredibly thoughtless, failing to use even a shred of logic or consider how their behavior affects someone else. Out of a hundred people, I can't find a single soul with any empathy. Then I come home, replay the whole scene in my head, and wonder again. It makes me genuinely worried about where this country is headed.
Of course, I’ve been guilty of hurting someone before, but never for sport; it was driven by pure malice. Honestly, seeing someone suffer like that fills me with such intense regret that it feels as though the pain is happening to me personally.
Where are these people supposed to turn for help? To a psychiatrist who witnesses these exact scenarios every single day, amidst the tragic reality of the suicide rates we see, or should they just be left to rot? Try stepping into their shoes for a moment; imagine being mocked by everyone around you multiple times a day, and then have some stranger act like they just landed from outer space, acting shocked that people resort to suicide. I truly hope there are still enough good people left in America who actually think about the consequences of their actions.
Kasipus hit the nail on the head 👍
I truly believe it's just "mob mentality." In reality, NO ONE in your class would ever go out of their way to harass that kid if they were alone—they wouldn't even feel the need to. BUT, once they bunch up, bullying becomes "fun"... I have to admit, I did the same thing back in high school 😛 but... it wasn't out of "malice," it was more out of boredom or just being clueless...
If that person (or anyone else) had approached me one-on-one and said, "George Garcia9, stop acting like that, it's not okay," I probably would have said, "Look, you're right, I'm done..." That’s likely how it works in your class too. They aren't necessarily "evil"; they're just immature and DON'T THINK about how much it HURTS that kid.
TRY TALKING TO THEM individually. Go to the people picking on him and tell them it's IMMATURE, PATHETIC, and STUPID. But you have to say it when they are ALONE, because I really BELIEVE that deep down, most people are actually "good" and empathetic, and you CAN explain things to them when they aren't part of a pack. Once you flip a few of them and they stop participating, the momentum dies. It stops being "cool," and the bullying will taper off because it won't be the MAJORITY anymore. But you have to reach them INDIVIDUALLY. There's little point in trying to defend him while the entire crowd is attacking him at once, though I suppose it's something...
Good luck 😉