I like that description!
Do you think that school bullies constitute 15% of the students as suggested by the descriptive link provided in the OP?
That link also suggests that they pick on someone that can't defend themselves. Do you think that's accurate?
Can someone on the internet really defend themselves against a gang of annonymous posters/bullies?
Do bullies precipitate school shootings? There are some indications that the shooters are bullies and some that the shooters are themselves victims of the bullies.
Its actually pretty easy to defend one's self against folks on the net, there are things such as ignore features, or simply turning off one's computer, or avoiding the site in which the bullying is occurring.
Putting so much stock in the net that one feels that they cannot escape "cyber bullies" , is a sign one needs to use the net less.
What i wouldn't have given for any percentage of the bullying i experienced in my grade and high school days to have merely been cyber in nature.
As someone who had been bullied quite frequently ( was a 300 pound 9th grader, and obviously this was a life long problem up until that point. When this was rectified, my rather eclectic style became the focus. ), i can honestly say that it helped shape quite a few skills that i am glad i posses as an adult.
First and formost is a quick wit, and well placed turn of phrase. When it comes to people making fun of someone, they only succeed as far as they can make others laugh, when your funnier than they are, they quickly turn their ire somewhere else. Years of having stale insults tossed my way sharpened skills i use in acting, and daily life in regards to conversation. Without the bullies i would be no where near my current level of producing bon mots.
Second is conflict resolution. While i have taken and enjoy martial arts of various kinds, i do not like violence. Or rather i do not like the fact that if i protect myself , i will have to deal with all kinds of crap afterwards. Those same years of bullying have given me a good insight into human nature, and how to turn it away from a violent or otherwise unpleasant course of action. So much so, that 3 or 4 years ago, a group of drunken louts looking for a fight stumbled across my friends and I, with a bit of a silver tongue, and a bit of salesmanship, the conflict ended with them improperly using bottle rockets we had procured ( as per my prodding that they were at least as tough as the jackass gents.) , and harming themselves severely enough to have to go to a hospital, and not only that, but thanking me for the privilege.
Even in sales based jobs this is quite the advantage.
Bullying sucks, to be sure, but it also creates character, drive and determination. While, at the time i would have loved for the bullying to stop, looking back it helped me become the person i am, and that is a person that i like.
Perhaps you could find a more reliable, more informative source and cite that, instead.
