I know that most people don't care about bullying, but it has been a major part of my life. I'm posting this to know that i'm not alone. If someone is out there being bullied, please, contact me. Tell your friends. If you know someone who needs counseling tell them to find UnafraidAtom.

I'm here to help

Sincerely, UnafraidAtom

Peekaboo said:
If I know someone who is bullied, the last thing I'll ever do is to direct them to a guy on a website with animals fucking on it.

+1

Bullying has been a major part of my life too...
Do you want me to stuff you in a locker or give you a verbal beat down?

You can get bullied as an adult? First time I've heard of this

TheHuskyK9 said:
You can get bullied as an adult? First time I've heard of this

dude... when I started as a substitute teacher the first thing one of the other teachers at the high school I was subbing at said to me was "I'm sorry west Hollywood is that way" but according to other staff that particular person was having some marital issues so that proves that its caused by issues either with ones self or life... but all things aside I had to fight myself from punching the woman in the mouth for saying that... point is people bully others no matter what age and it will still make us revert to a child-like state of mind despite age from the erking it can do to our egos or self esteem... its all caused by the person dolling out the insults getting in our heads and putting some doubt about our selves when really all we need to worry about is impressing ourselves and ONLY ourselves that's what I learned by being a musician you only need to impress yourself no one else

It's the internet. There are bullies everywhere.

Shit, even I'm a bully sometimes.

Patchi said:
sometimes.

HA!

Patchi said:
I'm a bully sometimes.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm3c0zSXH81qd7eic.gif

Tunguska said:
HA!

Shh. :v

Patchi said:
It's the internet. There are bullies everywhere.

Shit, even I'm a bully sometimes.

It's okay, some people deserve it.
lol]

http://youtu.be/CSzSWfu-4xY

Going to jump the gun and remind everyone to be civil :)

Remember: everything in moderation.

Yeah, it's not fun.

I was harassed for not liking football throughout my school life, of all things.

But hey, one thing I learned is that people who devote pretty much all their time to bullying will eventually get a visit from karma, metaphorically speaking.

Yeah I hate this world too.
There's no justice...

I was bullied up until high school, and then I became 6'4" and suddenly all was quiet...

I used to be the worst bully way back when because of a troublesome home life. I told people that they contributed nothing to the world and that the best thing for them to do was kill themselves. I was pretty terrible! I'm better now, of course.

I mean I'd never say that to another person of course

I didn't let anyone bully me when I was younger (I still don't today). A couple dudes tried to do that in my freshman year in high school but then they found out the painful way that I can fight back. I would only fight if the dude I'm fighting swings first, well, both of them swung first (separate fights) and both got their ass beat in front of 40+ students.

I don't encourage fighting or hurting people, but when someone throws at punch at you, you defend yourself

TheHuskyK9 said:
You can get bullied as an adult? First time I've heard of this

I have to say it just doesn't work as an adult. Everyone just looks does not tolerate it for a single second, especially in a work environment

Never been bullied. As a teen, part of me wished that someone would try so I could knock their teeth out in front of everyone.

I never been bullied throughout my school years, mostly because I was the kid with something everybody else wanted.. In Middle school it was Candy, because at the time my step dad worked as a manager at a retail store and would buy it in bulk and I'd sell it at school. In high school it was condoms. While in college, I just looked like an angry gothy kid so nobody talked to me anyways, which is what I wanted to begin with, sooo

ippiki_ookami said:
Never been bullied. As a teen, part of me wished that someone would try so I could knock their teeth out in front of everyone.

Same. I never got this shit.

Moon_Moon said:
Same. I never got this shit.

Raise that to three...

I was actually never bullied either physically or verbally. Except for my name (which you can see half of it here) but it did'nt got farther than "how the hell do you pronounce that?", "sounds like somebody is sneezing" or "is your name Chichenitzá?"

I been bullied when i was 6th TERRIBLE!!!!'!!!!!!!!:((

Hey at least I tried

Peekaboo said:
That sounds like a really cheesy, low quality 80's movie.

Read it with "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the back of your head.

I had the shit kicked out of me on a regular basis at school. People ask me how to deal with bullying and I honestly have no idea what to say. For the most part, I don't think I *did* deal with it.
My school was huge and shitty and there was too much bullying going on for teachers to pay attention to every case. Most of the time it doesn't even seem like bullying. It's just 'shit I have to put up with'.

Sometimes this is just the way life is. Not every situation has a winnable solution. Sometimes doing the right thing only leads you to being further alienated.
Only thing I CAN tell you is it doesn't stay that way. There is bullying as an adult, but not nearly as much. Adults don't have to cope with insane hormones all the time and you come to realise there's no 'higher authority' you can defer to on social issues. People tend to be forward and formal if their lives are being encroached upon. It doesn't always work, but assuming neither side is mentally unstable, people just decide to keep abreast from each other.

You learn to cope with assholes better. You grow a thicker skin. You learn self-esteem and how to hit back at people who are hitting you. And if the worst comes to the worst, you learn how to file a court case.

As for the internet, give me a break. The day someone figures out how to punch me in the face through the screen, THEN I'll say internet bullying is a serious problem. With the exception of hackers who go out of their way to target and harass someone for a sustained amount of time, people just need to learn what that 'block' button does.

elad said:
As for the internet, give me a break. The day someone figures out how to punch me in the face through the screen, THEN I'll say internet bullying is a serious problem. With the exception of hackers who go out of their way to target and harass someone for a sustained amount of time, people just need to learn what that 'block' button does.

I'll never understand how a person can get cyber-bullied from a random dude typing on a computer. And the victim will actually believe what the bully says

TheHuskyK9 said:
I'll never understand how a person can get cyber-bullied from a random dude typing on a computer. And the victim will actually believe what the bully says

have enough people saying the same or similar things often enough, or even just a dedicated few, and your sense of self-worth can crumble, mostly with the thought of 'it's being said so many times, maybe there's a grain of truth to it?' causing a form of self-defeating introspection since paired with the overly critical commentary as a guideline you'll be far worse on yourself than you are normally.

TheHuskyK9 said:
I'll never understand how a person can get cyber-bullied from a random dude typing on a computer. And the victim will actually believe what the bully says

Just because it's being typed and not spoken doesn't mean you can't be offended.

If a user creates 18 accounts for the sole purpose of bitching at me, does it count as bullying?

I feel like most people were bullied as kids. The notion of cyber bullying always seemed stupid to me, though.

SirAntagonist said:
If a user creates 18 accounts for the sole purpose of bitching at me, does it count as bullying?

I feel like most people were bullied as kids. The notion of cyber bullying always seemed stupid to me, though.

I say yes

Yeah. I could easily say "haha your stupid for liking this things" (I don't mean it) but it depends on if you feel offended

dashingprince said:
Just because it's being typed and not spoken doesn't mean you can't be offended.

You have to be very sensitive to be offended by text

TheHuskyK9 said:
You have to be on tumblr to be offended by text

There.

TheHuskyK9 said:
You have to be very sensitive to be offended by text

Unlesss you're capable of understanding the fact that it's someone else on the other end of that text dump who typedd it, which is as good as saying it to your face? When it's the anonymous public, it can be shrugged off a lot better, but if it's a closer community or less anonymous (or even if you just need to create a persona for that community that can be associated with *you*) it's not any different. Trying to bush it off as "oh it's ONLY text" is just trying to gloss over the very real problem.

123easy said:
Unlesss you're capable of understanding the fact that it's someone else on the other end of that text dump who typedd it, which is as good as saying it to your face? When it's the anonymous public, it can be shrugged off a lot better, but if it's a closer community or less anonymous (or even if you just need to create a persona for that community that can be associated with *you*) it's not any different. Trying to bush it off as "oh it's ONLY text" is just trying to gloss over the very real problem.

I think the point of his statement was "You're probably thinking too hard."

123easy said:
Unlesss you're capable of understanding the fact that it's someone else on the other end of that text dump who typedd it, which is as good as saying it to your face? When it's the anonymous public, it can be shrugged off a lot better, but if it's a closer community or less anonymous (or even if you just need to create a persona for that community that can be associated with *you*) it's not any different. Trying to bush it off as "oh it's ONLY text" is just trying to gloss over the very real problem.

It's only a problem if you make it a problem. Someone saying shit over the internet should never be taken seriously. Someone saying shit to your face can be taken seriously if you want to take it seriously. In reality, a person from the other side of the country, who doesn't know anything about you, is sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen trying to start shit with you....how could you honestly take that dude seriously?

TheHuskyK9 said:
It's only a problem if you make it a problem. Someone saying shit over the internet should never be taken seriously. Someone saying shit to your face can be taken seriously if you want to take it seriously. In reality, a person from the other side of the country, who doesn't know anything about you, is sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen trying to start shit with you....how could you honestly take that dude seriously?

I don't think it really becomes a problem until one has to jump through hoops to harass another person. There is a block button for a reason.

Still, that doesn't mean you have to be sensitive to be offended by something. I personally think you'd have to be pretty desensitized and apathetic to not be offended by what someone says about you, even through the internet. Maybe I'm just speaking from my experiences on this side of the playground but I think that someone insulting you can be taken just as seriously whether they're saying it to your face or not. Or is it suddenly bad to admit you have feelings?

Then again I am a sensitive person. So my point of view on the whole thing is probably quite biased. :P

TheHuskyK9 said:
You have to be on 4chan to be offended by text

fix'd

dashingprince said:
I don't think it really becomes a problem until one has to jump through hoops to harass another person. There is a block button for a reason.

Still, that doesn't mean you have to be sensitive to be offended by something. I personally think you'd have to be pretty desensitized and apathetic to not be offended by what someone says about you, even through the internet. Maybe I'm just speaking from my experiences on this side of the playground but I think that someone insulting you can be taken just as seriously whether they're saying it to your face or not. Or is it suddenly bad to admit you have feelings?

Then again I am a sensitive person. So my point of view on the whole thing is probably quite biased. :P

Hey everyone has feelings but note that this is the internet: home of every offensive, disgusting, gory, humorous and sexual things imaginable. The reason why I don't get easily offended over the internet is because I already know what to expect, not because I'm "desensitized" or "apathetic". Only people I want to share my feels with are the cool, nice, mature, funny, and positive ones. I'd rather not waste my time with immature trolls/haters that want to harass someone every chance they get. World's not a nice place and neither is the internet, and if you know that, why are you getting offended when you know that there's a 99% chance that you'll run into something or someone that wants to offend people?

TheHuskyK9 said:
World's not a nice place and neither is the internet, and if you know that, why are you getting offended when you know that there's a 99% chance that you'll run into something or someone that wants to offend people?

That's what I'm saying! Not getting offended by something because it happens all the time. I might be over-sensitive or whatever but I still don't think that's a good reason. It's like saying that it's okay to murder because a lot of people do it.

Come to think of it that's probably not a good analogy. But still. That is not a good reason to call any sort of disrespect not serious. In a way you're kind of contradicting yourself there -- saying that the internet's not nice but then saying it's strange to be offended by someone through the internet.

Ignoring it or not being affected by it doesn't make it a petty issue.

dashingprince said:
That's what I'm saying! Not getting offended by something because it happens all the time. I might be over-sensitive or whatever but I still don't think that's a good reason. It's like saying that it's okay to murder because a lot of people do it.

Come to think of it that's probably not a good analogy. But still. That is not a good reason to call any sort of disrespect not serious. In a way you're kind of contradicting yourself there -- saying that the internet's not nice but then saying it's strange to be offended by someone through the internet.

Ignoring it or not being affected by it doesn't make it a petty issue.

It's not an issue to begin with. It's just overly-sensitive people that don't have a hard shell. How am I contradicting myself? I said the internet is not nice so why get offended if you already know that it's not nice? Tell me how is that contradicting. If anything, I've never stated that it's "strange" to get offended

TheHuskyK9 said:
It's not an issue to begin with. It's just overly-sensitive people that don't have a hard shell. How am I contradicting myself? I said the internet is not nice so why get offended if you already know that it's not nice? Tell me how is that contradicting. If anything, I've never stated that it's "strange" to get offended

Overly-sensitive people can't really control their sensitivity that easily.

Anyway, I think I'm just going to dig my hole deeper if I go on so I'll keep my mouth shut. I think if everyone knew what respect and courtesy were we wouldn't have to have debates on this kind of stuff in the first place!

Cyber bullying is mostly an issue for school kids, even if the bullies are blocked, the victim will still hear all the online bullshit.
Saying that bullying among adults doesn't happen, is like saying men can't be raped. Much like male rape, adult bullying often goes unreported, except domestic violence, comparatively speaking. The workplace is a common arena for adults to be bullied. You may say, "Well, report it to the higher ups." the supervisors may be part of it, or, they may view you as the one bringing trouble. "Well, you can always quit.", maybe it took months just to find that job, and prospects for a new one look just as bleak. People shouldn't need to quit a job to escape.

Technology has made bullying a much more complicated struggle than it was when I was in high school (2001). The closest thing to texting we used was messenger services, which for spreading gossip weren't terribly effective yet. Too many folks couldn't agree on whether to use AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, etc...

Anyway, I do feel that when I was bullied it was a lot easier to deal with than kids today have it.

Also when there someone who wants to STAY AWAY FFO R BULLYING

Bullying is all about penis size.
Bullies have small penises.

Halite said:
Bullying is all about penis size.
Bullies have small penises.

And female bullies?

edidaf said:
And female bullies?

They also have small penises.

Halite said:
Bullies have small penises.

which is why I was never a bully

thatoneclarinetist said:
which is why I was never a bully

I said bullies have small penises, not people with small penises are bullies.

Halite said:
I said bullies have small penises, not people with small penises are bullies.

Oh... I misunderstod sorry

Halite said:
I said bullies have small penises, not people with small penises are bullies.

Best. Response. Ever.

This is the best bully

Tyler on the subject of cyberbullying.
Truly words to live by.

Spess_Muhreen said:
Tyler on the subject of cyberbullying.
Truly words to live by.

I agree

Spess_Muhreen said:
Tyler on the subject of cyberbullying.
Truly words to live by.

Yup. Better words haven't been said

Spess_Muhreen said:
Tyler on the subject of cyberbullying.
Truly words to live by.

give that man an oscar!

TheHuskyK9 said:
It's only a problem if you make it a problem. Someone saying shit over the internet should never be taken seriously. Someone saying shit to your face can be taken seriously if you want to take it seriously. In reality, a person from the other side of the country, who doesn't know anything about you, is sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen trying to start shit with you....how could you honestly take that dude seriously?

K(, you never had low self-esteem, I guess. It's not manageable. Especially if one gets bullied at work, overpowered by cop that claims that you broke speed limit, thentry relax , e.g. in some online game and get buliied there. Your point of view actually creates those bullies, because they think that they can say shit, because it means nothing, and those who get upset are just treating things too seriously. In general they start to act like that in RL too, if they have power too.. it got.. devastating effect on society.

Swiftkill said:
K(, you never had low self-esteem, I guess. It's not manageable. Especially if one gets bullied at work, overpowered by cop that claims that you broke speed limit, thentry relax , e.g. in some online game and get buliied there. Your point of view actually creates those bullies, because they think that they can say shit, because it means nothing, and those who get upset are just treating things too seriously. In general they start to act like that in RL too, if they have power too.. it got.. devastating effect on society.

This. While I can normally ignore trolls, there are some that go the extra mile to get your goat. Sad, attention deprived people.

Swiftkill said:
K(, you never had low self-esteem, I guess.

Don't judge a book by its cover

It's not manageable. Especially if one gets bullied at work, overpowered by cop that claims that you broke speed limit, thentry relax , e.g. in some online game and get buliied there. Your point of view actually creates those bullies, because they think that they can say shit, because it means nothing, and those who get upset are just treating things too seriously. In general they start to act like that in RL too, if they have power too.. it got.. devastating effect on society.

You have to realize that the virtual world and real life are really different. We've gotten so connected to technology, that we often confuse the two. Here's how I see it (you don't have to agree with it), real life bullying: you are being shoved, punched, kicked, insulted, harassed, blackmailed or etc = problem that needs to be fixed. Virtual bullying: bully is nowhere near you and the only way he can hurt you is by typing words on a screen and sending it to you (excluding actual hackers/gov dudes) = not a problem because it's easily solvable. How? Block the dude, stop messaging the dude, ignore the dude, do something else, turn off computer, report the dude, etc. Yeah, it may hurt a bit seeing that some harsh words are directed towards you, but they are just words. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". Stay mentally strong and you can live off that quote.

All in all, I think we can agree that ALL bullying needs to stop. Only reason why we are arguing is because I find real life bullying more important than "cyber-bullying", explanation in the first paragraph.

More learning material, this time from our friend, Fujimoto.
Truly today is a learning experience for us all.

#StopTheBullying2013

TheHuskyK9 said:
You have to realize that the virtual world and real life are really different.

It's not. Just because you are all the way on the other side on the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're not real, and vice versa. Getting harassing messages is no different than getting harassing phone calls, or having someone saying something hurtful to your face- It's still someone harassing someone else. People like you dismissing it are the real problem, not people who understand that it is a problem in the first place.

123easy said:
It's not. Just because you are all the way on the other side on the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're not real, and vice versa. Getting harassing messages is no different than getting harassing phone calls, or having someone saying something hurtful to your face- It's still someone harassing someone else. People like you dismissing it are the real problem, not people who understand that it is a problem in the first place.

Except for the part where it's a million times quicker and easier to close a web page than to change your phone number, or get away from someone who doesn't want you to in person.

123easy said:
It's not.

It is. Last time I've checked, we aren't digital

Just because you are all the way on the other side on the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're not real, and vice versa. Getting harassing messages is no different than getting harassing phone calls, or having someone saying something hurtful to your face- It's still someone harassing someone else. People like you dismissing it are the real problem, not people who understand that it is a problem in the first place.

So people that defend themselves and don't let bullies a chance to get to them are the real problem instead of the actual bullies themselves? Lol ok

123easy said:
It's not. Just because you are all the way on the other side on the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're not real, and vice versa. Getting harassing messages is no different than getting harassing phone calls, or having someone saying something hurtful to your face- It's still someone harassing someone else. People like you dismissing it are the real problem, not people who understand that it is a problem in the first place.

And this absolute black hole of logic, where common sense cannot escape, is because you attempt to overrationalize something that's really kind of obvious.

Getting harassing messages is no different than getting harassing phone calls

Let's have some fun with this, first.

1. 'No different." Phones have a caller ID; I can't right well bring a Hotmail address to a lolsuit, can I? But seriously, it's text. Hurtful, hurtful text, with no real emotion behind it besides what you give it.
2. Define "messages" instant messaging? Email? Private messages on a site like this? I find it kind of hard to see how you'd feel threatened and insulted by a screen-name unless they tell you your address and how many times you shit in a day.

Just because you are all the way on the other side of the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're not real and vice versa

This is my favorite thing out of the whole thread. Good work, Holmes! I think you may have stumbled across a vital clue!
Tackling this with a sense of humor may not even dissolve how silly it is; well duh. We're all people. I'm no digital machination who learned communication by hijacking google searches and I'd hope you aren't either - but the thing is, you don't communicate emotion or intent through text. It's words. Words!

If I typed out "I am very angry and I think you're a big huge dumb," you'd have no idea what the implicit emotion behind that is. It's easy to assume I'm hostile, but given its parlance and the fact I have absolutely no problem using 'Fuck, Shit, Dammit, Cunt, Dick,' and every other word like that, most here would assume I'm taking the piss.

That block of text was all to say - people are people (and they die when they are killed), but their reasons and how well they do so is less concrete. Ceci n'est pas une hatemail.

Or having someone say it to your face - It's still harassing someone else.

The biggest issue with this is that absolutely utterly entirely different. I can't cockslap you through the internet - my dick would drag the ground and the momentous amount of double-sided tape I'd need to conceal that would probably render my internet connectivity moot due to tape bills!
But seriously, again, unless someone outright tells you they know where you are, prove it and intent to carry-out, the big difference is you can't threaten violence over a 'net connection. And if they can, you probably have more than enough grounds to file one of several flavors of police reports.

People like you dismissing it are the real problem

Pray heavens, Easy, really? The hordes of emotionally-repressed teens with no communication skills aren't the problem? No, it's clearly not your sub-sociopaths with a keyboard and an Oedipus complex or any number of issues you could link to them aren't the issue here.
Do you also blame critics of the Titanic ever sinking for its submergence because they sabotaged the world's greatest vessel with their vile, evil thoughts of...rationality and skepticism?

not people who understand it is a problem in the first place

This is where you start stepping into "Internet Crusader" territory.
There's a difference between knowing something is a problem, and making something into a much, much larger problem than it actually is.
Especially when over-assessing the issue causes you to change your solution to it into something that will likely not-only reduce the effectiveness of treating it and in-fact only make the problem worse in the long run.
As you so eloquently put it, people are people. They have been, are, will be - emotionally fickle things, fluttering in the winds of societies too busy to focus on them. If you tell them there will always be someone there to listen to their problems, to act as a no-budget therapist and to check their mental baggage, than you're outright lying to them.

Helping an individual means helping him be an individual - self-reliant and capable of rationalizing and compartmentalizing trauma, judging it for what it is rather than undergoing a mental crisis because some fuck in Mississippi told them 'ther a fagt' and that Mississippi is hard to remember how to spell.

The way you'd describe things, it's a wonder Youtube isn't its own self-contained Canto XIII instead of just being a cesspool for every emotional-defunct and child just learning how opinions work.

Did I miss anything?

Tunguska said:
1. 'No different." Phones have a caller ID; I can't right well bring a Hotmail address to a lolsuit, can I? But seriously, it's text. Hurtful, hurtful text, with no real emotion behind it besides what you give it.

Because the person calling can't simply removes their caller ID outbound functions, right? People also don't have answering machines, either, right? In fact, getting called at all times of the day and night isn't harassment either, is it? I mean, it's just the phone ringing constantly never giving you any peace and quiet.... yeah, no.

2. Define "messages" instant messaging? Email? Private messages on a site like this? I find it kind of hard to see how you'd feel threatened and insulted by a screen-name unless they tell you your address and how many times you shit in a day.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/twitter-harassment-case-lands-in-toronto-court-1.2487075 for one; The many people who have their personal information leaked by blackhats and their lives ruined by the flood of negativity and stress, for another- their stories are out there.

The biggest issue with this is that absolutely utterly entirely different. I can't cockslap you through the internet - my dick would drag the ground and the momentous amount of double-sided tape I'd need to conceal that would probably render my internet connectivity moot due to tape bills!

But seriously, again, unless someone outright tells you they know where you are, prove it and intent to carry-out, the big difference is you can't threaten violence over a 'net connection. And if they can, you probably have more than enough grounds to file one of several flavors of police reports.

Bullying doesn't require you to only use the threat of physical violence; While it usually does involve some level of it, someone can be bullied without a single hair on their head harmed, through threats, insults, jeering, and more. It does lessen as you advance into adulthood, but it by no means stops.

Pray heavens, Easy, really? The hordes of emotionally-repressed teens with no communication skills aren't the problem? No, it's clearly not your sub-sociopaths with a keyboard and an Oedipus complex or any number of issues you could link to them aren't the issue here.
Do you also blame critics of the Titanic ever sinking for its submergence because they sabotaged the world's greatest vessel with their vile, evil thoughts of...rationality and skepticism?

And these people also proclaim that it's not a problem, and make it even harder for anyone to even attempt to actually fix this shit. Nothing can be done unless it's acknowledged as a problem and resources are moved into place to actually deal with the problem as a whole, such as properly educating children so they don't turn into mouthbreathing fuckwits that casually harass everyone around them.

As you so eloquently put it, people are people. They have been, are, will be - emotionally fickle things, fluttering in the winds of societies too busy to focus on them. If you tell them there will always be someone there to listen to their problems, to act as a no-budget therapist and to check their mental baggage, than you're outright lying to them.

Never said that there will always be someone to, as you put it, 'check their mental baggage'. That doesn't mean that nothing should be done about it and it should be swept under the rug. That's how veterans with PTSD were treated originally- Look how well that turned out, and how much better they're generally treated now.

Helping an individual means helping him be an individual - self-reliant and capable of rationalizing and compartmentalizing trauma, judging it for what it is rather than undergoing a mental crisis because some fuck in Mississippi told them 'ther a fagt' and that Mississippi is hard to remember how to spell.

If someone imploded over just a single person saying a single thing, they obviously have far worse problems than bullying going on, mostly dealing with anger issues, I'd theorize. The thing is that usually that single thing said by a single person is just the catalyst for all the suppressed anger and pain that has been building up because of all the casual bullying that occurs. This all said, no, helping an individual is not vis-a-vis helping them be an individual inherantly. Yes, people need to make their own decisions, but helping them make a decision doesn't mean you're not helping them. That's just nonsense.

The way you'd describe things, it's a wonder Youtube isn't its own self-contained Canto XIII instead of just being a cesspool for every emotional-defunct and child just learning how opinions work.

Given that Canto XIII describes those who took their own life because they were driven to it by others and then in a moment of weakness did the deed, regardless of their life lived (be they an otherwise virtuous man or a simple one who had committed little other sin) is rather apt for this discussion, given the number of people that commit suicide because they can't deal with the bullying every day. However, Youtube commentary is for the most part not much for the average user- the issues come when people like TotalBiscuit, who have previously underlying issues, create videos and get a very large amount of vitriol directed at them (Note: I'm not defending John Bain, exactly; he's said a lot of shit both in replies and on his own initiative that has earned him a lot of flack, like treating people who speak politely to him like shit (there's more than a few examples floating around the internet, if you're curious you can find them on your own).) The volume of anger and negativity he gets is far too much for any one person to really handle, and you can see it if you look at images of him when he was younger compared to now- he looks like an old man of 45-50, his hair falling out and numerous stress-caused health problems, and he's 29 years old. The reason I don't consider it more of an issue is simple- you can completely shut off Youtube commentary on your own videos, and given that the inbox has been completely reworked to work off of G+ and G+-enabled commentary on the videos, this greatly restricts the incoming traffic rather easily. This doesn't stop people from addressing it in other outlets, certainly, but so long as you don't search out that manner of thing (which is why I'm not defending TB here- he deliberately goes out of his way to continue to read comments and shit, causing himself more stress than he needs. Just stupid, man) it can be for the most part nullified.

Lastly, I hope you realize that your post basically amounts to a picture-perfect case of bullying itself with the way that you are addressing what I wrote, what with the inflammatory method of writing ('This is my favorite thing out of the whole thread. Good work, Holmes! I think you may have stumbled across a vital clue!', for one; 'Did I miss anything?' bolded, obviously intended to be read with a sarcastic tone, for another) and dismissive attitude that, among other things, 'it's JUST text', and shows quite succinctly what I'm talking about.

Halite said:
Except for the part where it's a million times quicker and easier to close a web page than to change your phone number, or get away from someone who doesn't want you to in person.

It can take about the same amount of effort to make a new (non-disposable) e-mail account as it takes to change your phone number these days, actually. For example, ATT has a process where you sign in to their website, select a "change my number" option, select a new wireless number, and it's done. There's a few extra steps for setting up some call features, but the same goes for setting up a new email with folders and filters. Getting away from someone in person, assuming you're both average people, isn't that easy at all. I've watched people on the streets trying to walk away from someone yelling and screaming at them, breaking out into a run, and the other person following them just fine while still screaming at them. That doesn't even touch on the pervasiveness of social media and apps that people can flood, btw- having to change and hide everything you communicate under should not be the default response to being bullied online.

TheHuskyK9 said:
It is. Last time I've checked, we aren't digital

...*facepalm* Trying to say that just because we are communicating over a different medium it's not reality is just... seriously?

So people that defend themselves and don't let bullies a chance to get to them are the real problem instead of the actual bullies themselves? Lol ok

In the capacity of you just not letting bullying get to you, no, you aren't the problem. In the capacity of being dismissive of bullying being a problem at all, yes, you are the problem. Bullying itself is the penultimate issue, of course, and the bullies themselves being the propagators of that, but as I've said before unless we can actually get it properly addressed as a problem and resources moved to deal with it, it will continue to be a problem that we cannot hope to do more than to slap a temporary bandage on.

I think the differing opinions on bullying can be (roughly) summed up with the following:

Folks who are thick-skinned or didn't have much trouble with bullying generally don't view it as a big issue and just don't get very invested in preventing or mitigating it.

Folks who internalize bullying and have struggled with it can more easily sympathize with people struggling with bullying, and view it as a much larger issue that they can invest more emotion into.

Whichever side people fall into, or if they're somewhere in the middle, it's pretty dang hard to change sturdy opinions through a discussion online. It's nice to see healthy discussions like this crop up but aside from a few small concessions being made by a few folks, I fear that this conversation could shift from a healthy debate to a heated argument.

LeatherFord579 said:
I been bullied when i was 6th TERRIBLE!!!!'!!!!!!!!:((

6th grade? Try pre-k, or even better try BEFORE pre-k. I can hardly go a day without someone making fun of me because i'm a science geek.

There is actually a video on Youtube called "To This Day" that describes what I have been through.

If you can't find it here's the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8SdkAgsoM4

UnafraidAtom said:
There is actually a video on Youtube called "To This Day" that describes what I have been through.

If you can't find it here's the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8SdkAgsoM4

That is a beautiful video.