The Big Bad Bully

BY YASSER ALY

He tried to run but the bully’s hands were firmly locked on his shirt. The bully then punched him on the back. Everywhere around him people were laughing. He ran to a bathroom and closed the door behind him hearing the words “go back to your country” echo behind him.

Bullying is a big problem in our society that we must stop. Some bullies even target specific groups of people like Muslims, gays and/or minorities. Many TV channels like Cartoon Network are always saying things like “Stand up to bullying and tell an adult.” But the problem is, if someone is bullied, and the victim gets an adult involved, when the bully gets a chance, he is likely to attack harder. Research indicated that over 3.2 million students are bullied every year. 1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying.

In fact approximately 160,000 teenagers skip school every day because they are scared to get bullied. Not many teachers do anything about this problem, teachers interview kids who are bullied only 4% of the time. When kids reach the age of 14, less than 30% of boys and 40% of girls talk to their peers about bullying. This is because victims of bullying are often secretive and don’t want to appear weak so parents and teachers must be able to see the signs

At the Ontario Convention Center, a bullying incident was witnessed on Saturday at approximately 8 PM. The bullying began when a young boy, about 9 years old was playing a game along with other kids at the convention. An older boy, around 13 came and flicked him on the head. The victim told him to stop about 6 times but the bully continued. The victim got very mad and tried to hurt the bully. However the bully being more than almost twice his size; easily took him down and smashed his knee on to the victim’s foot. The victim was left on the floor crying. All of his friends saw him and his parents were getting dinner on the other side of the large hall.

The astonishing thing is, the bully’s mother and sister saw the entire thing. Yet, they did not do anything in fact when he came back to join them, they started talking about how good the food was! The mother did not do anything indicating that some parents are the problem. Parents have the choice to raise their child to a good or bad path. Yet some parents raise their children the incorrect way. In this incident at the convention center, both parents of the bully as well as the victim were at fault. The victim’s mother was not around her son neither was the mother of the bully who did not stop her son for bullying others. If parents raise their children well, teachers observe the signs and get involved, and victims are able to speak out, we will put an end to bullying.