I used to spend 70% of my time in a breeding ground for bullies.. I wasn't really the main target of the bullying, but it wasn't something that I wanted to watch all day, so I left. I was a target earlier this year (which was partly the reason why I stopped posting during those times) however, I can defend myself against a bunch of immature people. I fight back...
I wasn't going to mention anything about this in my blog but I recently met someone who was also a target by a different group of bullies in the same hostile environment that we were in...
Contrary to common knowledge, there were more girl bullies in this hostile environment that I was in... and even the guy bullies acted like girl bullies..
Verbal abuse...
I won't go into details about how the bullying happened but I'll just quote some excerpts from some sites I've read. (The victim or the bully might relate to one or two statements.. hopefully) . Also I'll be focusing on girl bullies rather than guy bullies..
How do girls bully:
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Verbal assaults. Girls typically use verbal attacks (
name-calling, gossip, insults, etc.) to target their victims. Sometimes these assaults take place in front of the victim. other times, they happen behind the victim's back.
*
Exclusion. One of the most common ways that girls bully is by excluding the victim. Girls often form groups of similar social status and shun other girls who try to join. They either tell the victim to leave them alone or simply walk (or run) away without saying a word to the victim.
*
Online attacks. Cyber bullying (online bullying) is becoming a common form of bullying, especially by girls. Cyber bullies use computers to send mean e-mails to their victims and through instant messaging,
blogs, and chat rooms
* playing jokes or tricks designed to embarrass and humiliate
* being friends one week and then turning against a peer the next week with no incident or reason for the alienation
Other tactics:
Walk down the hallway and slam into a girl-the teacher thinks you're distracted!
Knock a girl's book off a desk-the teacher thinks it fell!
Write an anonymous note!
Draw a mean picture!
Roll your eyes!
Send an instant message with a new username!
Steal a boyfriend!
Start a rumor!
Tell the teacher she cheated!
"You step on their shoe. Oops! Sorry!"
"You walk past someone and you try to bump them. You say, 'Excuse you!'
WHY do girls bully:
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They've learned the habit of bullying at home. Bullies often (but not always) come from homes where they are bullied or abused by their parents or older siblings. Bullying is a way for them to regain some of the control they have lost at home.
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They're insecure. In many cases, bullying is a cover-up for insecurity.A bully may be sensitive about her weight or the clothes she wears, and bullying other girls allows her to attack them before they attack her.
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They need to feel powerful. Girls who bully need to control and exert power over others.To make themselves seem more powerful, girl bullies often target girls who are passive, easily pushed around, or have very few friends. They often gang up on another girl to demonstrate their control.
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They want to get attention and be popular. Many girls bully to gain attention from their peers. They think that by being mean to others they will become more popular with the "cool" crowd. Unfortunately, this is often true, which makes bullying even more tempting to many girls.
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They have personal issues. Quite often, a girl may bully because she is having troubles at home or at school, which cause her to act out against other girls. Underneath her tough exterior, she is likely to be angry or depressed about other issues in her life
* Preserve or protect their friendships
* Retaliation for perceived slights
* Competition for attention from important people
Sources:
http://www.eduguide.org/library/viewarticle/2118/
http://www.bullysolutions.com/index.php/when-girls-bully
http://teenadvice.about.com/od/violencebullying/a/girlbullies.htm
Actually, even on my last day, I still received something that was made with the intent of humiliating me. I thought that was the last I'd hear about the bullying...
