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WHY DO PEOPLE BULLY?

Jazzy

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The documentary Bully, which opens today, shows Alex Libby being pushed, poked and ridiculed.



At one point in the film he says, “They push me so far that I want to become the bully.



It takes a hard, close look at the bullied and the bullies.



Why do people bully?



It provides these kids with a sense of power, said Catherine Bradshaw, a developmental psychologist who studies bullying at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. It's a way of pulling your core group closer and putting someone else out of it.



The simple reason is it shows that they have power over others, agreed Marlene Snyder, Development Director for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in the United States, based in Clemson, S.C. The reason that they do it repeatedly is that they are getting away with it. Nobody is calling them on their bad behavior. When they aren't called on it they think, 'Well, it must be O.K.'



This power brings popularity and high social status for bullies, Bradshaw said. But they're also perceived as disliked.



Evidence has shown that bullies often suffer from social and emotional problems, she added. At the same time, one of the big myths is that bullies bully because they feel bad about themselves, Snyder said. The research consistently shows that they have average or above average self-esteem.



For the longest time we thought for sure that these ringleader bullies were socially rejected, that there was no way that you could establish dominance and control by humiliating other kids or tormenting them, said bullying expert Dorothy Espelage, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But now we've shown that there is a peer socialization process -- that bullies tend to have more friends.



WATCH VIDEO: It's important for teens to fit in with their peers. Being excluded can lead to depression, anxiety and stress: http://news.discovery.com/human/why-people-bully-120330.html



Question: Ever been bullied?
 
I've heard of the movie.​



I think that almost every kid can relate. Whether you've been a victim of bullying, a bully yourself, or you've just witnessed it.​

I've been bullied before but it ended better for me because I actually became good friends with the bully. After that, throughout high school I was able to mix with every crowd and I had a cool personality so I was not bullied.​



From experience, the best way to avoid being bullied is to be part of a clique. A group provides you with stability and protection. The kids who are bullied, more than anyone else, are the strange loners.​
 
Was bullied a bit during secondary school. I ignored it and had very good friends who stuck up for me, they left me alone after a while.
 
I've never really been bullied, mainly because I don't take shit from anyone. Even when I was too young to remember I wouldn't let the other kids push me around.
 

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Welcome to Offtopix 👋, Visitor

Off Topix is a well-established general discussion forum that originally opened to the public in 2009! We provide a laid-back atmosphere, and our members are down to earth. We have a ton of content, and fresh stuff is constantly being added. We cover all sorts of topics, so there's bound to be something inside to pique your interest. We welcome anyone and everyone to register and become a member of our awesome community.

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