Hey guys,
Last night on Dateline, they did a hidden camera story about bullying among teenagers called "My child would never..." This story was different… it wasn’t about telling kids that it is wrong to bully or that it is hurtful… all that has been done before… this story was designed to find out how those who wittness bullying react.
They hired three actors, two to play the bullies and one to play the person being bullied. The object was to find out how the other kids in the room would react to a bullying situation. Would they help the victim? Would they join the attack? Would they do nothing?
The parents of the teens who were the target of the investigation were watching to see how their children would react… some parents were proud of their children… others, not so much.
You can see parts of the episodes on MSNBC.com, and more of it on Youtube.
It takes a very strong person to stand up to a bully or a “popular” kid… most of the time the lack of response has to do with the fear of becoming the target…
How do you think you would react? How have you reacted? Are you one to stand up for a victim? Are you a victim of bullying and wish someone would stand up for you? Are you a bully?
What do you think?
I don't like having unneeded attention on me. Therefore, if it is very slight bullying, I would probably ignore it. However, if it was violent or extremely offending to the person or me, I would stand up for them or try to get the attention off of them. Most bullying I have witnessed is more of a joke than to be harmful so I usually ignore it. As hypocritical as it sounds, I would want someone to stand up for me if I was being bullyed.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the definition of bullying? If it's verbal comments intended to hurt and/or humiliate, yes, I have been bullied. And I have that bad feeling that the only reason that I wasn't bullied more was because some were smart enough to realize that ticking off the person that is helping them pass classes wasn't the best idea. It's the worst feeling in the world, when people are making fun of you, and everyone you know is just watching and doing nothing, and knowing that they won't help and you just have to stick it out by yourself. I have both stood up for people and watched them get made fun of. Granted, the watching was back when I was 6, but I still count it. I starting standing up for people when I realized that I didn't really care if I became the new target, because I stopped caring what people said about me.
ReplyDeleteI think if I were put in a situation like this I would feel unbelievably uncomfortable. I would like to think that I would have stuck up and defended whoever the person was who was getting made fun of, but I'm not positive. If it were someone I knew of or was friends with I would deffinatly stick up and say something to the bully about it. If I didn't know them, I really have no idea what I would do. Iknow I would feel horribly but I think I would be too scared to react. I think in someways I've been unintentionally bullied but its not something I really think about often. I know for a fact I'm not a bully tho, I'm a teenage girl which I sometimes get really mean towards people but I never bully anyone because iknow that I would feel terrible if I were being bullied and in a situation like that.
ReplyDeleteWell, let me start off by saying I have been bullied and teased several times. Did anyone stand up for me? On only a few occasions they have. In some cases, others have joined in. I wish more people stood up for me, but I usually just roll with the punches (I do not actually get punched, nobody has ever touched me). I just don't let those type of things get to me, and try to be a better person when it comes to seeing other people in those situations.
ReplyDeleteThere is a fine line between what I could and couldn't do to help a person being bullied. If it is light, verbal bullying, I would try to break it up, change the topic, or do something else to lighten the mood. However, if this becomes a yelling match with insults being tossed around, I will encourage others to help me break it up. If the bullying becomes physical, I, personally, cannot help the person, but I would rush to get assistance.
Being a hemophiliac, I could potentially harm myself by trying to stop a fight. Knowing this, I would bolt to get help if I saw two people throwing punches, or violently beating on each other. Of course, I would like to try and separate the two people, but I simply cannot.
-Jake M.
I'd like to think that I'd do something about it. Then again, you don't really know until your in the situation. What I do know is that I wouldn't join. I know what it does to people and I don't like conflict. There have been times before where I've helped people I know that were being bullied, but it was nothing serious. When it comes down to it, I think most people would try and stop it.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind being the center of attention so I would have no problem sticking up for someone as long as it gets peoples attention off of bullying the other student. I would like to believe that I would never turn away from someone being bullied but that isn't true. I would never deliberately leave someone alone who is being harassed of harmed in any way. Their are those situations that we all see every day where we do not know if it is just a few friends fooling around with each other or a real case of bullying. If someone seems really uncomfortable somewhere I try to get in the conversation to make sure the person is okay and not being bullied or is too uncomfortable. I hate being in uncomfortable situations and I try my hardest to keep other people out of them. Depending on who is doing the bullying I will sometimes say something directly to them or I will later talk to a teacher to give them a heads up on what I have recently been seeing. I would never say that I am a bully at all. Yes, I will admit that there have been those times where I say something to someone that I later wish I hadn’t, but who really hasn’t done that in their life. The only time I say something that I regret is when I am mad and it’s just my reaction and feelings of the moment. I know I am not perfect, but neither is anyone else. Never in my life have I ever purposely said something to hurt someone’s feelings not in the moment of an argument. The one thing I know for sure I would never do is harass another peer like some students do. People who bully other people make me angry because they really have nothing better to do than hurt someone who has never done anything wrong to them. I think if we could eliminate bullying for good it would be one giant step in the right direction for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has been joking around and has offended someone on accident, but if its more than that its not funny anymore. I have awesome friends who will always say something to anyone who tries to bully me but I can’t always say the same thing about myself. I have watched people be bullied and done nothing about it which is definitely something I am not proud of. Also I think gossip is just as bad as bullying someone to their face if not worse. It all need to stop. People think its cool to spread rumors about other people but its really not, especially if you’re the target.
ReplyDelete