I think committing suicide due to bullying in the late 1960's/early 1970's was unheard of in those days. Now that we have seen it this decade, more students committing suicide because of bullying could happen.

Like if you are being bullied by others, say something. But that probably would invite more trouble, repercussions, etc. It could make things worse. What to do? Fight back? Expel the bully? Send the bully to a magnet school. Tell the parents? Create programs to curb bullying. Have cameras installed to catch the perps?

Stand up for yourself? Don't let the bully define you?

That all happened in the 1960's/1970's.

Well in the 2010's we get people that can't handle life without someone else helping them through their own failures. Don't stand up for yourself just commit suicide when the bullies win.

First of all, I am not persuaded that people didn't commit suicide because of bullying in the 1960s and 70s just because you say so.

Second of all, dropping out of school- especially if you were a misfit of some sort- was a lot more acceptable in the 60s and 70s than it is today. Back then, it was feasible that you might drop out of high school because you were miserable and still go on to live a decent, self-supporting life. Now, not so much (or at least, that's what we tell kids; we tell them that without higher education, they'll never have a "normal" life).

Thirdly, in the 60s and 70s, one could expect a reprieve from bullying when one reached the safety of one's home each day after school.
Now bullies can get at their victims any time and any place, through cell phone texting and internet social networking sites. No place is safe. Turning off these devices offers no reprieve, since the victim is well aware that the bullies continue to gossip about and plot against them whether or not they are listening. Better to stay apprised and know what to expect than to be caught unaware... at the same time, technology not only allows bullies to network with one another and thereby more efficiently plot against their victims, but it means they are able to invade the sanctity of the victim's home and psychologically abuse the victim in a way that would not have been imaginable in the 1960s and 70s.

All so true. Back in the 1960's/1970's, I wasn't privy to the news reports of bullying. I didn't watch the news or read the newspaper even though my dad worked for the newspaper. The only big news were the RFK and MLK assassinations, the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections. Not to mention the Apollo moon missions, especially with Apollo 11.

Well, that's what is happening, isn't it?

I was a nerdy older brother. I found out once that somebody was picking on my little sister, so I threatened him a little.

When my sister found out, she told me what a wonderful brother I was, how much she loved me, and that she'd break my arm if I did that again. I sort of felt a mild concern for the continued good health of the bully after that.

Later, she found a bigger boy picking on a littler boy, so she slugged the bully in the face. The Dean called my Mom, said he understood what she'd done and why, but to please ask her not to do it again.

__________________
“Quod scripsi, scripsi"

“Serpent's breath, charm of death and life, thy omen of making!”

When I was little, I had been taught at home and by my church that you always turn the other cheek and you don't do anything violent. What do you do when you're taught those things? Just magically go against them--you should just somehow know that what you're taught is wrong?

I agree that the best answer, for guys anyway, is to fight back--unless it's a group of people and not just an individual.

But in the case where it IS a group of people, and when someone has been taught not to fight--what's the answer?

Tattletale? That could potentially make the situation worse.

"Oh, the parents should do this or that"--well the parents aren't, so that's not an option.

What can be done?

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In this case, the adults have failed by allowing the children to become a feral mob. Oh, wait, I'm still thinking about the OWS vermin. But the same principle holds. Responsible adults need to ensure that misbehaving children of all ages are made to be very sorry for being pests.

If rational arguments and emotional appeals fail, then corporal punishment is nature's built in remedy. Paddle small children, cane adolescents, flog adults. This will also work for a variety of crimes, and allow us to dispense with most of the nonsensical concept of incarceration as punishment.

__________________
“Quod scripsi, scripsi"

“Serpent's breath, charm of death and life, thy omen of making!”