Part I 

Although I have not personally experienced or witnessed bullying around me, the reason that made me put pen to paper to investigate why teenagers are being bullied and why they go to bullying is the ShakeTV video. Shake Shack is a popular media software that is used by all ages, and because of this everyone can know the truth about the bullying that happened in China last year. As far as I know, the victim of the bullying was a high achiever from a prestigious art school with excellent grades, but because the victim had a different personality and pursued different things from others, similar to an anti-social personality, everyone isolated him. Even the professors of the school would rather give rare opportunities to other poor students than to him, and in such a long-term environment, the college student chose to end his life. When I read this story my first reaction was also very angry and outraged that even the school was not able to help the victim, but instead helped the bully in the name of protecting themselves. However, my mind did not stop at the surface. This bullying incident turned the idea of school as a refuge for students upside down, and raised a series of questions in my mind: What kind of environment is most prone to bullying? Why do people bully others? Are the victims being bullied because of their own mental problems? What can be done to set up laws? What is the right way to prevent bullying? With these questions in mind, I made up my mind to start writing this paper because I wanted to know the answers to these questions so that I could help me really understand what bullying is.

Part II

Introduction 

Imagine the unacceptable behavior of adults who commit crimes that are so human, and replace it with the behavior of a group of minors who are still in school against vulnerable classmates, which is the extremely bad behavior of school bullying. However, school bullying is considered by most people to be a fight between teenagers, and it does not have a threat to society, so it is rarely taken seriously. Not being taken seriously by society means that the bully will act with impunity and the victim will behave in an extreme manner due to the chronic bullying. The victim’s behavior will not only hurt themselves, but they will want to see the bully get the punishment they deserve, so they may act even worse in return for society’s lack of attention. Shirley Gordon, a bullying prevention advocate, has developed different types of bullying prevention programs for the community, and on the point of why victims have a high crime rate, she shows that most of this behavior is revenge against the bully，“they often feel justified in their actions because they too have been harassed and tormented,” and vindictive behavior can make them “feel a sense of relief.” (Gordon). In other words, it is reasonable in the perception of the victim to retaliate against the bully in the same bad way after experiencing bullying many times. Most of the elements that give birth to this reasonable idea are due to the fact that the victim has not received any outside help and the bully’s arrogance, which drives them to the path of crime. Therefore, individuals who bully others should be held legally accountable for their actions because it reduces crime rates and helps victims recover 

Body Paragraph 1: Problem

As bullying goes unchecked, victims are subjected to long periods of torture by the bully and suffer negative effects on their psychological and mental health. The damage that bullying causes to its victims is innumerable, and most people are unaware that there are six different types of bullying, and that the different types correspond to different levels of harm. In the article, “What are the different types of bullying?” by Cynthia Vinney, a writer with a PhD in psychology, explaining several of the most deadly types of bullying for victims, one of which is verbal bullying, Cynthia Vinney describes, “Verbal bullying isn’t always easy to recognize because it often takes place when authority figures aren’t around. Moreover, a bully can pass it off as good-natured ribbing between friends. As a result, it can be difficult for the victim to prove” (Vinney). Verbal bullying is the beginning of trauma for the victim, and because it is easy for someone in authority, such as a teacher, to mistake it for a minor conflict between classmates, it is often the reason why victims are afraid to reveal the harm they have endured. If the victim reveals the truth about the verbal bullying, it means that they are at great risk of retaliation from the bully if they are told the truth and become angry. In addition to this, Vinny has mentioned relationship bullying in her article, and both relationship bullying and verbal bullying have the same quality of not being taken seriously by authority figures, Vinny explains relationship bullying，“which is also referred to as relational aggression or social bullying, involves actions intended to harm a victim’s reputation or relationships”, this means that the victim is deliberately kept away from and isolated by a certain means, such as, “embarrassing the victim in public, spreading rumors” (Vinney). Although relationship bullying and verbal bullying are essentially the same, the harm caused to the victim by relationship bullying is somewhat more severe than that caused by verbal bullying. Relationship bullying increases the victim’s self-doubt due to the alienation of friends and the fact that no one can be relied upon or trusted. With self-doubt often comes the beginning of low self-esteem and a fatal blow to physical and mental health. 

There is a great deal of controversy as to why victims are reluctant to take the initiative to fight back and whether it is the victim’s own problems that cause the bullying. Certainly, there are those who believe that the victim’s personality and mental problems are the reason why people are distant from the victim. People may even believe that the victim’s own flaws are the reason why the victim is reluctant to fight back, and that they are to blame for all the causes and consequences. For this view, Fred Rivara, a physician at Children’s Hospital and an expert on domestic violence and many other types of violence for over 30 years, in a survey of the physical and mental health of “the most physically challenged seventh graders,” his data showed, “6.4 percent were not bullied, 14.8 percent had been bullied in the past only, 23.9 percent had been bullied in the present only, and nearly a third (30.2%) had been bullied in both the past and present” (Rivera). This data refutes that the victim bullying was due to his or her own mental health. 30.2% of the students surveyed among students with poor mental health were bullied, which means that the remaining 69.8% of students were not bullied, which proves that the bullying was not the victim’s own fault. Furthermore, building on this verbal bullying and relational bullying, Sherri Gordon, in her article “How Long-Term Bullying Can Affect Your Life in Many Way,” explains in more detail the damage that these two types of bullying cause to the victim, who, when subjected to chronic bullying without any help, develops what is called “low self-esteem, a lack of self-esteem is a direct result of the mean and hurtful things that other kids say about them” (Gorden). This explains why many victims of bullying are afraid to reveal the truth, and such a situation will only arise with no room for redemption. Therefore, bullying should be taken seriously so that the relevant laws can be passed to punish the bully and curb the terrible consequences early.

Body Paragraph 2:

Bullies are not born to take pleasure in the suffering of others, and due to external factors, teenagers can easily be led astray. The bully is not afraid to do some of these things a focus on power, so to speak, money is power and status, money is not a solution to all problems, but it can make many people obey as well as fear. Gordon, in his article “8 Reasons Why Teens Bully Others.” highlights that having power is one of the main characteristics of bullies. Since they are not able to take the pleasure of having power as well as control in their own family, they usually seek out those who are weaker than them and take pleasure in being second best. (Gordon) In other words, this is one of the reasons why victims are so afraid to reveal the truth, that power can cover up what the bully has done and hide the truth. But it’s the notion that everything is solved by a family backer that distorts the bully’s thinking. Gordon also mentions in his article that family factors also contribute to bullying, especially that “teens who come from abusive homes are more likely to bully” because such a form of bullying can give the bully “a sense of power and control that they lack in their own lives.” (Gordon) So, the influence of family factors on a child is reflected from their behavior down the road, and if no one can correctly point out to them that this is wrong behavior, they will agree that such behavior is normal petty fights. Besides, Ken Rogby, a national school counselor for 25 years and author who is also a psychologist and teacher, provides a deeper explanation of the environmental factors that contribute to why people bully, which are particularly broad in scope and include “interacting microsystems in the Each of these ecological systems is conceived as interacting with and influencing each other in all aspects of the immediate environment, such as the home, the local neighborhood, and the school. Each of these ecological systems is conceived as interacting with and influencing each other in all aspects of the children’s lives.”(Ken) Ken wanted to express that all the environmental factors are interacting with each other, such as teachers in schools, students, who are not willing to take bullying seriously. The police in the community are not willing to help victims because of interference with rights, etc. Many factors are linked to create an excellent environment for people to bully, which is a very scary thing. Feren Vanesia Lim, a victim and bully, responded to the interlinking of environmental factors in the TAD panel with her own personal experience of six years of bullying, stating that she had experienced physical and verbal bullying, and when she told her teachers and classmates about her bullying experience, she received no help, and even when she changed schools, her parents did not explain to her why . That’s how she started bullying at her new school, and the scary thing is that she didn’t know it was wrong, and only when the principal finally pointed out her mistake did she understand that such behavior was wrong. (Vanesia) Vanesia’s personal experience explains her helplessness and pain as a victim, and reveals why her environment caused her to be bullied, and why she went on to bully others. Therefore, in order to prevent such things from happening, it is important to break the link between these factors so that the bully does not repeat the mistake, as in the case of the principal.

Body Paragraph 3: Solution

Providing communication as well as assistance can be effective in preventing bullying. In an interview with Scott Poland, a professor of psychological research, who has more than 26 years of experience in adolescent mental health and bullying prevention Professor Scott stated，there is a strong link between bullying and suicide. And parental communication can be a defense against victim suicide, and it is up to parents to take responsibility for their children, not to control them (Poland). Effective communication can help children get out of their mental blocks, in addition to effective communication means teaching children why they are bullied and what is right and what is wrong. Moreover, when asked about the extent to which schools and social counselors can contribute to solving bullying, Professor Poland said that schools and social counselors have the knowledge and persuasive power to do so, and that these people can pull together a lot of people to set up bullying prevention groups if they can (Poland). Contrary to Vanesia, in both of her previous schools, she did not receive help from the school as well as from her classmates, which led her to the wrong path. If none of the above solves the problem of bullying, the victim can report it to the officials, that is Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs， a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C.. This website shows “When the situation is not adequately resolved, consider:  Filing a formal grievance with the school district. Contacting the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division for help.” （ASPA）Official reporting here can make victims courageous to report, as well as more easily get help.

Conclusion：

 In conclusion, bullies should need to be held accountable for their actions and the law can deter the wrongdoing of bullies and prevent crimes. The law can also prevent the victim from being psychologically traumatized and thus having retaliatory behavior. 

        Works Cited 

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA). “Federal Laws.” StopBullying.gov, 24 Sept. 2019, www.stopbullying.gov/resources/laws/federal. 

Rivara, Frederick, and Suzanne Le Menestrel. “Consequences of Bullying Behavior.” Nih.gov, National Academies Press (US), 14 Sept. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390414/.

Interview with Dr. Scott Poland, Ed.D. On the Effects of Cyberbullying.” CORP-MSW1 (OMSWP), www.onlinemswprograms.com/careers/social-worker-interviews/interview-with-dr-scott-poland-on-cyberbullying/. 

Gordon, Sherri. “8 Reasons Why Teens Bully Others.” Verywell Family, 27 Feb. 2014, www.verywellfamily.com/reasons-why-teens-bully-others-460532. 

Gordon, Sherri. “How Long-Term Bullying Can Affect Your Life in Many Ways.” Verywell Family, 17 Oct. 2021, www.verywellfamily.com/bullying-impact-4157338. 

Vinney, Cynthia. “What Are the Different Types of Bullying?” Verywell Mind, 8 Nov. 2021, www.verywellmind.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-bullying-5207717. 

Rigby, Ken. “Theoretical Perspectives and Two Explanatory Models of School Bullying.” International Journal of Bullying Prevention, Springer Science+Business Media, Oct. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-022-00141-x. 

Part III

One of the most difficult parts of this essay was linking one’s understanding of the essay, as the reader was asked to find commonalities or differences between the essay and then another essay to link them, extremely testing reading comprehension skills. Although I spent a lot of my time on this section, I also realized that teenagers who are not curbed from bullying can easily commit crimes in the future. In a school where bullying is a regular occurrence, it means that teachers are not responsible for their students as well as parents are lacking responsibility for their children and none of them can guide them properly. Even with a new environment, things like this will still happen until the child understands what is right and what behavior is wrong so that the problem can really be solved. Unfortunately, one thing I didn’t mention in the article is that parental misguidance leads to a distorted perception of the bully, who doesn’t realize that his or her behavior is wrong and can cause harm to others. In a recent film I watched about a victim’s revenge plan against a bully after 19 years, one of the main bullies, her mother’s misguided pampering, using money to fix the mistake the child put down instead of letting the child take the blame for the mistake, made the child herself think there was nothing wrong with her, thus repeating the mistake. Such behavior is particularly scary even if someone is willing to guide them on what is right, they will not admit that their behavior is wrong, so this is why the law is important. The law can be a timely deterrent to future bad behavior committed by teenagers, keeping them in mind until they realize the seriousness of what they have done.