Bullying: Who is the Victim?

Ok…so people are laughing and saying the bully deserved what he got, but did he really?  (From “bully picks on the wrong kid.” Read the Youtube comments)

I watched this video on a Facebook post and couldn’t help but to cringe when the bully hit the cement head first.  I couldn’t help but to recall lessons from biopsychology courses a few years back about the life-changing effects of head trauma and brain damage injuries.

The kid got slammed into the cement head first; that could debilitate him or kill him— much worse than a punch to the face. Watch the tape again, the victim’s reaction was just too much. Yes the bigger kid is indeed a victim, but again, that small kid could have been killed!

I advise you to think about the context beyond just, “that probably wasn’t the first time that kid bullied that other kid; he kept it in too long.”  Look on the flip side.  Bullies have been shown to typically have no positive adult role models, many come from low SES homes, and many are abused at a young age.   I’m not saying the small kid is justified in his actions.  He isn’t, at all.  But he definitely did not deserve what he got.

He could have suffered death, paralysis, or not being able to speak for the remainder of his life, just from a decision he made when he was 8 years old…that doesn’t seem fair for a kid that probably has some deep personal issues.

Think about it:

Kids don’t go around being this violent just for fun.  It doesn’t make you popular, and it doesn’t make you at any better terms with your parents.  There is usually a motive to prove something to or validate themselves stemming from their lives at home; one way to do this is by belittling others.  Looking back on your own experiences, have you ever met a violent bully, or a bully of any type, that didn’t have personal or family issues?

Bullies are usually victims too.

In the case of the video, Both of the kids are victims, and both could have been better off with more self-control.  But neither deserved this.  The school (whose teachers seemed to have done nothing during the entire episode), the parents, economic disparities, and other socio-political factors are the true culprits.

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