DEAR ABBY: I am a 14-year-old girl in the eighth grade. I saw an interesting article in the newspaper this morning about bullying and how to stop it. All I could do was laugh. Those adults think they know how to stop it and what it's like, but quite frankly, they don't.
I know from experience how it feels to be harassed. I'm not exactly what you'd call skinny (I'm sort of muscular), and I wear baggy clothes. I am called "butch," "Sheeva" (a Mortal Combat character who is very muscular) and "Incredible Hulk." I am the target of a lot of hate, and it hurts badly.
I am writing because the newspaper article gave "tips" on how to stop the bullying. I don't know a single kid my age who would use any of them. They suggested saying, "You're trying awfully hard to upset me. When you do this you feel good. You feel powerful." Nobody I know would ever say something like that.
Sometimes ignoring the bully works, but it can also lead to fights. You could get right up into the bully's face. More fighting. No matter what you do, you can't stop it. It's usually the bully's home life that causes it. People say it's because of low self-esteem, but that's not usually the reason kids bully here in Delaware. They do it because they think it's FUNNY.
Abby, please print this so other kids who are being victimized by bullies will remember that they are beautiful -- maybe not to the bullies, but in their own way. -- BULLIED IN DELAWARE
DEAR BULLIED: Thank you for your honest letter. I am sorry you have been victimized by schoolyard bullies.
Bullying is not funny. There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior by students, teachers and administrators. Bullying is destructive. Systematic harassment can lead to violence, as evidenced by the shooting sprees of students who were isolated and bullied to intolerable levels. More must be done to eradicate this abuse so that all students can pursue their education in a safe environment.