Bullying

“No one was home after school so I tried to hang myself in my basement. I know what you’re thinking, why would she do such a selfish thing? Well I was going through so much I couldn’t even handle anything anymore. I have never really told many people how far the bullying got; I don't think my mum even knows really. I have never been slim, but I was never that big, yeah I am overweight but not by that much. I have never been anywhere close to being obese and I don't have a double chin or rolls on my stomach except when I sit down. Yet people use to always call me fat and it destroyed me” said Alex’s, a victim of emotional, physical and psychological bullying (Alex’s 2012). First of all, bullying is typically things such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. In this paper, I will explain what bullying is and the psychological means behind it. Furthermore, I will explain what Marano talks about in her article, “Big Bad Bully”. Finally, I’m going to talk about my opinions about the article and ways to stop bullying within our social groups.
According to Sandra Graham, PhD, UCLA, bullying is defined as the use of force to abuse or intimidate others. The behavior of bullying can cause harm to others in many ways. It can include verbal, physical, or emotional abuse towards an individual or a group of people. Sometimes bullying can be in a form of a threat. There are different types of bullying such as direct and indirect. Direct bullying refers to those being bullied physically and verbally; whereas indirect bullying refers to a group or activity formed to exclude an individual (Manninen 2012). Just like many kids, Alex’s was bullied during her junior and high school years by her fellow schoolmates. Her bullies urinated on her, called her foul names, kicked her several times, verbally and physically attacked and brutalized her to the point where social workers had to step in because