Are We Creating Bullying Victims In Our Schools?

Excerpted from the book "Everything I Need To Know About Bullies, I Learned In Prison; A Politically Incorrect Guide To Surviving High School" by Dr. Dennis Regling. "Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." -Groucho Marx When I was a kid, my mother always told me that, "sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you."Factors That Determine The Value of Precious Stones If I dared to come home crying because some kid called me names she would repeat this time-worn adage. Then she would add, "Do you want me to give you something to cry about?" I was taught that words are just words. They only have the power you give them. Today we have a legion of psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists and mental health professionals telling us "words hurt." Maybe if I write them on a rock and huck the rock at you. You know what? Words do hurt. If they are spoken by someone whose opinion you value. A husband or wife can crush their spouse with their words. A parent or respected adult can leave a long-lasting scar on a child with words. But schoolyard taunts? Get over it. What is so important about somebody else's opinion of you that you measure your own self-worth by them? When you let someone's words cripple you, you are saying that their opinion of you is more important than your own. I went through elementary school with red hair, glasses and being short. I was an easy target for taunts and teasing. But you know what, it wasn't my friends or family who were calling me names, it was kids I didn't care about anyway. If I don't care about them, why should I care what they say? Every week there is a new story about some kid who committed suicide and it is blamed on bullies. Harassment, verbal taunting and exclusion drives these poor kids to end their lives. It is sad. Very sad. Anytime anyone takes their own life, it is a tragedy beyond measure.