One of the more sad stories I remember from 2012 (remember 2012??) was the suicide of young Amanda Todd.
She claimed she was bullied, mostly on, of all the places, Facebook!
I couldn't really understand how one can be bullied online on the internet. I thought you could just log off, and that would be that.
I hate bullies and bullying. Luckily, have been able to stand up to them right till this day.
I remember a time when I was about 10 or 11 and my parents got me a brand new bike.
I rode on this from one end of our street to the other, and over the days and weeks ventured further and further afield. I scrupulously avoided the neighborhood bullies, but one hot afternoon I was too pre-occupied with my bike, which by then had attained the status of a Ferrari in my imagination, as I whizzed dangerously around streets and sidestreets and narrow alleys.
I saw these 5 boys that were about my age but known as the neibourhood toughs, blocking my way. I knew there was going to be violence and that probably they would beat me up. So heart pounding, I dismounted and laid the bike on its side, as the five approached me with taunts and rude language. As they got nearer, I started rotating and swinging both my arms, whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! I must have looked like a windmill, but not being trained in any form of art of fighting, this is the best I could do! They were probably as inexperienced as I was, and couldn't get near me or my bike!
Anyway, the fracas didn't last more than a few minutes; they lost interest and went away, and I got back on my bike.
I was never bothered after that in that neighborhood again. In fact I vaguely remember becoming friends with some of them later.
Surprisingly, I still come across bullies! Only last week, someone tried to ram his SUV into my car from the side, just because he was driving erratically, and I accelerated to get away from him and out of harm's way!