Bullying is out there, whether you see it or not. Bully’s make younger modern versions of your classic villains; pirates, thieves, rogue soldiers, etc… Most of us here on teen ink are authors, that means whether anyone else agrees or not, we understand certain things that others don’t. They are all different; maybe one of you can understand why heroes are heroes. Maybe some of you can understand the reasons behind most villains. For me, I understand bullying though I am usually on the receiving side, I can see the reasoning and thought process behind the inflictors.

When I was little all I could ever think about was helping people, but not in the way most kids would think. They all wanted to be doctors, fireman, or policeman, but bullies always fascinated me. And by that I mean in my mind they were the foulest vermin to roam the earth. I would watch movies with bullied kids in them and felt that if I ever came across a bully I would stop him dead in his tracks.

As the years went on I got to thinking, what happens if I stop them. Will they stop bullying people? The more I thought about it, the more I doubted it. The bullies would just leave and come back the next day when I wasn’t around. You have to think about the now, and then the later.

One problem with going to a teacher is that it covers only about 25% of the now and even less of the later. No bully’s going to stop because a teacher or principle told him or her to, they will simply come back with a lust for revenge, now you’ve made yourself a target and made it harder on the kid you where trying to help. They might threaten you that they will beat you up if you tell anyone, and the teachers wont be able to stop him. Not to mention that in the time you take to get help the damage might already have been done, the bully may have even gotten away. The only thing the teacher can do effectively is telling their guardian, but you have to keep in mind that bullies are often victims themselves. Their parents very likely won’t care, or worse, they could encourage the child.

You have to stand up for yourself, for friends, and sometimes even complete strangers. First thing is first; you’ve got to try to change their minds verbally, sympathize with them, you never know they could become your best friend. If that fails, physically get yourself between the bully and the victim, without even saying a word you showed them that to get to his victim he has to go threw you to get to the victim. After that you are on your own because every situation is different. It’s up to you to decide where things go, be creative, use your head, but don’t forget to think about the later.

For me I prefer to physically show them that they can’t mess with my friends or I will hear about it. Before people start telling me that violence is not the answer, I just want to tell you that I use it only when all else fails. One thing I know I’m going to here under comments this phrase, “if you fight back your no better than they are.” But no offense, but I disagree. Its all about motive, your practically saying that soldiers are no better than the terrorists. Or that police are no better than the murderers and kidnappers they hunt. I fight back because I need to protect my friend; I do it out of kindness. The bully is doing it for at least one of the following; releasing negativity inflicted on them, out of hate, or jealousy, out of hatred, out of pleasure, etc…

Now where was I? Oh yes, for me I prefer to physically show them that they can’t mess with my friends or I will hear about it. But I always let them make the first move, one because it makes it self-defense, and means that there is no other way out. Two, it gives you an advantage on your opponent. Don’t make a big show of things or excessively harass the bully, get in, make your point, get out. This proves to them that you are a reliable source anyone can go to if he makes more trouble. It shows him that I can and will defend my friends, and in general he can’t pick on people without paying for it. This quiet often ends a bullying problem right there. But you always have to be careful, like a said every situation is different.