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Aurora Agee
English 4 honors
Mrs. DeBock
February 26, 2016

To Be a Bully or Not to Be
Out of everything in the world a person can be why would someone choose to be a bully?
The answer is quite simple, The bullies are often victims of bullying themselves. Individuals who
are victimized themselves are often those who cause violence. Many common people may say
that the bullies are the only bad guys in a situation. However, the act of bullying is an unending
cycle. Bullying in general affects more than just people's mental well being, it affects their
actions towards others as well as their life as a whole.
Bullying affects many people in today's society. The people being bullied often is targeted
for a certain reason, which include their looks, their interests, or even for a disability. Kalman
states that in Dylan Klebold, who was one of the columbine shooters, felt persecuted, rejected
and even described his life as the most miserable existence in the history of time. These are the
words of a person who has been bullied and has been a bully. Both have a negative effect on a
person. Once a person has been persecuted by a bully they tend to show more flamboyancy
whether that be i their outfits or attitude towards others (Horswell). Simplicio discusses the side
that maybe the prolonged effects of bullying are the fault of the parents due to the way the recent
generation of parents have raised their children. Also he says that the parents have caused the
children to be overly soft and tattle tale on anyone they
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believe is bullying. This may help in some cases but if there are too many cases of bullying
reported school administrators and adults will believe their children are just crying wolf when
there really may be a real problem.
Those who bully can be held solely responsible for their actions, yes, but there are studies
that show reasoning behind such actions. Bullies are often victimized themselves whether that be
by parents, coworkers, spouses, or other students (Kalman). In several studies it is shown that not
only do bullies feel victimized but they feel that it is wrong to victimize. Victimization is the
main cause of bullying in recent studies. Simplicio states Almost three quarters of the attackers
felt persecuted, bullied threatened, attacked, or injured by others prior to the incident. In the
incident of Columbine the two shooters were victimized by their peers and it is believed that this
was the main cause of their outburst. The common thought of a bully is the bad person in every
situation. However, if the studies are looked at in a different light it shows that bullies are
actually just those who have been persecuted and cracked under pressure. The bully or aggressor
also feel a need to take matters into their own hands because society does not do enough to
protect people from bullies. therefor they then become bullies themselves (Kalman). Bullies can
be victimized in many ways. This could be from the government, taxes, or any authority figure.
When an individual is bullied they could feel the need to retaliate against whatever happened to
them. Bullies feel a victim to themselves as well as their bully.
In most cases of bullying people have shown a sort of cycle from being bullied to then
becoming a bully. Horswell states that in a study researching specifically school shootings only
two-thirds of students who committed schools shootings had been bullied previously; However
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in those cases being bullied did have a key role in motivating the attacker. The question on many
researchers minds is why do children and adults continue or start to bully after they are bullied.
One of many reasons may be that the anti-bullying components that the federal government
suggests are rarely ever put into place. So children may believe since there is no hard
consequence they should do it as well. In a study it is shown that when at least one of the federal
government's suggested policies were in use high school students were 24 percent less likely to
report bullying (Sparks). This shows that the cycle of bullying is continuous and unending in
schools because stricter rules should be put into place and used. the unending cycle is a major
problem in society. If we can only make bullies disappear, no kids will be victims, and no one
will have any motivation to shoot up their schools stated Kalman.
Schools shootings have been on the rise lately and there is more than just one cause of
this. Massive anti bullying campaigns has only strengthened our anger and hatred towards bullies
and people use revenge against their bullies or attackers (Kalman). The act of bullying has a very
aggressive and violent background and base. In the article Bullying Threatens Safety in
Schoolsit says bullying is seen as a subset of aggressive behaviour that is expressed in an
open, direct way for example physically hitting, kicking, punching someone; verbally
threatening, insulting, teasing, taking belongings. Bullying can be a way to retaliate against
those who have wronged or treated someone unfairly. The way it works is the anger towards an
individual's bully builds up inside them and just like a cannonball they explode. It may not be the
most rational thing to do but that is exactly what happens. Or they may even resort to harming
themselves because of the built up anger and tension in their life caused by the bully. There are
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many negative effects bullying can have on a person. Some react different than others but most
feel the same in their head. People who are or have been persecuted feel paranoid or often
depressed (Kalman). How else would someone who is under such pressure with these feelings
react other than retaliating.
Bullying in general affects more than just people's mental well being, it affects their
actions towards others as well as their life as a whole.Bullying is a serious issue that is prevalent
in the recent generations such as generation Z. Mainly due to the new developments in the
internet as well as easier ways to slyly oppress a person. The current teenagers and tweens are so
involved in the internet and pleasing others that the tend to put all their anger of not fitting in on
others. There is such a pressure on people to fit in and some no matter how hard they try they
cannot seem to fit into the mold. Often times a person who believes they are not normal looking
or acting will try to put their pain upon another that may or may not look normal. There are
many ways that a person can be persecuted or attacked. These are the main causes of bullying
such as victimization and feeling attacked by authority. There are people who believe that the
bully is the antagonist of the situations which is true to some extent however they are also the
person being antagonized just at an earlier time. Through careful research of both sides of the
story an individual can find that there is no right or wrong with having an opinion of the bully
being the victim.

Works Cited

"Bullying Threatens Safety in Schools." Africa News Service 26 Nov. 2015. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Horswell, Cindy. "Bullying Is a Key Factor in Threats of Youth Violence." Violence. Ed. Louise
Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"Schools

Learn Bully Can Plant Seed for Tragedy." Houston Chronicle 26 Mar.

2006: 1.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Kalman, Izzy. "Bullying Contributes to School Shootings." Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I.
Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"A

Psychological Solution to Bullying: Tenth Anniversary of the Columbine

Shooting." Psychology Today (7 May 2009). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11

Feb. 2016.
Sparks, Sarah D. "Student Bullying; 'Associations Between Anti-Bullying Policy and Bullying in
25 States'." Education Week 14 Oct. 2015: 5. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web. 11

Feb. 2016.

Simplicio, Joseph. "Suck it Up, Walk it Off, Be a Man: a Controversial Look at Bullying in
Today's Schools." Education 133.3 (2013): 345+. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web.

11 Feb. 2016.

Tyre, Peg. Bullying is on the Rise. Has Child Behavior worsened? Ed. Amy FRancis. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2014. At issue. Rpt. from Too Cruel for School: The
Rise of Bullying.
Web. 2 Mar. 2016

Family Circle ( 1 Oct. 2014). Opposing Viewpoints in Context.