Warning: I had originally meant for a little "Woo, go kid!" post, which turned into a "For those who are saying attention whoring..." which turned into the mess that it is now. Rambling, yet on topic. I didn't want to just delete it.

I wonder if it truly is different these days. We didn't track emotional problems back in the day like we do now, so there may well have been problems mentally and emotionally dealing with peer abuse (when it came to any school) in decades past. The problem with intense bullying is that you have no escape from it. In class, in the halls, after school. When other people see it, they join in as well, because that's how they'll be accepted, and then the avenues of safety from the bullying are completely cut off. Teachers don't give a crap, probably due to a lack of empathy, or because the parents will complain about any punishment due to a lack of empathy on their part.

I went through the same thing. I was from out of town, tall, overweight, got good grades, in enrichment programs, wore glasses, etc., the list of targets goes on. I'd get bullied, then get in a fight, and be punished because fuck the kids, the teachers don't want to actually know what's going on. Then I'd have to go to detention with these same kids, and then sent out into an empty school alone with them again to get more bullying and into more fights. I was one of the few lucky ones who eventually got good enough at defending myself physically that most people only resorted to verbal abuse when we weren't around teachers.

I remember telling my parents detailed descriptions at the time, but they thought I was exaggerating or not having thick enough skin. Then one day years later when I was home from college, my mom got drunk and started yelling at me for being shy and not having a lot of friends. I tried to end the conversation, but she persisted, which just reminded me of the bullying. That was the first time I'd ever yelled back at my parents. My mom was so taken by me actually talking back and raising my voice, she didn't even speak back towards me. I was 21 and blubbering and yelling at the top of my lungs about the constant harassment, getting baseballs thrown at me during practice, coaches thinking it was cute and all good fun and joining in on the teasing, and then my sister would give me more of it when I would get home (she eventually caught on how bad it was, apologized, and we've been close ever since).

I had a small clique of usually no more than 3 or 4 friends (with plenty I could just talk to) throughout school, but I was so damned shy of calling anyone or asking to them to hang out that I spent most of my time alone at home, just stewing in my loneliness even more. Soon, you've watched every TV show, read every book, and played every video game. There's nobody to talk to, no laughing. You're jaded before you've had your last growth spurt. That's where the problems such as the cutting, suicidal thoughts, the emotional scarring comes from. The teasing only reminds you of your "flaws", and without friends to make you feel wanted or teachers/school programs to nurture what's positive about you, you're constantly down on yourself. I feel even worse complaining about this when there are kids out there in much worse situations than I am, but to say it didn't leave a huge impact on who I am and how I act would be a lie.

You'd be surprised what a little bit of outlet and human compassion can do. I'm glad for him.