it seems like we could lessen the impact if we cut the PC crap of “you shouldn’t bully people, it’s not nice” and deal with the reality, the same way we chastise conservatives for telling kids “you shouldn’t do drugs” or “you shouldn’t have sex.” These are all functions of humanity that have happened since the dawn of mankind and will continue whether we like it or not. Considering this news that the bullies actually have a health incentive to continue bullying, I think we’re going to have to start dealing with this issue more as a given rather than “that is not allowed.”
As a lay person, it would seem that explaining how people like to be assholes and that it isn’t your fault as a victim, that it’s “them not you,” might allow the victim some clarity, some presence of mind to cope with and address any bullying they may encounter? And those predisposed to bullying might possibly gain some self-awareness if their classroom were taught about the underlying need to compensate, that putting someone down in order to feel better about oneself is fundamentally a reflection on their own failings? Just saying “Bullying is bad, m’kay” is, if anything, an incentive.
