Thu Sep 11, 2003 9:26 am
Victim of bullying
Article: (some may have heard this news earlier)
15-year-old 'bullying victim' found hanged
If it´s true this girl hanged herself because of bullying, than this is a very sad and unfortunate thing indeed. I really don´t understand why some people try to make other people´s lives miserable. I have been a victim of bullying myself in my early days on elementary school. I was taking medication at that time for something they later found out to be nothing I needed medication for. It was just a slight attention disorder which passed by on its own, but they thought it was something far more serious. But because of the medication I had a slowdown in growth, so I was very short for someone of my age. Second of all, my name is Wouter and that rhymes to Kabouter (dutch word for gnome), so I was small and had a name that rhymes to gnome ! Third, my mother has the Syndrome of Usher, which means that she´ll eventually become blind and deaf all together. That is really hard as it is, but the guys on my school threw it at me with an incredible disrespect. They were calling her all kinds of names, which you can all guess. It became so bad, that everybody was making fun of me and the cool guys on my school were kicking and punching and insulting me and spitting on me in front of the other guys and girls. They were waiting for me after school and hit and kick me again and again and again. It was the worst time of my life. I felt so humiliated, that every single day I was affraid to go to school. There were also parties arranged and almost everybody on school was invited except for me of course. And so everybody was laughing at me again for being such a loser and for not being invited to the party. Worst of all, the teachers never noticed and of course I never told anyone, because I was too scared. I also didn´t tell my parents earlier than years after. When I came home with a black eye or bruises, then I told them I fell of my bike or something like that. The bullying went on for about 4 to 5 years.
When I went to high school, I had grown quite a bit (I´m now 1.83 metres) and nobody knew me, so that was fortunate. I became friends with a guy who happened to be the most popular guy of the school, so I became very popular. Every single time though, that my ´group´ was trying to pick on someone, I stoped them, and they listened to me luckely. Because I know what bullying can do to a person. I had a great time at college too. Luckely I´m alright now because of my high school and college time, I´m 23, I am married to a beautiful girl, I´m about to become a father, I have a great job, I have great friends and I´m happy. What more can a person ask for ? But things could have ended totally different for me. What if the bullying continued during high school and college ? I don´t even want to think about the consequences if it had continued. So I can perfectly understand that it can destroy people´s lives and perhaps even lets people take dramatic and desperate steps. The problem is that the ones who are bullying, often aren´t aware of the damage they are inflicting to the one they are bullying. Why do these guys need to bully is the real question, right ?
Hope is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of our greatest strength and our greatest weakness.
Edited by - Eraser on 11-09-2003 12:45:40
15-year-old 'bullying victim' found hanged
An investigation is continuing into the death of a 15-year-old girl who may have been the victim of bullying. Marianne Shanks, who was a fourth-year pupil at privately run Dundee High School, was found hanged at her home on a remote farm in Perthshire late on Sunday night. The Daily Record has reported that Marianne had complained to friends that she was regularly subjected to verbal abuse. The newspaper said police were investigating the claims.
A police spokeswoman confirmed they were continuing to investigate the death and a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal. She declined to comment on the bullying allegations, but it was understood officers had been made aware of the claims. A statement by Marianne's parents, David, 47, and Dorothy-Anne, 46, issued by Tayside Police, said: "We are devastated at the loss of our only daughter, Marianne Elizabeth, who brought so much happiness to the family in the time that we shared with her. "It is a very difficult time for all members of our family and we would ask that members of the media would now allow us to grieve in private." The funeral of the schoolgirl, who had two brothers, is being held at Perth Crematorium on Friday.
If it´s true this girl hanged herself because of bullying, than this is a very sad and unfortunate thing indeed. I really don´t understand why some people try to make other people´s lives miserable. I have been a victim of bullying myself in my early days on elementary school. I was taking medication at that time for something they later found out to be nothing I needed medication for. It was just a slight attention disorder which passed by on its own, but they thought it was something far more serious. But because of the medication I had a slowdown in growth, so I was very short for someone of my age. Second of all, my name is Wouter and that rhymes to Kabouter (dutch word for gnome), so I was small and had a name that rhymes to gnome ! Third, my mother has the Syndrome of Usher, which means that she´ll eventually become blind and deaf all together. That is really hard as it is, but the guys on my school threw it at me with an incredible disrespect. They were calling her all kinds of names, which you can all guess. It became so bad, that everybody was making fun of me and the cool guys on my school were kicking and punching and insulting me and spitting on me in front of the other guys and girls. They were waiting for me after school and hit and kick me again and again and again. It was the worst time of my life. I felt so humiliated, that every single day I was affraid to go to school. There were also parties arranged and almost everybody on school was invited except for me of course. And so everybody was laughing at me again for being such a loser and for not being invited to the party. Worst of all, the teachers never noticed and of course I never told anyone, because I was too scared. I also didn´t tell my parents earlier than years after. When I came home with a black eye or bruises, then I told them I fell of my bike or something like that. The bullying went on for about 4 to 5 years.
When I went to high school, I had grown quite a bit (I´m now 1.83 metres) and nobody knew me, so that was fortunate. I became friends with a guy who happened to be the most popular guy of the school, so I became very popular. Every single time though, that my ´group´ was trying to pick on someone, I stoped them, and they listened to me luckely. Because I know what bullying can do to a person. I had a great time at college too. Luckely I´m alright now because of my high school and college time, I´m 23, I am married to a beautiful girl, I´m about to become a father, I have a great job, I have great friends and I´m happy. What more can a person ask for ? But things could have ended totally different for me. What if the bullying continued during high school and college ? I don´t even want to think about the consequences if it had continued. So I can perfectly understand that it can destroy people´s lives and perhaps even lets people take dramatic and desperate steps. The problem is that the ones who are bullying, often aren´t aware of the damage they are inflicting to the one they are bullying. Why do these guys need to bully is the real question, right ?
Hope is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of our greatest strength and our greatest weakness.
Edited by - Eraser on 11-09-2003 12:45:40
Heretic 
), so when the bullying started to escalate to physical, I would quickly show who had the upper hand. I'm not proud of what I've done from time to time, but I feel that I did what I could to protect myself. Regardless, the verbal abuse continues and I expect it always will. It's just a case of growing a thick skin, and it's perhaps the best way of learning who your real friends are, just see who sticks around by your side. I don't condone bullies or bullying in any way but I feel it's a fact of life, inside and outside of school.
