Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

There seems to be a disconnect between what you think bullying is and how it actually manifests. Between adults, the behavior would be classified as unprovoked assault & battery. Someone punching you in the back of your head while you weren't looking, without a word being said between either of you, because the other person's peer group dared them to is not a failure of the victim's conflict resolution skills.

To be clear, as a victim, I was subject to unprovoled physical battery like this more time than I can count between the start of middle school and my second year of high school. As a bully, in my senior year, I never engaged in any kind of physical violence, just name calling and verbally provoking someone prone to emotional outbursts.



I think this post speaks to the problem of broadly discussing "bullying".

As you point out unprovoked battery and name calling fall under the same terminology, but the appropriate responses are obviously not the same.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: