The insanity of bullying.

Bullying. I hear that word and all things that come to mind are negative. Because nothing good comes of bullying. It shouldn't even exist.

Why do people even bully? I can think of no good reason. Maybe they were bored. Maybe they were having a bad day, and decided to take it out on someone else.

Bullying can either be minor or major. When it's minor, feelings are hurt, but life goes on.

But when it's major, it's not easy to just move on. Bullying someone makes them embarrassed, hurt, angry, sad, etc. However, bullying has a much higher toll than just drama on the playground: bullying has, in the bad cases, pushed people into such deep holes of low self-esteem, they become depressed and suicidal. People have killed themselves because they were bullied.

Now, ask me 3 years ago about cases like that, and I would be totally shocked. How could teasing make someone kill themself? Why didn't they just ignore it? Growing up with three brothers, I have come to have a remarkable knack for ignoring a person if I wish to do so. However, what I didn't know then, was how important needing to be accepted by people is. No, not exactly fitting in with the crowd, but at least having someone or a group of people to appreciate you. For the worst cases, the person being teased feels like they have absolutely no one to turn to. If they ignore everyone who bullies them, then that may leave them with nothing.

The "It Gets Better" project is a well-known support group for LGBT teens, giving hope that it gets better for them in the future. I feel that this group has spread awareness of bullying very well. However, it's still happening.

A teen that spoke out against anti-LGBT bullying through a video several months ago, killed himself about a week ago. Jamey Rodemeyer was bullied- at school and online- because of his sexual orientation. Reading into more articles, I found that the online messages were calling him gay slurs, and telling him straight up that everyone would be happier if he was dead.

Absolutely ridiculous. That's the only way I can think to describe it. If you are thick enough to tell someone to kill themself, then you are neither smart nor good-hearted. First of all, to speak of suicide in that light and harsh tone, either your conscience is in the wrong spot, or you have no grasp of the concept of death. Second of all, to honestly hate someone so much and to wish them dead, is completely inhuman.

We are supposed to love each other, that is what all humans yearn for in their life. Acceptance, kindness, and love. You don't have to get sappy with everyone you see, but a simple act of kindness can mean a lot to someone.

And to all bullies out there: Get a new hobby. Whether you tease to feel better about yourself somehow, or just for sh!ts and giggles, knock it off. Because even if someone was the butt of a joke once, I guarantee they will be ashamed for much longer. If you've knocked down someone's pride so many times that they can't properly feel good about themself, then you should feel horrible. To anyone who bullied Jamey- or anyone else into suicide- I hope it haunts you for the rest of your life.

"It gets better," is a good message, however I think it's missing something. Love should be promoted. Love each other and love yourself, because everyone has a right to live. No one deserves to go through bullying, so let's emphasize the kindness that everyone should have learned even before they were in kindergarten. Respect and be nice to everyone. If that simple rule held up, I think the world would be a much better place.