Kill or Be Killed

When I think of school I think of a brutal gladiator tournament. I think of bloodied coliseum walls and the sounds of excited and roaring crowds of little-minded people, waving coloured country flags and spitting words which, if repeated, could allow you to drop dead with a face depicting the viewing of The Exorcist for the first time ever in 1973.

School is similar to a coliseum, in that those who are fragile and weak are the defenceless gladiators, fending off bullies who attack in the likes of hungry, savage and tortured lions. To some victims of bully attacks, the older people in a school institution may look like spectators in that coliseum, hungry for action and drooling with excitement, revelling in the near-defeat of the victims, rather than attempting to stamp out bullying from the school. This is an overwhelming feeling, for when the victim feels as though older members in their school cannot aid in ridding them of their physical demons, chances are they see nobody else outside of school as being able to, either.

In modern times, victims of bully attacks no longer only have to deal with bullies at school, at the school gates or on their way home, but also in the comfort and safety of their homes, mostly on the internet. The internet has become a predominant factor in our lives, and it is with great despair that I acknowledge as a fact that we simply cannot live without it. It has inebriated us with the mindset that without the internet, we are not informed. We are not capable. We are non-existent. And with the internet, just like anything introduced to the public domain without warnings, comes savage bully attacks, far more capable to destroy one’s insides than a punch to the stomach. In fact, the internet has accustomed itself to becoming the authoritative figure in our lifestyles so much so that it is grammatically incorrect to leave the first letter of the word ‘internet’ un-capitalised.

What older figures at school do not realise is that at home, there is a mechanism far beyond their reach with the ability to allow younger people to take their lives. This mechanism is driven by all those who physically bully these people, and unlike the physical bullying, this mechanism brings forth a cyber bullying. Students were afraid of attending school while it was in its gladiator-like state, however with the help of this apparently ingenious mechanism called the internet, they need not attend school to have fear instilled in them. They can feel this fear in the safety of their homes, their rooms, their laptops. With the growing of social media, it is also becoming something that we cannot live without, and something victims cannot live with.

I was a victim, when I was younger. And this was before the internet came along. I thought life was unbearable, and found it difficult to cope with peers. As time progressed, however, I was fortunate to find myself on the nice side of the internet, per se. I cannot imagine life on the unpleasant side, though I hear about it when I read articles which write about the suicide of bullied teenagers, predominantly from cyber-bullying.

‘How hard is it to turn off your computer and phone?’ some people ask. Very , very hard. We live in a world run by the internet, why should a student limit themselves when most of their childhood now exists on a technological frontier, separating them from the traditional world and the tech-savvy world? ‘Why couldn’t they ask someone for help?’ Most of these students did. Advice does not help that much when the words of cyber-bullies are screaming inside the mind of these students. ‘What can be done, then?’

And that is what we must continuously ask ourselves. What can be done? How can I help? Is it working? If not, then what else can I try? As a future educator, I will be trailing several things to help alleviate victims of cyber-bullying from the pressures they feel. Their presence on earth, the need to live for as long as fate allows is important, and students need to recognise that. Though harsh words and criticisms may scream louder than soothing words of advice, students need to shut out those harsh words. They need to see themselves as far bigger subjects than the falsely authoritative figures that bullies make themselves out to be.

Students need to do everything in their power to defeat bullies, without resorting to violence. Block users who you do not want contacting you. Speak to those on the internet whom you only know in real life, otherwise chances are bullies are creating fake profiles to bully you even more. Speak up – are you being bullied? Let the world know because there are far less bystanders and far more supporters. Contact the police, if it gets that far, and make sure they are involved to the point where your bullying perpetrators will wish they never had messed with you to begin with. There are allies out there, but you must stop surrounding yourself with negativity and seek them.

Allies cannot find you if they do not know that you want to be sought. You are in control of your existence and longevity, let nobody else take control of that. Be all you can be with your potential, and see the beauty in the world, even though there is a deep ugliness. Do not delve into the ugliness, or the ugliness will delve into you. I know that it is difficult but think of this: is it difficult to live with bullying, or to speak out and try to abolish it?

We are all equal. There is no need to treat anybody otherwise. If you spot a fallen friend, pick them up. If you are a fallen friend, ask to be picked up. Allies are everywhere.