Bully Summary/Response

In his documentary “Bully”, Lee Hirsch illustrates the physical and mental damage unchecked bullying does to young people in today's society and the tragedies this damage can lead to.

Unchecked bullying is a huge issue in societies everywhere because of the people who do nothing to stop it. School administrations promise to help to stop the issue, but when it arises they make excuses. They hide behind the idea that children are not capable of such cruelty, choosing to believe that they are “as good as gold”.

This indifference and lack of support makes those being bullied feel isolated and alone, which can lead to mental damage. A feeling of worthlessness that, when not contradicted, can lead to kids cutting themselves and sometimes even suicide.

According to Hirsch, this issue can only be solved if an end to bullying is truly supported and promoted by schools everywhere and children are made aware of the hurt and suffering they instill in others verbally and physically.

Lee Hirsch, in his documentary “Bully” exposes the harsh reality of the indifference society shows towards the issue of bullying by striping away the lies it uses to hide the ever growing problems faced by children today. When all excuses are gone, it is the responsibility of authorities such as school administrators and  parents to protect their children from mental and physical damage that can lead to horrible tragedies in young lives.

Teachers play a very large role in a kids life. They are their mentors, and as such have a responsibility to watch out for them and keep them out of harm. But, administrations have turned a blind eye to the issue of bullying, hiding behind the excuse that “kids will be kids” and falsely believing that most children are “as good as gold”, and therefore incapable of hurting others. They make empty promises to parents that they will “do everything possible to correct the problem” then never follow through. Teachers are placed in a key position to stop this issue at the main source and should do so by enforcing rules and keeping a closer eye on things in the school, not just pretend that everything is fine by looking away when something bad is going on.

Likewise, parents are responsible for the issues that their children face. Bullying can cause deep psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness. Parents should be tuned into their own children enough that they know when something is wrong. That way they can catch the problem early on and support and help their child before they decide to deal with their problems on their own, which can lead to tragic outcomes such as self harm and suicide. Or the outcome can go the other way, where a child becomes so numb to the bullying that they can't tell if someone is a friend or not because it all just blends together.

It is stunning to realize that simple words and actions can hurt a person. Over time all the small things build up until they break over and all the pain manifests itself into something ugly, changing and scarring a person permanently. Its even more horrifying to understand that those who should care act as if its none of their business and ignore obvious issues in society. SOme even contribute to the scars even when they think they are helping. A simple act of forcing a boy to shake hands with his tormentor can seem like a solution to a bully problem, when in fact it is just traumatizing the boy more and showing the bully that he won't get in trouble for his crimes.

In short, it is the responsibility of those with authority to put an end to bullying by all means necessary, and hopefully learn from their failures and shortcomings in stopping the issue that bullying is a major threat to today’s society.