GuardianGatekeeper

I always thought "man, they should teach Aikido in school...!" haha. I do a lot of people watching, and am one of those quiet kids... I noticed something about "bullying" that no lecturing teachers seem to pick up on. For some cultures, or groups of people from certain areas and places, making fun of each other is a game. It's not meant to really be taken at all personally, and is like a competition.. so next time you listen to some teens going at each other, look at their faces. They might be smiling. There's always definitely a chance that one of them is being very hurt by that the other is saying, but often people have these "insult matches" in good humor, to laugh at themselves and test their wits. I'm not really bullied at all these days, but I had been in the past. Looking back now, I think a few times, a "bully" was trying to initiate one of these matches with me. It's an odd dance of exchanged pointing out of insecurities and faults between two people who just want to have a laugh at the life that's bringing them down. If done right, this seems like a pretty healthy way to learn what others think you need to work on. The best insults are the ones that tell the -truth- about yo momma. I can't help but compare these insult matches with "push-hands" in Tai Chi. Another thing is, a lot of guys will go after other guys, and insult them like an unspoken challenge. I've done it. Girls get freaked out when we do this though, and think we're getting out feelings all stepped on... I've had some of my girl friends "stand up for me" and I hate to say it, but it is a little embarrassing. hey, sometimes it defiantly goes too far, and there's reason to worry about it, but most times when I'm messing with one of the friends, I'm perfectly fine, and there are no hard feelings! I think people should learn from some of the insults people give you. You might be a jerk yourself. Beating down on the little guy isn't what I'm talking about. I've found that raising an eyebrow throws some people off. If you're being bullied, don't just curl up in a ball and feel humiliated. Teasing is annoying, obnoxious, time wasting crap. Get that eyebrow up. Really. Bullies might not even know what a jerk they are. When you make them aware of it, without attacking back, you'll notice them breaking eye contact, and throwing a few more shots at you before turning around and pretending like you're not worth their time. (they know for a fact they aren't worth yours though.) Maybe there's a way to do this even more peacefully, too. I don't have much trouble with bulliest anymore though, to try things...