Bullying Blog Post by Luke Houghton and Jared Smith with assistance from Ron Kopf, Tuolumne County Youth Commissioners

Bullying is a serious problem for the Youth of Tuolumne County. Although not everyone is bullied on a regular basis, the problem of bullying is present no matter where you go. Bullying causes problems ranging from physical anxiety that can cause stomach aches, muscle aches, and diarrhea to stress and mental instability for individuals who are bullied. Those who are bullied are unable to focus and perform their best in school and are less able to learn. Bullying also has consequences for schools as a whole. As more people are bullied, they often become bullies themselves because of their insecurity and a vicious cycle forms. However, bullying is not a single person event; in fact most experts agree that most bullying takes place in the presence of three parties.
Party number one is the bully or bullies. Most often, bullies are insecure about themselves and are not comfortable being challenged by other people. Subconsciously, bullies seek to elevate their own status by degrading others. Usually a bully or bullies try to look tough in the eyes of those around them so that they can feel good about themselves. Thus, most bullying takes place in the presence of bystanders. Bullies may work in groups or they may work alone. Groups of bullies with the same problems and insecurities feel comfortable with each other and have similar goals. Bullies aren't necessarily bad people, their circumstances and social statuses are usually the cause of their negativity and feelings of insecurity.
Party number two is the bullied. The bullied may be a person or a group of people with common attributes. The bullied are often quieter and less imposing than the bully and so they are an easy target. The bullied are also commonly different in some way or another from most other people. Something they do, the way they behave or their social status is usually different from the other people around them. Because they are different, they are easy targets for the bully because bystanders are less likely to interfere or protect the bullied. The bullied often does not enjoy confrontation. Because bullying is a recurring event between the bully and the bullied, the bullied tries to avoid the bully because obviously, they don't want to be bullied.

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