Everyone has witnessed bullying in some aspect and now more than ever the repercussions of bullying are being broadcast in the media. It is becoming very common to see stories involving bullies in the news. Bullying can have many negative consequences. It is leading to a number of suicides and even some mass murders.

Bullying seems to be affecting the country as a whole. There is still bullying in the professional world. Take the NFL for example; Richie Incognito has been suspended indefinitely for the harassment of teammate, Jonathan Martin. Jonathan Martin has dismissed himself from the team due to the bullying coming from Incognito. Now that more reports are coming out about the incident it seems like Jim Turner, offensive line coach for the Dolphins, may be behind it. Encouraging bullying is that what the NFL and our world are coming to?

Many believe that Martin may just have some thin skin and that Incognito and company were just “playing around”, but when does it go too far.

“I don’t think there is bullying here at Elder,” said Tommy Kraemer, a sophomore at Elder.  “Maybe some kids do but I don’t see it. I’ve never been bullied and I’m huge so I doubt there is much bullying.”

“Well I’ve never been bullied,” said Ja’Vahri Portis, a sophomore at Elder. “A lot of people joke around with each other, but no real bullying.”

So is bullying just based on perception? Is it just plain misunderstanding? People can think they are just messing around with others and not really affecting them when in reality they are causing serious mental damage. How many people have killed themselves or others due to people “just messing” with them.

So I advise you make sure you truly think about what you say to people. Think about how it will affect them and realize when enough is enough.