There is no excuse for bullying or sexual harassment. None whatsoever. However, the sad fact is that some people still feel guilty and wonder if they were wrong to report bullies and harassers. The bottom line is that the victim shouldn’t be forced to feel this way.
Some victims, however, find innovative ways to get back at their harassers. One 18-year-old college student, redditor u/Left_Wrap_5352, explained how she got in touch with her bullies’ mothers and let them know exactly what their sons were doing to her. You’ll find the full story, in the student’s own words, below. When you’re done reading, let us know in the comments what you think and if you believe that this was the best possible solution to the problem.
Bullying and harassment are never okay. However, some harassers won't stop even if you report them
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)
A female college student shared how she finally put a stop to the awful bullying she was the target of
Image credits: Teona Swift (not the actual photo)
The redditor’s post got a lot of attention on the AITA subreddit. It received over 24.7k upvotes, and other internet users gave the student dozens of awards for her bravery and honesty.
Overall, the vast majority of people were very supportive of the student deciding to send all of her bullies’ messages to their mothers. She turned the moms into valuable allies and essentially made sure that they’d keep their kids in line from now on.
However, some of the redditor’s friends thought that she could have gone about doing things differently, which was what got her wondering if she really did the right thing in the end.
Overwhelmingly, redditors agreed that she wasn’t a jerk and she did nothing wrong. They suggested that anyone who is on the harassers’ side should rethink their values in life.
Bullying has profound negative effects on victims, especially kids. It can seriously damage their mental health and sense of self-worth.
So it is vital to put an end to bullying, whatever form it might take. “Bullying is never acceptable,” Lauren Seager-Smith, the CEO of Kidscape, a UK anti-bullying charity, told Bored Panda earlier.
She’d explained to us that there is never a ‘good’ reason for someone to get bullied. Unfortunately, there are multiple reasons why they do become targets. It might be due to their family situation, having a ‘funny’ name, wearing glasses, being overweight… or absolutely anything else. Bullies will latch on to anything and use it as an ‘excuse’ to do what they do.
“Never underestimate the impact of bullying, understand what your child needs to feel safe and if the bullying is in school—make sure you let the school know the impact of the situation,” Lauren told us.
“You may also want to seek out opportunities to build your child’s confidence and assertiveness skills so they can feel proud of who they are,” she drew attention to the fact that the younger the child, the more parents might have to help them when it comes to emotional resilience in the face of injustice.
The AITA community overwhelmingly expressed one opinion. Here's what they had to say
