Bullying Provoked by Differences in Gender, Sexuality, Religion, Race :: Social Issues, Bullies, homosexuals

In November of 2012, a 14 year old girl committed suicide in Canada after receiving numerous threats from 2 of her classmates because of a â€Å"falling out† in the girls' relationship. This past year, a freshman at Rutgers University took his own life after a video revealing his true sexuality was discovered and put onto a commonly known website for all the university to see. The well known â€Å"Columbine Shootings† shocked the world because the shooters were said to have been picked on and bullied in school. The effects of bullying, even in one’s childhood, can haunt them forever: â€Å"Sometimes, a whisper in an elementary school classroom can echo for decades. A threat called out in a middle school hallway can cling to the subconscious into adulthood. And an insecurity exploited in a high school cafeteria can redefine a future† (Johnson 1). It’s clearly obvious that bullying can take lives and torture the people whom loved the victims of such c ruelty. People, not just kids and teenagers, but people are bullied everyday across the world. The effects of bullying, or the practice of coercion by force or intimidation due to specific characteristic, are about as common as its practice in American public schools. Studies over the decades show bullied students are more likely to skip class, disengage socially and abuse substances (Johnson 1). Bullying can be provoked by a difference in race, sexuality, or a conflict within a relationship; such as a rumor. There are a variety of reasons as to why someone could and is being bullied, however those few seem to be the main source. In some cases, being bullied can be caused by the fact that a person is simply intimidated by how well you fulfill an aspects of life in which they wish to be equally successful, if not better than you. Whatever the reason may be, the forms in which to be bullied all share equal impacts and severity. Receiving physical harm, verbal abuse, or intimidation or humiliation through the internet are all forms of bullying. The pain a victim sometimes receives is severe, resulting in high anxiety, stress, eating disorders, suicide, violent retaliations: â€Å"When teens intimidate each other, they may attack with bats, knives, guns, or other weapons† (Kowalski 1). Bullying can even result in eating disorders: â€Å"Many teens with eating disorders ha ve suffered abuse. Unconsciously, they try to control one tiny portion of their lives-eating-when everything else seems out of control† (Kowalski 2).