LAWLzoR

In late January at the turn of the year, a young boy named Michael Morone tried to commit suicide after being bullied for being a brony. Fortunately, there are people who are so kind enough as to help him through his recovery (which is going wonderfully) by means of money and emotional support.

This thread isn't going to be brony centered. It's going to be bullying centered. You guys are smart enough to know that bullying a fellow human is wrong. There are many questions as to why bullying happens, and even if the people bullying aren't being psychologically harmed themselves, why do they bully? Before I answer these questions, I'd like for you guys to realize the consequences of bullying. Michael is a fortunate enough boy to be found just in time, so the damage he suffered wasn't too serious to be considered "non-treatable" or lethal. Unfortunately, there are those who get bullied and don't get the support they need to go through. So please, take this example as a reason not to bully.

1) Why do people bully?
-There are many answers to this, but the majority of them focus around the bully being psychologically damaged or harmed themselves. Sometime or somewhere in their life, they have gotten hurt, abused, or some other traumatic experience happened to them or are happening to them in their lifetime. One might be asking "why do they decide to take it out on me?" This is because they want to feel like they have power. They want to feel like they can do something about it. It's the mind's own mechanism. It's the reason for why when you guys/gals get upset, you want to yell or punch something just to get the anger out. This is completely natural, because like I said, we want to feel like we can control something. It's one of the easiest ways to deal with something without talking about it, which might be painful for them because we hate to give away weaknesses.

2) Okay, but what if the bully isn't going through, or hasn't gone through something traumatic? Why do they bully?
-This reason is a sad one, and it's because of you (or the person being bullied) is different. Like I said in my Morality? pt. 1 blog entry, we want to stay away from those who are different, because we don't know the effects of what their culture or ideology will have on us. Sometimes we do know what its effects are, and we don't want it because we view it as bad. Much like how the Women's Rights activists had it (although the bronies get it to a MUCH MUCH less extent) they got attacked physically, emotionally, psychologically, and socially. This was because it was different to the status quo, and we didn't know what would come from it. We only knew what we thought would come from it.

Knowing these, I employ you guys to do two things: firstly, if someone is bullying you, please don't just assume they're doing it because they're sadistic. Assuming something based on one view point is the same as what I just talked about in answer two. Try to find some way to deal with it, because you do have a right to not be bullied, but just don't go around assuming they're doing it because they're evil or want to see you suffer for the fun of it. Secondly, don't be one of the people who rejects something just because it's different. If it's different BUT it's known to be harmful in some way, then it would be considered okay to reject it. But just because something challenges your tradition doesn't mean it's going to ruin your life, or make you a worse person. You come across as hard-headed, and ignorant when you do it. So please don't be one of those people who rejects it before really getting to know what's happening, and how it effects you.

P.S. if you have a Twitter or Facebook, please do show your support for Michael as he recovers. Even if it's just moral and emotional support, it'll go a long way.

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/michael.morones.71?_rdr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelBrony623