Why Do People Get Bullied?

Sooner or later, most of us get bullied by somebody - often when we're school age. Being bullied doesn't mean you're a "wimp" or that you're powerless to stand up for yourself. It just means you might be in a vulnerable place. The bully zeroes in on you because you may not have loads of friends to stand up for you.

No matter what it looks like, though, bullies really aren't powerful. And people who get bullied are not just "weak" or "powerless."

Here are some reasons people get bullied:

Looks:

• some kids just look different. Maybe they wear clothes that aren't like what most of the other kids are wearing;
  
• they have glasses; red hair; wear a hearing aid;
  
• they have some feature that makes them stand out physically, like a rash, a scar, a limp;
  
• they are more or less physically developed than most people their age;
  
• they're taller, shorter, heavier, lighter than average.

Prejudice:  

• they are of a different racial, ethnic, cultural or religious background than the people doing the bullying. This is prejudiced bullying.

Behavior:

• they're a boy who "doesn't act like a boy" (for example, doesn't like sports, doesn't talk about girls);
  
• they're a girl who "doesn't act like a girl" (for example, doesn't like wearing skirts, doesn't like talking about boys).

Home life:

• the people that they live with may be having difficulties, such as going through a divorce, having money problems, suffering from illness or drug or alcohol addiction;
  
• they may not be living with their mother or father.

Abilities:

• they're smarter (or slower) in school;
  
• they find physical activities, such as sports, difficult;
  
• they're just the new kid in town and haven't figured out how to fit in yet.

You can probably add more reasons to this list. And the truth is, all of us stand out in some way. Being different, extraordinary, or unusual is a powerful thing and it attracts other people's attention. Sometimes, just being the center of attention can get you bullied - because the person doing the bullying is jealous.