Teenage Bullying Chink, Spic, Terrorist, Whore, Nerd. Thesis
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Teenage Bullying
Chink, Spic, Terrorist, Whore, Nerd. These words seem to be just the beginning sparks of what most people characterize as bullying. The words and phrases are familiar enough; high school students across the country hear these insults being thrown out just as commonly as a larger student with his gang picking on a smaller and weaker student. The essence of teenage bullying has not changed; rather, with the amount of digital media and social platforms created today, there seems to be more reason to expect bullying -- both at school and online.
Bullying itself comes in many forms and sizes. It can be one hulking, leader-like personality with the aim at a Machiavellian increase in status in the school's social standing (Hamarus). Another can be the result of a racial slur and the violent actions taken against a differently ethnic individual -- perhaps even using an entire gang to beat a kid senseless (Rivero). Physical injury -- whether through gang violence, gunshots, or rape, or
combinations thereof -- becomes closely connected to the idea of bullying. Then there is the subtle, though gradual intensity of social slander -- a type of bullying that has been increasing alongside the rise of the digital age. Social slander can be caused by many different things -- jealousy and hatred are just some of the factors -- and the results of such actions usually lead to devastating catastrophes.
Phoebe Prince, a recently immigrated Irish girl, was a victim of combinations of the aforementioned bullying. Prince was "mercilessly tormented by a cadre of classmates later dubbed the 'Mean Girls' by Massachusetts newspapers" (Kennedy). On media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Formspring, and Craigslist, Prince was named an "Irish slut" and a "whore." By January of the school year, Prince's tormentors went further than the thrown insults. One girl "threw a can of Red Bull at her" from a moving vehicle, and two teenage males -- indicted much later -- were charged with statutory rape (Kennedy). Meanwhile, teachers and school administrators did nothing to stop the bullying from escalating to higher levels. Prince eventually hanged herself in a stairwell at her house.
Prince is only one of the many…
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