Alison Guerrero

Guerrero 1

Professor Dursema
ENG 1010
31 July 2015

Persuasive Research Essay: Consequences of Bullying

In 2003, Ryan Halligan hanged himself after a kid
started a rumor that he was gay. He was bullied in school
and online. Ryan was just like any other 13-year-old kid.
He brought joy to the people who surrounded him. Ryans
father, John, said, He had the magic ability to bring a
smile to anyone that looked his way (Halligan). He was a

Stop Bullying. Web. 31 July

2015.

target for bullying from the start. He received special education for his speech and language

problems. He stopped receiving special education when he started middle school. Although he
did not need the schools services anymore, Ryan was still not so strong academically. His
classmates noticed this and started teasing him about it. No one knew how far it would really go.
This is why students who commit cyber bullying, or any bullying at all, needs to be expelled, if
not, suspended from school. Society can no longer lose people to suicide due to bullying because
no one deserves to feel like the only option they have left is to kill themselves.
According to a study by Yale University, victims of bullying are 7 to 9% more likely to
commit suicide (Peart). Marla Farrell said, 1 out of 4 kids is bullied and depending on their ages
up to 43% of students have been bullied while online (Farrell). In this day and age, people can
be bullied for numerous reasons. You can be bullied for small things like maybe you wear
glasses. Sometimes it can be for bigger reasons, for example, your race. Nowadays, people find
any excuse to bully someone.

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Not many people know what exactly is considered bullying. Bullying is when a person
repeatedly teases and/or is abusive towards a person just for the sole purpose of hurting them.
There are four types of bullying a person might experience: physical bullying, verbal bullying,
covert bullying, and cyber bullying (NCAB). Bullies may kick, spit, or hit their victims as a way
of bullying them. It makes them feel like they have more control over their victims. Bullies can
also use words to bully people. Bullies call their victims horrible names to put them down. They
insult their victims to make them feel bad about themselves. Another way people bully others is
by spreading false rumors about their victims. Finally, bullies use technology to bully their
victims.
Many people think that bullying is just something that happens to kids at school. What
they do not know is that even adults can experience bullying at their workplace. One case is the
death of Philip Otto. He was 52 years old and getting ready to retire with full benefits. He was
getting harassed by his co-workers. He decided to take his own life in March 2012 leaving
behind his wife and daughter (Namie). It just goes to show that bullying can happen at any age.
One of the last places someone might expect to be bullied is in their own home. Many
people suffer from bullying from their siblings or even their parents. One famous case is the
story of Dave Pelzer. He lived a nightmare throughout his entire childhood. While other kids
were having fun on playgrounds, Dave was being beaten and starved by his mother. He suffered
through years of abuse that no kid should ever go through. SMACK! Mother hits me in the face,
and I topple to the floor...I regain my posture and dodge her looks, as she screams into my ears.
(Pelzer 1) There were many times in his life where he felt like he had no choice but to commit
Pink Sherbert Photography.
Photograph. Forbes. Web. 31 July
2015.

suicide. Thankfully, he found hope that things will get better. He later grew

up to write a book, A Child Called It, that would be on New York Times Bestseller List.

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Bullying can leave long-term effects long after it is

done. Just as bullying may leave scars on your body, it can
also leave scars on your mind. Alice Walton has said, More
studies are beginning to confirm the sometimes serious
psychological effects of bullying, particularly for the bullied,
like increased risk for depression and anxiety; others have
hinted at what might be going on in the mind of the bully
(Walton). People, especially parents and teachers, need to be more aware of the mental health
issue that comes with bullying. It is not something that people can just brush off their shoulders.
Some of the effects of bullying can persist to adulthood. Lenny Bernstein said, "Being bullied in
childhood retains associations with poor mental, physical and cognitive health outcomes at least
to middle adulthood, 40 years after exposure" (Bernstein). In a lot of situations, people deal with
bullying on their own which then results into depression. When depression goes without being
treated it can, unfortunately, lead to suicide. Anyone who has gone through bullying is
encouraged to seek help.
One question comes to mind when it comes to bullying, why do people bully? Why do
people want to tease and torment somebody else? There are many reasons why bullying happens.
The bully is probably a victim themselves. They might see other people bully so they do the
same. They are sometimes influenced by what they see on television and movies. The bullies
probably do not have a good life so they take out their frustration on their victims. They
sometimes secretly dont have friends so they bully others to become popular or cool. Whatever
reason why people bully, it needs to stop.

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Bullying is often described as a vicious cycle by society. Danah Boyd even said, Every
day, there are young people who are being tormented by their peers and by adults in their lives. If
we want to make this stop, we need to get to the root of the problem. We should start by looking
to ourselves (Boyd). Once a person is bullied, they become vulnerable. Once they are
vulnerable, they bully another person. Its a never-ending cycle that needs to be stopped.
Psychological effects and suicide are only a few of the many consequences that can
happen due to bullying. In some cases, victims of bullying plan school shootings in order to
solve their problems. Society needs to start doing something about bullying by expelling, if not,
suspending students who commit any type of bullying because people have the right to feel safe
and comfortable. Society cant lose any more people to suicide.

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Works Cited
Bernstein, Lenny. Bullying Leaves Scars Into Middle Age. The Washington Post. Fred Ryan,
21 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 July 2015.
Boyd, Danah. Stop the Cycle of Bullying. Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 24
Feb. 2012. Web. 28 July 2015.
Farrell, Marla. Back To School Back To Bullying Prevention With STOMP Out
Bullying. Prnewswire.com. PR Newswire Association LLC, 8 Aug. 2015. Web. 28
July 2015.
Halligan, John. Ryans Story. Ryanpatrickhalligan.org. Ryans Story Presentation LTD, 2010.
Web. 29 July 2015.
Namie, Ruth, and Gary Namie. Workplace Bullying Institute. Workplacebullying.org. 3 Jan.
1998. Web. 28 July 2015.
National Centre Against Bullying. Ncab.org.au. The Alannah and Madeline Foundation. 2002.
Web. 28 July 2015.
Peart, Karen N. Bullying-Suicide Link Explored in New Study by Researchers at Yale.
News.yale.edu. 16 July 2008. Web. 28 July 2015.
Pelzer, Dave. A Child Called It. Health Communications, Inc., 1995. Print.
Walton, Alice. The Psychological Effects Of Bullying Last Well Into Adulthood, Study Finds.

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Forbes. N.p., 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 July 2015.