An old article, but a goody. I remember as a child being bullied in high school by a group of other kids in my class for months on end. This was in the 80's, when kids still played street cricket and wandered the streets on their own, and I always walked to school by myself, and cycled around the streets on my own. I believe it was due to these sort of independent activities that I had enough resilience to find a way out. Adults couldn't help me, I had to help myself. I challenged the gang to a fair fight, but with only one of them. In the end I could not bring myself to do more than wrestle him, (in front of a big crowd at recess) but because I was big that was enough.
After that, the boy I fought became a friend and I was no longer bullied. I believe that it is a common thing among boys, subconscious and instinctive, that hates a wuss but respects courage.
There is no courage without risk, to eliminate risk is to eliminate courage. What a nightmare it would be to live in such a grey world of safety.
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