Tragic Consequences of Bullying in School

Nov. 28 -- Authorities say a planned massacre at a New Bedford, Mass., high school could have been another Columbine — or perhaps even worse — if police hadn't gotten wind of a group of students' alleged plot to detonate explosives, shoot classmates, and then kill themselves.

The students have pleaded not guilty, but according to police reports, the five teens who allegedly planned the attack had complained of being picked on and called names. A note found by a janitor at the school spoke of "getting everyone back for calling us names and beating us with ugly sticks."

The statement is reminiscent of the suicide note left by Eric Harris, one of the two attackers at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo: "Your children who have ridiculed me, who have chosen not to accept me, who have treated me like I am not worth their time, are dead."

Experts say bullying is a serious and widespread problem that can lead to school shootings and suicide. At the same time, they say, it is dangerously underrated, as schools and adults are not taking the problem seriously enough.

"For the child who's been targeted by a bully, their life is a living hell," said Glenn Stutzky, a school violence specialist at Michigan State University. "Bullying is probably the most frequently occurring form of violence in American schools today and it's really the engine that's driving the majority of violence. It's a huge problem."

Even though several states have now passed anti-bullying legislation, Stutzky said the American school system is 10 to 15 years behind countries like Australia, Scandinavia, Great Britain and Japan, all of which deal with bullying as a serious social problem.

"We have allowed a culture of abuse to thrive unchecked in our nation's schools," said Stutzky, "and we are paying for it with the bodies of our children."

Physical and Emotional Toll

Though it seems so hard to understand the anger that would fuel children to plot a massacre at their high school, sadly, many children can relate to the feelings of loneliness, abuse or resentment.