Bullying is now required curriculum in all public schools.  It is a good thing and needs to be continuously improved and implemented. We should encourage kids to help and protect other kids.

It’s not so easy though.  It’s a great sentiment, but are we really asking  children to keep us safe?   For one, school culture follows American culture so until adults do better, kids can’t. Kids cannot befriend another child to the point that life is good. You can’t befriend an abusive parent. A parent that dies. You can accept a child in ragged clothes, but his clothes are still ragged and his home life still causes the ragged clothes.

Adults forget what childhood is like. Its worse now.  Children are more anxious. In other words, they are dealing with their own shit. The number one cause of bullying is lack of supervision. This is because kids are developing and learning. Its why they are not adults. I remember when I was a kid, I didn’t fit in and I was so worried about that that I didn’t know what was going on with me. At times, I didn’t know bullying was going on.  Other times, I did. But I didn’t know what was to do about it.  I was bullied and standing up for someone would make it worse for them and me (I beleived). 

Are not often the troubled kids the one doing the bullying? Now the kids that bullied me in school, I see more clearly and I pity them. But you cannot ask a child to do that.

So I suggest before you tell children to solve mass shootings by befriending everyone, you lead the way.  Instead of complaining about that boss, see things from his side.  Before you ask a child to befriend a troubled kid, role model it by approaching a street person and giving them money.