Cyberbullying

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Celebrities have protections of privacy, some of which are coverage under the law and have been upheld through lawsuits. Even paparazzi have their limitations, some paparazzi are respectful enough not to need to be reminded of their limitations. For instance, you can't scour through a celebrity's trash can or search for their tax documents.

Perez Hilton is notorious for trying to push celebrities "out of the closet." He has targeted celebrities who he thinks are homosexual and that is completely wrong. He's lucky that celebrities have resources that buffer some of the effects of Hilton's attempts at outing them.

There are groups that push to out gay politicians/preachers/etc. who speak against gay rights. I'm generally against it, I think, but I get why they do it.

I think the line is crossed when it goes from talking about them to targeting them. The ADA (ASA?) who targeted the college student for promoting the 'radical homosexual agenda' wasn't just blogging against him but carried it over into real life as well. He made this guy his obsession. Interestingly I think the celebs that do the best follow the "just ignore it" advice that parents give their kids. Anderson Cooper just doesn't talk about his sexuality even though everyone I know or have seen just assumes he's gay.

I'm not sure that there's a hard and fast line, much like with any bullying behavior. It seems like it's a 'know it when you see it' thing, though that doesn't work well for legal purposes.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Yes, GC has gone into the area of cyberbulling. No, I don't think many people want to talk about the elephant in the room.

I don't think anyone is avoiding any issues. We've already stated that some of the people on here bring GC into real life (cyber-stalking, etc), but the vast majority of the "bullying" that goes on here doesn't do that. Calling someone a bitch or disagreeing with someone =/= bullying.

[DrPhil]

I created the thread and I'm the only Delta in the room. There goes the elephant.

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I don't think anyone is avoiding any issues. We've already stated that some of the people on here bring GC into real life (cyber-stalking, etc), but the vast majority of the "bullying" that goes on here doesn't do that. Calling someone a bitch or disagreeing with someone =/= bullying.

Yes, Tippiechick, you don't have to imagine an elephant to discuss what you did and apologize for it again. Others who feel that they have done something and want to discuss it are free to do so. Those who have had something done to them via GC are free to discuss that. I certainly don't know the details of the bullying that has occurred on GC. People who know the details are free to discuss if that's the direction they want the thread to go in.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Ok, I see no one else has admitted that they have done shitty things in the past on here...

I'll start:
Hi. My name is Tippiechick and I have done ONE thing I regret on here. I crossed a line in a signature that made fun of someone's medical issue. I did. I'll admit it. I regret it. I think of it every time I see someone I know dealing with the same medical issue now.

Those who were on here know what I am referring to. Those that weren't -- it was a terrible thing I did.

I can now see how awful it was. I didn't at the time. And, I am sorry every time I think of what I did to this person.

Other than that? Good times...

Yes, GC has gone into the area of cyberbulling. No, I don't think many people want to talk about the elephant in the room.

Dramatic.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I created the thread and I'm the only Delta in the room. There goes the elephant.



Yes, Tippiechick, you don't have to imagine an elephant to discuss what you did and apologize for it again. Others who feel that they have done something and want to discuss it are free to do so. Those who have had something done to them via GC are free to discuss that. I certainly don't know the details of the bullying that has occurred on GC. People who know the details are free to discuss if that's the direction they want the thread to go in.

I don't consider it real cyberbullying when you can clearly leave a website like GC and not return (or come back as someone different, which folks do on here all the time) and you don't know most or any of the folks in real life. On the other hand, when people have your email, home phone number and/or address, or you're on a school or job site and you actually know the people and have to see them in real life, that's something different entirely.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

I don't consider it real cyberbullying when you can clearly leave a website like GC and not return (or come back as someone different, which folks do on here all the time) and you don't know most or any of the folks in real life. On the other hand, when people have your email, home phone number and/or address, or you're on a school or job site and you actually know the people and have to see them in real life, that's something different entirely.

How many flouncers have come back with a different name? Do they reinvent themselves and/or avoid those who pick on them?

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I'd be interested in seeing others' thoughts.

I was never bullied, never was a bully, and I have a very "hard" exterior, so I'm probably not a good person to ask lol I can understand why bullying sucks, but I still don't fully "get it" when it comes to adults.

Now that I think of it, when I referred to "social media spillover" earlier in this thread, I was referring more to stalking. "Bullying" (as I know it) shouldn't affect grown folks (I know that this is definitely not the case, but I can't fully wrap my mind around it).

So no one ever picked on you in school? Really? And I don't know why it's so hard for you to imagine adults being bullied. In abusive relationships for example, aren't the victims being bullied? Being bullied has no age limit.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

How many flouncers have come back with a different name? Do they reinvent themselves and/or avoid those who pick on them?

How many are actually being picked on though? In most cases, when the OP stops the foolishness and doesn't carry it into a different thread, the issue is forgotten about and GC folks move on rather quickly from what I've seen. It's only when the OP keeps things going and engages in a back and forth (clearly not being a victim), that the foolishness continues.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

How many are actually being picked on though? In most cases, when the OP stops the foolishness and doesn't carry it into a different thread, the issue is forgotten about and GC folks move on rather quickly from what I've seen. It's only when the OP keeps things going and engages in a back and forth (clearly not being a victim), that the foolishness continues.

I don't know because I don't click on every thread and don't pay attention to the threads that I do click on unless something entertains me.

But, my post wasn't rhetorical. LOL. I was really asking you to tell me more about those who come back under a new name. Do they try to create a new identity and/or avoid those who had been messing with them?

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

So no one ever picked on you in school? Really? And I don't know why it's so hard for you to imagine adults being bullied. In abusive relationships for example, aren't the victims being bullied? Being bullied has no age limit.

1. When I think "bullying," I think of it as a recurring event (John Doe gets picked on every day when he walks into school). Sure, I have seen people give me looks (beginning of HS, as I was "the new kid -- never before that and not during the end of HS), but because of my body type and demeanor, it never went beyond that.

2. I wasn't thinking in term of domestic abuse. I was thinking bullying in social settings. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around HOW adults let themselves get bullied (read: social situations), but I don't deny that it happens. If we're throwing domestic abuse into the equation, then I agree, bullying has no age limit.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

There's always someone bigger and badder. I could whoop knight_shadow's ass. LOL. Not really.

LOL -- I guess I'm lucky that person never found me

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

There's always someone bigger and badder. I could whoop knight_shadow's ass. LOL. Not really.

I'm more intrigued by the supposed body type and demeanor (especially as a youngin) that would stop others from whooping his ass.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

I'm more intrigued by the supposed body type and demeanor (especially as a youngin) that would stop others from whooping his ass.

What exactly are you trying to get at? Are you trying to break down my walls and get to my core so I can admit that I TRULY got bullied?

Yes, people get picked on from time to time. No, it doesn't always translate into bullying.

[AlphaFrog]

Just saw this article pop up on my email homescreen, and it made me wonder... Are kids more sensitive to bullying now BECAUSE their parents go and fight every battle for them?

When I was in Jr. High, I was not a small girl (looking back at pictures, I wasn't huge, like I was lead to believe, but most definitely NOT small). Some girls called my house when I wasn't home and left a chorus of them repeating "Jellyroll, JELLYroll, jellyROLL, JELLYROLL", over and over. Being that it was on the answering machine, my parents heard it. Then, they deleted it and pretty much told me to get over it, because there are always going to be THOSE people in life, and you have to learn to deal with it. I feel like I'm a stronger person than I would have been if they WOULD have stepped in every time something like that happened.


PS...after starting a major life change diet over 2 years ago, I HIT MY GOAL WEIGHT THIS MORNING!! I have lost 112 lbs.

/major tangent

[James]

Good for you Alpha Frog. Losing a 112 pounds is like being a different person.

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Just saw this article pop up on my email homescreen, and it made me wonder... Are kids more sensitive to bullying now BECAUSE their parents go and fight every battle for them?

When I was in Jr. High, I was not a small girl (looking back at pictures, I wasn't huge, like I was lead to believe, but most definitely NOT small). Some girls called my house when I wasn't home and left a chorus of them repeating "Jellyroll, JELLYroll, jellyROLL, JELLYROLL", over and over. Being that it was on the answering machine, my parents heard it. Then, they deleted it and pretty much told me to get over it, because there are always going to be THOSE people in life, and you have to learn to deal with it. I feel like I'm a stronger person than I would have been if they WOULD have stepped in every time something like that happened.


PS...after starting a major life change diet over 2 years ago, I HIT MY GOAL WEIGHT THIS MORNING!! I have lost 112 lbs.

/major tangent