[cultureswitch]

Having been on the receiving end of actual real-life bullying from 90% of my peers (the other 10% being bystanders) through high school because I was younger (among other things), I can tell you that Lord of the Flies is in some ways depicting the kids as less cruel than real kids are.

[aurizon]

Yes, when I was in school each hall and each stair landing was attended by a teacher/monitor so gross physical bullying was limited. These days we have an unruly mob very under supervised. I am sure the frequent gun confrontations we see in the news are caused by bullying and the bullied resort to guns as the only way to get relief from the bullies!

[snozolli]

I am sure the frequent gun confrontations we see in the news are caused by bullying and the bullied resort to guns as the only way to get relief from the bullies!

Why? Bullied kids aren't murderers. Psychopaths are murderers.

I've read numerous accounts from people who were in high school when Columbine happened. The media latched onto this narrative that the perpetrators had been bullied. This resulted in schools around the country tormenting already-bullied kids by encouraging their peers to out them, then subjecting them to clumsy interventions by undertrained school psychologists.

Anyway, I think it's dangerous to spread the myth that bullied kids lash out with violence. Has it happened? Sure. Is it common? No.