Are We Wasting Too Much Time Going After Schoolyard Bullies?

Martial Arts as Anti-Bullying Tool

Maybe I'm missing something here. But nowadays everyone seems obsessed with the evils of  "bullying" and creating zero-tolerance programs for bullying in schools   The  tragedy at Franklin Regional High School in which sixteen year old Alex Hribal went on a slashing rampage, has called even more attention to the subject.  That is, the search for the teen's motives has led some observers to speculate that he may have been bullied.  Being bullied is no defense against attempted murder.  But the subject did get me thinking.

Is it not possible that this conversation on bullying has become far too lopsided. I'm beginning to wonder whether all this programmatic talk about getting rid of bullies is becoming a tad too Biblical, like ridding the world of sin.  And we all know how well that worked out.

A far better course of action might be teaching those children who are most vulnerable to being bullied how to stand up for themselves. I don't mean by fighting back, but rather by learning how not to wear a "victim" sign on their backs. Even if their teachers could do a better job protecting them from bullies in school, when they grow up, who's going to protect them from bullies in the workplace and in life?

I love watching the three to five year old "Little Dragons"  train at the Martial Arts School my son attends.  They're as adorable as can be and would never pick a fight.  But there is something in their posture, something even in the way they tell you their names, that makes you know a bully, who is essentially a coward, would go picking on someone else.
  
Let's stop wasting so much time and attention on the bullies, whose character traits aren't going anywhere and find ways of drying up the pool of victims.  One of the most effective ways to instill the kinds of self-esteem in children that can protect them from any form of assault is through the mental and physical discipline that martial arts training confers.