To the OP and all previous posters, thank you for this thread.

While I'm so glad that many folks younger than me have been able to grow up in an environment where these issues are at the very least talked about, there is clearly room for much improvement of community comprehension and action, to get us to the point where we are all participating in fostering an environment that provides fair opportunity for everyone's healthy development.

Speaking to how bullying can remain so pervasive in a person's life, I found this description from the National Children's Advocacy Center to have a real ring of truth to it: "Emotional residues from maltreatment can create a “victim schema” that communicates vulnerability to peers and can invite bullying and peer violence." Certainly seems to have been true for me, for whom the bullying started at home, was relentless from the get-go at school by schoolmates and even by teachers piling on. This ultimately left me feeling very trapped by my reality as I was experiencing it.

But, realizing (by which I mean creatively finding ways to remind myself at the core) that the pervasiveness of the bullying that has existed in my life has had little to do with anything inherently wrong with me, but more so just an unfortunate sequencing of events, is fairly helpful inoculation. I think it is relatively difficult for anyone who has suffered a similar degree of victimization to really absorb that truth, but nearly impossible for a child who may be without any support or outlet.

Just my two cents. Thanks again everybody. Oh, and I saw a great documentary on a cable channel (Pivot) that comes with my line-up, called "Bully" (2011) which I thought both powerful and sensitive, and worthy of mention.. I expect they will replay it every so often as they are just that kind of channel. It would be great if they could be showing it in schools and have discussion groups afterwards and stuff. Would beat the heck out of the useless blather they used to show us in our ancient school assemblies.