I do not understand “human nature”, I really don’t. Toddlers are such caring little creatures. If a complete stranger gets a boo boo in the park, they feel the need to make them feel better. How do they go from such wonderful, loving people to little monsters? Why is that empathy and compassion viewed as a weakness? Why does the pack feel the need to stomp it out, ridicule it, do anything to bury it, destroy it? Certainly they cannot understand the hurt that they are causing.

Why is it that I can tell my daughter that she is beautiful, wonderful, intelligent, clever and sweet, and yet the girl has no self esteem? She IS all of those things, yet she is more inclined to believe some little witch that took great pleasure in belittling her. The little witch wound up dropping out of HS as sophomore, but the damage was done. Why would she believe a complete stranger rather than her mother?

Why don’t the teachers/principals/superintendents/playground monitor/parents care anymore? When did this become a “don’t ask don’t tell situation”? When did parents stop being mortified when their child was mean or rude?

My heart bleeds when I read these stories. I think back to all the nights I cried after my kids went to bed because I didn’t know how to explain the cruelty to them. You can only say “they’re unhappy so they want to make someone else more unhappy” so many times. Do these children even remember the heartache they cause once they’re grown?

Kind decent human beings are not the minority, why are things this way? How do we change them?