“Kids are bullied because they do xyz behaviors.”
No, kids are bullied because they are around bullies.
Just as domestic abuse victims are abused because their abusers are abusers (and not bc of the victims’ behavior), kids are bullied bc bullies are bullies.
There is not some divided responsibility between victim and bully, and if we teach kids that there is, we teach them to accept or perpetrate abuse throughout their lives.
When I was a teen and complained about how mean kids were to me, my dad said this exact thing: “What did you do to make these kids start teasing you?”
What did I do? Exist.
I stopped reporting bullying incidents because I believed I deserved it for being born.
I attempted suicide because the bullying destroyed every part of me that I loved, and it has taken me almost 20 years to love those parts of myself again.
And I doubt the kids who bullied me even remember my face.
FUCK YOU, victim blamers.