You walk into a bathroom and there, lying on the floor, is a helpless, quiet, straight-A student covered in blood. Hovering over him is the “cool” guy, the one everyone longs to be, laughing at his latest victim. Meanwhile, you, the kid who tries not to draw any unwanted attention to himself, casually strolls into one of the unoccupied stalls as if your peripheral vision was unable to capture the unsettling scene. Obviously, there is something disturbingly wrong with this situation. Every individual has a moral obligation to do their best to help prevent bullying, harassment, and/or intimidating behavior.

A bully, typically the person who initiates all of the trouble, must heed two pieces of advice. The first step a tormentor should take is to stop. Second, their inner focal point should revolve around the Golden Rule-treat others the way you want to be treated. People commonly agree that we all desire to be regarded with respect. Therefore, we must act compassionately towards others without any exceptions. Being a bully is not a title to be proud of.

On the contrary, there are victims of bullying. Although they may appear defenseless, in actuality, they are capable of stopping it. I recommend that they speak up and tell a responsible adult. Other options include ignoring bullies and calling bullying hotlines. If you are bullied, do something about it and receive help.

Bystanders are just as guilty as bullies and perhaps more so, if they don’t speak up. Most witnesses claim that they sympathize with victims of bullying, but are too frightened to say anything or do anything. However, if they truly were vicarious, they would tell a bully to stop immediately or explain the situation to a grown-up. The New York Police Department motto suggests, “If you see something, say something.”

As you can see, bullying, unfortunately, has taken the United States by storm in recent years and is now, a serious issue. It has taken a tremendous toll on adolescents, as every seven minutes, a kid is bullied. Approximately eight innocent people were tormented over the estimated 1-hour duration that it took to compose this essay. If we all work together and do our part to prevent bullying, that exceedingly high statistic will one day, drop to an astounding number of zero people being bullied. Do something, do anything, but don’t do nothing.