Bullying.

Bullying is a serious, quite large problem in the United States. Sure, it gets plenty of press and there's plenty of organizations and charities but obviously that's not helping to solve the problem because they are so many kids still being bullied. I think bullying is now used as a political tactic for Disney channel-type stars to gain popularity or sympathy. I feel like some people use bullying for themselves and not to genuinely help others. On the other hand, my opinion on bullying itself is quite simple; you can control who you're intimidated by. That's right. If you let someone get inside your head, and tear you down then they have control. If you choose not to let their words have any effect on you, they will most likely leave you alone because they know they won't be able to harass you because their words have no effect. Once they get inside your mind they pretty can take you down mentally and emotionally. Bullying is usually an intimidation/mental/emotional thing. Bullies are just trying to find someone they think is weaker than them to pick on to pump their egos but if you show that you are stronger than them (mentally/emotionally) than they don't really get what they were looking for, right? It's take some training and getting used to but you can eventually strengthen yourself to get to that point. With that being said, sometimes it can be too late or someone is "helpless" this and physical abuse is where adults should come in and help. Some adults choose not to help for whatever reason and that's when you have to pull out big guns like lawyers and parents and police. Also, I don't believe in that "builds character" crap. Being harassed in any way shape or form can be traumatic especially for a child. In conclusion, I do not know how to solve this problem directly but these are my opinions.