Quick! Bully him, he's smart!

[thereverend7]

Reason 1: You are different. ANY difference counts as grounds for bullying.
Reason 2: To a lesser, more subtle reason, jealousy, perhaps.

 

[TheTim]

From what i've observed, its the smart kids who go after the less intelligent ones at my school,
because they see them selves as superior to the "dull minded idiots" so they can do whatever they want to them.
I'm one of the less intelligent people (more because i am lazy) but they know not to mess with me because i'll make their life hell.

 

[Dr Snakeman]

This thread is amusing. It has nothing to do with intelligence (get over yourself) like so many others have already pointed out, but how you are socially.

I was forced to move to a new state during the middle of my 11th year of high school. I was of course nervous being placed in an entirely new culture (the deep south, shudder) and trying to somewhat meet new people so it wouldn't entirely be a miserable experience until I graduated.

I did pretty well in high school (4.0 GPA) and ranked higher than the school's Valedictorian (I wasn't it because I transferred in). My new classmates saw this rather quickly, but because I'm easy to talk to know how to make other people laugh, we all got along just fine and pretty soon I was respected by all the social cliques and silly groups people get in.

Oddly enough I was more popular at this new school rather than my old one. Funny how that works.

This guy, right here. In my experience, it was usually the smart guys who were also total pricks/really weird and annoying who were picked on. Not saying that that's always the case (since people can be complete bastards for no reason), but that's the most likely answer.

 

[UmJammerSully]

I was a dumbass in school but I was still bullied. Asshole parents have asshole kids, that's all there is to it.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I would know. I'm an idiot.

In my opinion, people that know they're stupid aren't that stupid at all, really...

That was part of the joke, actually.

How Socratic of you.

I always figured the smart kids get picked on because the "dumber" kids feel inferior. However, intelligence is a hard to define thing, and each person has something they understand and do well.

 

[Laveno]

Spoiler

It does happen, but I don't think it's as prevalent as people claim.

I spent all my primary school years and most of my secondary school years thinking I was being bullied for being smarter than everyone else.

Looking back though, I also happened to be a douchebag.

Maybe if I were just smarter there would have been a couple of annoying kids, but being a douchebag is what caused the real problems. And of course teachers, school counsel, etc. were all telling me it's everyone else's fault. Poor me, I'm just a victim of the other kids and I just need to accept that's how people act when someone is different, blah, blah, blah.

What I really needed is someone saying "Hey, maybe if you stop being an arrogant, condescending douchebag to every kid you talk to, they might not dislike you so much."

Well said! This pretty much sums up my experience, the teachers siding with me and trusting me. However, I realised when I was 13 or so, that I really were acting badly and they really had reason for acting like they did (no physical bullying, only verbal (mental)).

I tried to change how I acted, and believe I succeeded to some extent, but there was still one wouldn't let off (still bugs me why he did it). Some of them, I believe, didn't realise that their actions actually harmed someone, but when that was made clear, they stopped. Just to be clear, I do not believe that you acting smugly is the only reason someone might bully you, but it's probably the most prevalent one.

My friends, however, were still acting kind of smugly about themselves (I probably did too, without realising, but if so to a lesser extent), and they were bullied a much longer time than I were, but I believe it stopped after some time too.

Just for information, I was pretty smart, but I was not at all good at practical application (theoretical subjects are my strong side, especially language).

If any Escapist finds that I am acting arrogantly/smugly or somehow disrespects someone, please do inform me! I am doing my very best to become a better person, so any help is very welcome.

 

[Jackalb]

People consider me smarter than I actually am, they ask me ridiculous questions expecting me to know the answer to everything. To be fair I very rarely say 'I don't know' I usually have a pretty good educated guess haha.

I've never been bullied because of it though as I'm notoriously fast-witted so most people don't try to put me down as they are quite aware I can do it them but better and faster. I'm also 'The Entertainer' of the group so it's sort of a reverse where the supposed geek is the alpha.

 

[CodeOrange]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/2709-Magneto-Was-Right

Moviebob addressed this in a more entertaining and nerdy fashion than I would.

In my experience the hostility is generated by perceived threat from the display of a rare ability. By reacting with hostility and ridicule a group of poor learners can avoid the issue that they have faults.

No, it's all just for shits and giggles. You're giving too much credit for children; insolent beings that can't shut up without a bludgeoning. Ever picked up uh lets say, a sandbox and gone apeshit? You know what I'm talking about. That, or peer pressure or an easy social activity that the dull and boring engorge themselves in to appear interesting and witty.

It doesn't matter if you're smart, dumb, [insert physical characteristic that is "normal" in terms of social context] etc, you just have to be part of the majority, as well as someone who was short-changed in the genome pool.

 

[Griffolion]

So my dear escapists...

Here I was, casually surfing the web when a thought struck my mind. I can't remember what it was, but it pulled up the memory of school ( one I dislike ). A lot of you may have experience this too, where the other children will pick on the "smart" kids, for...well? Being smart. I got it most in science, because Physics came to me much faster than any others in my group. This got me thinking, why do they pick on the "smart" kids? Just because we understand what we were being taught and picked it up is grounds to bully us? Maybe it was them thinking we were weird or just different. I'm not sure.

What do you think escapists?

* I am by no means calling myself smart ( Before you think I'm arrogant ), hell Science was one of the only subjects I was good at...

EDIT: This is from a UK based school - I understand some of the response are aimed towards the US schools, so to add further discussion, how do US schools differ from UK based schools in terms of bullying and behaviour towards other students?

Bullies pick on the smart kids because they can't take the fact that someone is better than them at something, so they need to validate themselves by physically oppressing those who are smarter. It stems from insecurity, pain born out of a bad home life and anger from the same source. It's all for the superiority, the alpha male compulsion many of us are mostly free from.

At the end of the day, they're going to be the bums operating a wrecking ball 9-5 and you're going to be working at CERN isolating the higgs boson (or whatever). I know this is an exaggerated prediction, but it's an image of things to come.

 

[Ghonesis]

Bullies always makes me think of this song:

It shows what bullies can do to people. (well, sort of)

A bit off-topic, since it has nothing to do with smartness, but still.