I don't know that bullies are more vicious today - they were plenty vicious back then - but they have better bullying tools at their disposal via technology, and that same technology makes it easier for people who weren't tough enough or aggressive enough to bully someone to his or her face back then because the victim might turn around and hit them. Now, they hide behind the Internet.

You can't "educate" bullies into not being what they are. They only understand violence, or the threat of it, so you need to get right in their face with the violence. The "zero tolerance for everything" practiced in the public schools today only makes it worse. If you stand up to a bully, you'll be punished at least as much as the bully. Probably more, if you threw the first punch. Were schools soft on bullies when I was in school? Yes - and they seem even worse now. School administrators should be ashamed of themselves on that point. That's one of the reasons I send my kids to private school - they will have no truck with bullies and will just kick them out. Then they go to the public schools and get coddled.

I have three daughters - two in school. They do martial arts. They have my permission to do whatever is needed to a bully, regardless of what "the rules" my say, and I will back them up.

I think when I get home, I'll tell them that if that ever happens, to throw in an extra punch or six in memory of kids who've been pushed over the edge and killed themselves, and be sure to make an example of the bully. If you're going to get kicked out of school for fighting, make it worth it.

RIP, little Amanda.
- A posting on the internet, reacting to Amanda Todd's death

There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive"