Schools can put up as many posters as they want. They can lecture us and say “zero tolerance” till they go blue in the face. There is no way to prevent bullying. Bear with my cynicism, please. There’s no way to cut out bullying because it defies all attempts at eradication. Whenever those affected try to seek help, things are not ameliorated. They grow even worse as the incentive to punish and hurt grows as all student sympathizers wash their hands clean of the situation. No one wants to help a tattle-tale. No one wants to stick out their neck, attempt to help out the lowly creature at the bottom of the pecking order. And why would they? Would you? Bullies use the same techniques as the Gestapo. Doing the right thing, speaking out, only gets you thrown into the same plight. So the cycle continues unchecked, like a clever parasite that has discovered antibiotic evasion. Chris Hargenson will always dump pig’s blood on Carrie White. School shootings will continue to occur with a frightening regularity. Anyone with glasses and a brain will find themselves hopeless alienated and told that their self-hood is a cause of embarrassment. Suicides will continue to break hearts and spirits. Parents and students need to stop kidding themselves. All this talk about respect and empathy hasn't rubbed off in the slightest. An invisible hand works mysteriously in the schools across America, establishing the social order. How do you combat that which you cannot see? You cannot.