With four students from Mentor High School killing themselves because they couldn't stand the taunting from bullies, now people are talking about something that really, has been going on since the beginning of time. Now, it's more prevalent on the playground. But bullying is not a new phenomenon. Bullying is a means to have power and control and the desire to have power and control is why countries declare war on other countries. It's human nature.

I had braces, a perm and was anorexic skinny (not because I was anorexic) and was a target of bullies during sixth and seventh grade on the bus. It sucked! Thankfully, I was pretty good at handling it and it subsided pretty quickly. But while I was in that moment in time, it felt like there was no way out. On the bus, there was no way out. I hated going to school and missed 21 days of school in sixth grade. I wish someone would have intervened and told these kids how hateful they were. But it didn't happen then and it rarely happens now.

One of my co-workers went to Mentor High School and she said that anyone who spoke out against this behavior would then be a target of bullies. She said she was one of those people. "It was bad," she said.

Ohio House Bill 276 mandates that school personnel report bullying to the school principal. Since 2007 when this law was enacted, only 4 incidents have been reported in the State of Ohio, according to Jim Croucher with the Tina Project. Croucher said we have a long way to go. I concur.

So what do you all think about bullying? What should schools do? What should parents do? Why do bullies bully? How should targets of bullies handle the destructive and degrading taunting?