Interesting thing I considered while responding to the posts below.

Most of us seem to be of agreement, without some kind of negative conflict in people's lives that people aren't going to have thick enough skin for the real world. We may come in expecting everything to be puppies and rainbows, and then be painfully disappointed. However, we all also know all the negative effects that come from situations such as bullying? The effectiveness of this new anti-bullying campaign aside, if we were in a world where issues like bullies are completely non-existent, is there anything else we could do to teach children to be realistic enough and have thick enough skin for the real world?

Also, another point I'd like to nip in the bud, the "Bullies are bullies for a reason such as bad things in their life".

This is a correct statement I find, if you only make it apply to some bullies and not all bullies. Some people do not have such issues or insecurities in life. They are just generally sick people who enjoy hurting others. I think one reason the schools have had so much issues with bullying is because it insists that every Bully is a victim themselves, and the sooner we recognize that is not the case with everyone the sooner we can get going in life. I mean we see far more demented people in life than bullies and we don't always go "Oh they were a victim", often times we recognize said person was just a nasty individual. If we do that for even more extreme behaviour that has even better reason to suggest a bad life/experience behind it, why is it so odd for some people to grasp the concept that some bullies may just be bad eggs?

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Tip: Coming into a thread and then making generalized accusations of everyone (especially in a demeaning way) will not help with anyone listening to or agreeing with your points. All you do is back people up against a wall and make them defensive.

You do have a point though in that Bullies if left to their own devices are more spoiled and act more entitled than a child would if conflict never really faced them. As for your Depression? Nothing from the depression itself would of helped, but like I said in my earlier post being bullied can help someone gain thicker skin and be more realistic of the world cause you can see the world for more how it really is and less of a "everything is good" bubble that a lot of people try to be in. 

This is not defending bullying in the slightest mind you, I simply answering your question as to how experiences with bullied would of helped you as a person.

As for saying people here are going backwards? I think you're reading too much into the 'Man' part of the "Man up" statement.
We're not being sexist and telling boys to be super Masculine, we're saying it's important for people as a whole (men and women) to understand conflict, and to not enter the real world with paper thin skin.

[quote=HeySeuss]-snip-[/quote]

The schools we came from tend to be similar in their incompetency with handling the bullies. And as long as that is the case, students are right to learn to defend themselves and take matters into their own hands. If the school isn't going to bother helping those who are bullied, they have no right telling students what to do or not do when they get bullied. But that doesn't mean just cause it's currently an issue that we dismiss it as an issue and let it be, that is a big hole/injustice in the school system and it needs to be fixed. 

I'd start honestly by taking away the administrations right (save the principal) to hand out punishments to students, but the Principal is required to speak directly with both the involved parties, and witnesses beforehand. Should also accept insight from teachers who know the students better than they do, and should also get out of the office more to simply have a better understanding on the student's so they're more aware of who the good kids are, and who are the kids who go around causing this trouble.

As for your small group of friends mentality? I can relate. I stuck with one group of friends in High School (with a few extra who were from elementary school and wandered off to other groups) and it was all I needed. Some people are just too outgoing to stick with one group, but they are not everyone. Some people function just fine (or even better) with just one group of friends, there's nothing wrong with that. It's where outsiders are treated I have mixed views in with you. I think being polite with people (especially if they did nothing to you) is important, but there's nothing wrong with adopting a "I don't care for those outside my group stance", especially if the community you're in like my High School is generally filled with shallow, selfish and ignorant people. I'd honestly really say, even if such a stance is taken that you should at least not to treat someone badly who personally is not guilty of such things simply because you don't know them. After all, all of your friends were also at some point people you didn't know.