Simply put:

I am a product of this pacifistic movement that started in the 70s. All of my childhood, it was drilled into me that I should not fight back against bullies, I should "ignore them". I should "turn the other cheek". "Be the better man," "Tell a teacher".

Problem is, none of that actually stops the bully, it encourages them. The bully is not looking for a challenge. It's why they pick on people weaker than themselves. Yes, to stop their predatory aspects outright, their actions need attention other than violence. They need counseling, or other therapy to get to the underlying cause of why they are being a bully.

But teaching kids that they should not stand up for themselves, that the only solution to the problem is to either;
A: Ignore it, or
B: tell an "authority" figure to do something about it...

...Just does not make sense to me. Having these ideals drilled into my head made me feel powerless, it made me feel [u]worse[/u]. What happens when you ignore the bully? They just bully you more, because you are easy prey. The primary tool you are told will work against the bully, is useless. So you turn to the other tool, you tell a teacher. What happens? The bully gets in trouble, their parents might reprimand them....and then they come back and take it out on the person who is the cause of their new problem.