quote:Originally posted by pineywoodscat:
I think you will find it to always be the same. When I went to HS the "jocks" were the bullies and that has not changed. I do not believe it will ever change. Their parents and the communities uphold them as special. They are the warriors of their domain therefore they are set up above the academic minded kids and kids that get by with grades earned. Now mind you, not all "jocks" are like that. There are exceptions that make it on their own and are good kids and students. There are slso "Numbnuts" that cast the bad reflection on the others. MHO
Same with the cheerleaders (usually) and other popular girls. But popular girls are subtle bullies who rule the school based on a sort of social hierarchy. They see it as having ownership of the goings on at the school because of their power. (I realize not all popular girls are bullies; some are genuinely nice, but it is rare.)
A good example of this social structure and the harm it causes is the 15 year old in the Mass. area who got bullied and harassed to the point that she hung herself (her name was Phoebe something). Her only crime was going out with one of the popular football players. Well, that's just not allowed because the popular girls think they have the right to dictate these relationships and if you step over the line and become a threat to their established rule, watch out.
All of this plays out well in the movie "Mean Girls". It's based on the book "Queen Bees and Wannabes", which is about these cliques.