Quick! Bully him, he's smart!

[Gudrests]

My experience was a little different. I was really good at math so all the "popular" kids would keep to their own groups until there was group work to be down upon which we were suddenly friends.

Those are the only real kinds of experiences I had either. No one laughed at me and said HA HA you built an 11 foot roller coaster in the middle of class and gave us all a grade. It was don't fucking bother John while he is working or we will hit you. I also kinda focus way too hard and move wayy too fast for anyone to keep up when it comes to projects and deadlines like that. But no one ever made fun of the smart kid to my knowledge, shit someone asked once if they could cheat off me for a test and after they handed in their paper I told them I wrote down all the wrong answers and went to erase everything and laughed at the kids face, we were by no means friends but were more or less friendly. I think people get bullied on random, when they are smart and a dick about it, all little kids do it, and the really REALLY dumb kids....you all know who they are, the dean's know them by name kids.

 

[Raesvelg]

Short answer: Because they can.

Long answer: People don't bully the smart kids. They bully the smart kids who are strictly "the smart kids", the kids who have no particular physical or social aptitudes to accompany their intellect.

 

[Chasing-The-Light]

I was a smart student, in school, and I wasn't really bullied much (mainly because I went to a pretty small school). Though, I will admit that I, personally, /was/ the bully. I picked on a lot of people and relentlessly pushed and pushed them really far. Why? Because it made me feel better about myself. Call it an inferiority complex, if you will. I do, anyway.

Long story short, if anything, underneath it all I felt as though if I didn't pick on everyone around me, then I would become the target, instead. I'd rather be the asshole, than be the one picked on, personally.

 

[Hugga_Bear]

You know what? I'm smart. Really smart. I've always been in the top classes and hitting the top grades, I know the material and when I was younger I used to speak up about it. Later I took on more of a teaching role and used to encourage others to answer or work it out but the point is I've always been great at every subject which came my way.

I was never bullied. OK I'm a big guy too, I've always been tall and I was well built from around 15 but before then I was at least chubby. Never picked on. Ever.

You know why?
Me neither. I assume it was something to do with being good at EVERYTHING. I was a rugby player from quite young, I was good at football and music and DT and english as well as IT, the sciences and maths.

I was friends with just about everyone but I did nerdy stuff too and people just didn't pick on me.

I think part of it was I wasn't a dick about it. There's being smart and being a smartarse. Using Big Bang Theory, Leonard is smart, Sheldon is a smartass (and likely Aspies too mind). People needed help I helped them, if they didn't I'd not bother with it, I didn't rub knowing it in anyone's faces and despite answering questions a lot was never a teacher's pet...

I just...never got it, really never did. No one was bullied at my school though a few came close to it at times others, myself included, made sure they were always okay. So I don't know why you're bullied but it's not just cos you're smart. Unless it's the combination of factors in me overriding it just being smart didn't matter.

 

[Markgraf]

It's pretty simple, biologically speaking, it's still a competition to prove who is the best. The bullying comes because they can't compete at a mental level and thusly decide to do so on the physical level.

 

[Dectomax]

I have a feeling that just because you do well in phisics and get bullied, you now consider yourself smarter.

No, no, no - read the OP, I didn't feel like I was smarter, I done ok at school ( Which I finished years ago ) I was quite friendly, always helped people and just stayed out of the way.

I assume it was just my area, it is known for it's silly amount of idiots.

 

[TonyVonTonyus]

A feeling of inadquecy strengthened by the overbearing pressures of a society demanding perfection? Though, I am just ballparking that one...don't hit me!

 

[SillyBear]

snip

Okay, here's SillyBear's list of reasons why people may bully smart individuals:

1 - Jealousy. "I wish I had what he has, I hate him, let's belittle him"

2 - Elitism. Many "smart people" I know do almost naturally sound smug and superior without even noticing. Many people don't like it, and they can get the sense that the smart person thinks they're better than them - and quite often smart people do think they are intrinsically better than someone who isn't quite as good as maths or science. It's rude and they may be targeted for it.

3 - Difference. "He spends in lunch times in the library and reads stupid books. What an idiot".

I'd say most attacks are due to simple difference. Take a look at these forums, it's filled with "___ is a fucking idiot because they do not act like me!/believe like me!/Think like me!"

 

[Jodah]

Couldn't tell you. In my class the smart kids were also the strongest (for the most part). Nobody messed with us.

 

[Jegsimmons]

because kids are the most evil beings on earth and will find a reason to make your life hell with zero compassion.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Quite simply, children are monsters.

Most children have a deeply competitive instinct, and the battle for alpha dog starts at a very early age.

"Smart" kids have already tipped their hands, so other kids have to beat them down so they have a chance at becoming alpha.

If "Strong" kids didn't attack "Smart" kids, then we'd have the same situation reversed, where the "Smart" would be laughing cruelly at the "Strong".

A-HA! You are as PRESUMPTUOUS as your are POOR and IRISH. Tarnish notte the MAJESTY of my TOWER of HATS!


No but seriously, bullies are terrified of intelligence. I think.

 

[SsilverR]

I remember I was a bit of a douchebag in school but I never really bullied anyone, Since i got into chess I remember getting a bit of heat from my friends for hanging with the "neeks" (it's east london word for geek lol) XD i told them to fuck themselves and I enjoy hanging with the neeks .. after a few laughs and play fights it was all forgotten.

Back then no one really used to bully anyone for how smart they were ... mostly just because of how they dressed LOL and even though everyone HUNG OUT in different groups when it came time to play football during lunch everyone who's interested in football (being east london that was almost the whole school) played and if the geek could play BELIEVE he got picked early if not first.

LOOOOOL YOU REMINDED ME OF JAMES!!!!!! dude, the geekiest skinniest white kid you've ever seen (in a mostly black school too LOL) quite kid, but he played footy like a fucking demon! some days it would crack me up because you see 2 huge black dudes fighting over this skinny white boy because both want him on their team. like **First pick** "yo blad i pick martin" "BRUV!!! I WANTED MARTIN!! ALLOW IT!!"

we used to joke about how this kid had hardcore immunity from getting bullied because of his godly skills with the ball haha no one wanted to risk martin not playing for them ROTFLMFAO

 

[Denamic]

I was good at English, they called me "fucking foreigner."
*shrug*

 

[ediblemitten]

Because kids are assholes. The high school I went to, even the elementary school, was a terrible place for most kids at one time or another (including me, I was a bit of a history nerd and so got some shit for that, probably came of as smug sometimes).

 

[mastermerrick]

I remember that I was bullied up until my Senior year. I am fairly smart, enough to pick up on things faster than some of others at my old school. It seems that being different just makes you a natural target. Luckily, I had enlisted in the Army prior to my senior year, allowing me to go through Basic Training during the summer. The "bullies" got one hell of a wake up call come the new year.

 

[Curlythelock]

I never experianced any form of bullying in school. However this may have something to do with the fact that I attended private schools where there were serious repercussions for bullying and that I played rugby so I was always one of the bigger kids.

 

[Arluza]

easy. at least in the US to understand. In the US, intelligence is evil. look at the people we call heroes. Basketball, Football, Soccer, Baseball players. People whose entire goal is to hit/catch/whatever with a ball. pretty simple. Look at people we call villains. Bill Gates, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Stem cell researchers, the list goes on. People who are EDUCATED are bad. So, at least in the US, of course they will bully smart people. They are evil.