One of the most horrific hate crimes is sweeping the nation: bullying. What is a bully? As defined by Oxford Dictionaries, a bully is “a person who uses force or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker” (oxforddictionaries.com). In most situations where the term “bully” is mentioned, the mental image of the grotesque creature standing over a small child is created. However, this is not always the case. Bullying happens every day and in forms other than physical brutality. While physical bullying is serious, there is also indirect bullying, verbal bullying and cyberbullying. The most commonly known and understood form is physical bullying. This is the case where the weaker of the two (or more), i.e. the victim, is physically abused so that the dominant of the two (or more), the bully, can gain something. What you get is determined on a case-by-case basis: money, power, status, etc. As for why the bully bullies, there are a number of reasons. The bully could, for example, come from a difficult home life. Imagine, if you will: his father is in prison for theft and his mother is always away from home. The child does not have proper guidance in his life, so he takes after his father and uses his brute strength to snatch lunch money from another student. In this scenario, the victim turns to a reliable teacher and his parents. The school takes disciplinary measures against the student; however, in this scenario the punishment is not reinforced at home. Now that the bully has been reprimanded by the school principal, he is even more abusive towards the original victim and seeks out more students to vent his anger further. While physical bullying can harm another human being, similarly, verbal bullying or verbal abuse, h...... middle of paper...... Old boy, commits suicide after gay bullying, parents carry the message forward (VIDEO)." Latest news and opinion on The Huffington Post. September 20, 2011. Web. November 02, 2011. .Tiner, Joe. "Cyberbullying: In today's technological world the bullying continues." TheCrimson High School, November 1, 2011. Web November 2, 2011. .Vena, Jocelyn Born This Way Foundation - Music, Celebrities, Artist News MTV | New Music Videos, Reality Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV. MTV, November 2, 2011. Web. November 12. 2011. .