Personal reactions differ to bullying depending on the level of violence

I experienced ten years of bullying from roughly second grade to my sophomore year in high school. Even though I read both of Jodee's excellent books and easily identify with her struggle, my experience as a bullied male who was always the shortest person in his class was a very different one. First, the level of violence led to having at least one or two fights every day and very early on, I ceased desiring to "fit in" as my primary instinct as a child was to simply survive. Even though I can understand and identify with Jodee's advice on various issues from both books, I chose a different approach to encounter bullies. First, they are always cowards and will generally cease bullying if there is any possibility of them experiencing pain. Second, bullies continue as adults if they do not go any further with their education than high school. Third, the male bullies I encountered were always trying to reassure themselves of their masculinity no matter what their age.

Jodee's books are the only real solid published advice I could find authored by someone who actually experienced bullying for many years. However, the male environment may be much more violent and possibly generate different issues for the male child or teenager.