actually no. no, no, no. telling kids to just “stand up and cope” is creating a society of acceptance and tolerance of bullying. it’s saying, “well, it’s going to happen anyway, so let’s deal with it.” that’s not okay. that’s like telling someone to avoid rape by covering themselves up or learning how to cope with it if it happens to them. you can’t just do that, because some people are still going to be horrible people no matter how well you handle it. you can’t just shrug and turn the other way.
we need to teach kids to love each other, accept each other, and still treat one another kindly whether they are friends or not. we need to raise our kids to be decent human beings and be respectful. we need to teach our kids the infinite value of each human life. we need parents who are actually parenting the right way.