When did bullying begin for you?

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Maybe some of us have to search back and scratch our heads on this one, for what exactly constituted bullying and when did we recognized it as such, but for me, it most definitively began in Grade 3 when I'd just turned eight. It was basically from cold to hot, going from Grade 2 where hitherto I hadn't known any bullying or even what bullying was (!) and was happy interacting with peers, but I went sent to a "special school" for Grade 3 because of certain irregularities that weren't known in the early '80s, at that point professionals were just releasing studies on ADD/ADHD which was the label I was given.

Grade 3 was the second-worst bullying year I ever had; Grade 9 was the worst, Grade 7 was the third worst.
Although I was at a special school, it was in one of those "portable units" on a public school grounds, so once the other "normal" kids found out about my special ed status, they took it upon themselves to persecute me at every turn, even the kids in higher grades. Much of the abuse was physical, like intentionally throwing balls at me during the integrated gym classes, shoving, throwing snowballs and giving "snowjobs" where I felt like I almost suffocated (being in Canada, we had to deal with snow for several months unfortunately). The fact that I had to take the school bus there, instead of walking just across the street to my former classes for earlier grades made it all the more worse.

Sadly, and whether foreseen by school board authorities or not, the placement of special ed facilities on the same grounds as mainstream education just opened the gates to being targeted; it's unlikely the kids in the regular classes were taught or disciplined into treating the special ed kids properly, or that such tactics would have even worked. In hindsight, I think it would have been much better to have been placed in a completely separate special ed campus, but alas, it's unlikely funding would permit, especially when 30+ years ago such matters were not considered in the same light. Maybe today there is more of that happening with increasing special needs demographics, but then those kids would one day have to be bewildered by the cruel nature of bullying later in life, as they would be integrated to "mainstream" life by their teens.

So needless to say, I was somewhat on edge and hypervigilant after that year, but clung to the naive belief that, when I moved to another region/ city and new school, that the bullying would stop, because that was a problem unique to "that school" in Grade 3. How wrong I was proven!!

Funny thing is, I've read stories outside of WP about how parents complained about their son or daughter in grade 1 or 2 being bullied, sometimes by an older kid - I'm very lucky that I never encountered that so early on - in one case, a woman had to pull her daughter out of grade 2 and home-school her because a boy in grade 3 would repeatedly target her, shove her to the ground and kick her, and the school did nothing about it despite repeated complaints.
So needless to say, the little s**t would most likely grow up to become a hardcore domestic abuser, and end up in jail for brutally killing somebody's daughter. Way to go school board, for helping "build" the wonderful society of tomorrow (sarcasm) Yes, the root cause is that some parents just don't give a damn and the school staff is left to fill the gaps.

One guy I met years ago, a former co-worker called Dave who was the nicest guy you could imagine - but just don't ever deliberately piss him off!! - he told me about how he made a lifelong hobby of martial arts (and working out) after in Grade 3, he was repeatedly attacked in the same manner as the poor girl in the paragraph above, and he resolved right then and there to never have to endure that again. it worked!! He told me about how he did a couple of years in the military, there was this exercise drill where an "attacker" had a blank pistol pointed a few inches from your head, and 20 times out of 20 he was able to disarm the opponent before the trigger was pulled (OR the odd time the trigger would be pulled with the barrel pointing away from him). But, unlike Dave, and as I indicated, I clung to the naive belief that the bully problem was unique to that particular school and waited for things to get better

It began in the fifth grade. I got then into a new class, although still in the same school. Couple boys started it and others followed.

It seems adulthood is no safe haven either. People seem to enjoy to play games on my life. Actually today I felt like wanting to give up, because it just never seems to end. There are people who just don't care (narcissists and sociopaths with their entourages). At work my naivety is often made fun of by people who are not my immediate co-workers. Usually when people know me personally, they act more protective.

When Did Bullying Begin For You?

Between 5 and 6 is as far back as I can remember being bullied. I remember after being beat-up by two kids telling my Mom. Although she never told me why they wanted to beat me up, she suggested I "get" them one-at-a-time, which I did.

My Mom's advise ended that particular bullying problem (what a tremendous difference between a pair of nasty, mean bully faces as they beat you up and the sniveling, weeping cowards pinned beneath your knees on the rocks that made up our "yards") and worked amazingly well in the years that followed.

My last bullying "episode" (in 12th grade) was triggered by a professional bully (I say professional because of 12 years of experience and two "henchmen"). The event ended with the "bully" out and bleeding on the ground and me running like the wind (he never came back for more).

Later schooling seems to have found the bullies went elsewhere for their further education; maybe Vietnam? Yay!

Kindergarden.
Couldn't connect with the kids, some hated me, some hated me extra-special.
Even the staff hated me.

6 years old, started with a girl that stepped on my hand and pinched me all the time. After that, kids were teasing me all the time and trying to pick fights. My parents complained to the principal a few times, but nothing changed. I wasn't in special school because my grades were good, and I wasn't diagnosed Aspergers' until adulthood. I got in fights a lot and that kept the bullying somewhat under control, since I was a pretty scary, berserker fighter. My Mom finally got fed up and started asking me what I did to make them mad at me, since I did have a tendency to tell people off. She told me to just ignore them. I think she meant for me to just ignore the teasing, since I'm not sure she knew about the physical violence, but I took her literally and forced myself to not react and not fight back.

That's when it really got bad. Kids kept trying to provoke a reaction: throwing things at me, stabbing me with pencils or scissors, punching, and once, an older teen flicking a lighter next to my eye in junior high. I wasn't sure if he was trying to set my hair on fire or burn my face. After that, I decided I was going back to fighting, whether or not I got into trouble. I got into a couple more serious fights in high school and managed to get a reputation for being a little crazy. We moved to another state after that, which gave me a fresh start. I just didn't talk to people for the rest of high school (three years), didn't participate in school, or make friends. People just seemed too dangerous.

As soon as I entered school/daycare. At kindergarden. That's when I started to get upset too often. It only got worse later at elementary and high school.

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From first grade - and some in pre school age.

Preschool/4 years old

6th grade is when it all started for me.

Was there for all of school, but didn't get really bad until grade 7.

It does not seem good to focus on the negative parts of my life. If I do this too long it will become my view of the world. Perhaps, there is some therapeutic value that I do not see. Just thinking about it darkens the sky within.

Worst years were grades 5 through 9 and the freshmen and sophomore years of college. I don't remember if it started earlier. It did happen grades 10-12 and certain adult periods to a lesser degree.

Preschool (4) I think, I have a very vague memory of some kid giving me problems, felt more like a rivalry though. More likely Kindergarten, I remember an older kid giving me problems.

Preschool, around age 5.
I remember a situation where I was crying because of other kids and waiting for my grandma to take me home while sitting next to our preschool caregiver because it was the only safe spot.