Bullying and society's responsiblity

Everyday I watch the news and want to cry when yet another report of a kid being bullied to death appears. I want to just take the kid who was being bullied and hold them, let them cry until they can't cry anymore. Assure them that there is nothing wrong with them. I want to take the bully and smack them upside the head til some compass appears. I know this won't happen though.
What has happened to our society that people think its ok to bully, harrass, tease, make comments, or whatever the going term is, until the victim feels there is no other way out but to end their life? What is going on in the bully's life that they have to victimize another person in order to feel good about themselves?
I think that we as a society can do alot to ending this recent trend. We need to start celebrating our differnces, embracing the fact that each person is a person of worth. The parents need to realize that yes their little angel can and will do those things. You are doing your child no favor by pretending that your child is perfect in every way. We need to step in when we see bullying happening and put a stop to it, even if its just for a brief few minutes. Sometimes those brief few minutes can mean the differnce between life and death.
I had been bullied while growing up in a few places. I don't know if it was because I knew that I wasn't going to stay in that place for very long, if it was because I had a sense of self worth or what it was, but I know I was lucky. I also know that in this day and age a person can not escape the bullying like we used to be able to do. Home should be a place of sanctuary..not a place where a child dreads going to. Now home can mean anything, home is a place of peace and well being.
In a way I'm also glad to see those reports. They are waking us up to the fact that this does still happen, and appears to be getting worse. When we as a society step up and start taking responsibilty for our actions. Remember adults teach childern how to act, maybe we should take a few lessons from them and how at an early age the do accept each other regardless of the differnces. Its not until they get older and have learned from us that bullying happens.