Why Ya Gotta Be So Mean

It's no coincidence that during these times when the spotlight shines brightly on bullying Taylor Swift would include on her latest album a song called "Mean."  Someday, I'll be living in a big ol city, and all you're every gonna be is mean/Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me, and all you're ever gonna be is mean, she sings.
No, this isn't a review of the song; it's merely a commentary.  Perhaps she's singing about an abusive parent or a mean child in school.  Either way, Taylor's not using dirty, underhanded tactics to deal with her bully.  She's not fighting fire with fire, as the saying goes.  She's being the bigger person, walking away, but reminding her tormentor that "all you're ever gonna be is mean" if you don't change.
It's very easy in bullying situations for the victim to want to fight back with violence or to embarrass the bully (fighting fire with fire).  Neither of those tactics work.  Some people say that in order to stop from being picked on, you have to stand up for yourself and throw the first punch.  Unfortunately, there's a good chance that will just lead to you getting your ass kicked.  The idea of a bully (someone who's, in theory, bigger than you) running scared because you dared to throw a punch is laughable.  More likely, the bully will throw a punch right back, which is the exact situation you're trying to avoid.
If you want to preserve your own life and well-being, inciting violence does not seem like the wisest move.  That doesn't mean you need to back down or run away or act scared.  Standing up to a bully simply means letting him or her know regardless of what they do and say, you're not going to let it affect you.  Eventually, they realize their strategy isn't working and they'll leave you alone.  That's the ultimate goal.
I've been bullied.  I was picked on.  But in my life I've only thrown one punch.  I survived my youth by avoiding confrontation.  I wrestled someone to the ground once, but that was as far as I took it.
Bullies pick on the weaker because it's easier to push them around . . . obviously.  Fighting back with violence doesn't make you stronger, it just makes you look desperate.  It means the bully has achieved his or her goal by getting into your head and making you do things you don't wanna do.  If a bully just wanted to fight, he'd pick on someone bigger who likes fighting.
Not only do you risk serious injury by fighting back aggressively, you also stoop to his or her level.  You've become a bully yourself.  Suppose you fight back, and suppose you somehow end up kicking the shit out of your bully.  You're now no better than he or she is.  Perhaps you were just defending yourself.  But when does the violence escalate to the point where you're no longer defending yourself, he or she is.
No one wants to be picked on.  No one wants to be seen as weak.  But fighting back aggressively doesn't make you strong.  If a bully is nonphysical means to harass you, using those same means to harass him or her doesn't make you better.  It makes you no different.
I laugh when people who are angry with Perez Hilton for being a bully, use the same bullying tactics to insult him.  An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind, they say.  Two wrongs don't make a right, they say.
How about this one: to ere is human, to forgive is divine.  It takes a big person to say, "I know you've been picking on me, know you've made my life miserable, but I don't hate you.  I forgive you."  Pope John Paul II went to the jail where the man who attempted to murder him was being kept and forgave him.
Maybe the next time you get picked on, you ask the bully, "Why ya gotta be so mean?"

Stigma

There is a stigma attached to being a Britney Spears fan.  Those who like her are stereotyped: girls are dumb and boys are gay.  Very simplistic.
Many people are embarrassed to admit they like her.  And if her name is brought up in conversation, they will rarely speak their true feelings about her.  It may not seem like much (it's only Britney), but it shows how so many people are afraid to be themselves.
Thanks to silly generalizations, we've made it difficult for people who don't follow social norms to be open about who they are and what they believe in.  It's easy to like something that everyone else likes.  It's easy to be someone who everyone else already is.  There are no funny looks if you're a heterosexual male who finds Heidi Klum attractive.  People don't give sideways glances to girls who gush over Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp.
But life isn't that simple.  Not everyone fits into a neat, little box.  For every heterosexual guy who listens to Lil Wayne or Green Day, there's one guy blasting "If You Seek Amy."  For every girl listening to Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga, there's one girl with a weird haircut listening to David Bowie.
So, when faced with the dilemma of handling these "weird, out of the box" people, we have two choices: except them for who they are or shame them back into the box.  It's no surprise that most people choose the latter option.  It's much easier to ridicule someone than it is to accept their differences.
Kids in school are bullied for this very reason: their classmates can't/won't accept them for who they are, so they resort to teasing.  It takes patience and understanding to fully comprehend why people are the way they are.  Why does the heterosexual male listen to Britney Spears?  Why does the homosexual male like extreme fighting/boxing?  Why does a girl shave half her head and listen to Depeche Mode?  Why ask these questions when you can just make jokes?
Many people claim to live in the box marked "normal," yet what is normal exactly?  The person teasing you about your Britney obsession might go home every afternoon and watch Hannah Montana.  The person who calls you a queer and a homo, might spend his/her nights having homosexual fantasies.
There's a stigma attached to being a Britney Spears fan.  There's a stigma attached to a lot of things.  You either ignore it or you let it dictate your life.  You can be ashamed, you can hide in the corner, you can listen to her music on your headphones alone in your room, or you can be proud, proud enough to blast her music like the guy down the halls blasts his Kanye West.
There are always two choices in every situation.  You have every right to follow societal norms.  Blend in.  Go unnoticed.  Be timid.
There's a stigma attached to being a Britney Spears fan.  But who said you had to give a fuck.