"You have no friends."
"You're a loser."
"You're a freak. Why don't you talk more?"
I heard all this one day in my sixth grade class. Except it wasn't for me, it was for a girl who was very quiet and usually sitting by herself reading a book. I didn't know her that well, but I remembered that she was always nice to me when I talked to her, and I still remember watching a bunch of kids make fun of her for being quiet, awkward, for reading too much, etc. This didn't happen a lot, but it happened more than once. I didn't talk to them directly, but I did ask the teacher if there was something she could do, because the girl always seemed to be really upset after it happened. This teacher also sat at her desk near the girl, so she was able to hear and see the things those kids were saying to her.
Unfortunately the teacher said that as long as the bullying wasn't physical, there was nothing she could say. Looking back on it, I should have man...I mean womaned up and said something to those kids. To be fair, the teacher also should have grown a pair. Of lady parts, that is. Cuz, you know, the teacher was a girl.
Sometimes, kids can be huge Richards (look up the nickname for Richard and you'll see what I'm talking about.) They'll pick on anything they consider a flaw, and unlike adults, they don't have the experience or tact to at least do it subtly. That means kids can get bullied for anything like being too small, too big, too tall, too short, too nerdy, too weird, too boring, too-sorry I should probably stop here or I'll take up the entire page.
And I have no explanation for why kids would bully someone who is doing literally nothing to them. Yelling at a girl reading a book that she's a loser and needs to get some friends? Why? Yeah, I don't know.
Quiet kids, whether they're quiet because they're shy or because they simply like being quiet, probably seem like they'd make excellent victims. Or when they see someone who's quiet, they want to know if there's any way to push their buttons or try to see what's going on in their heads. Quiet kids can be seen as a challenge, or an easy victim by bullies.
In an ideal world, teachers would keep these gremlins under control, but sometimes teachers won't do anything about it, even if they see it or you tell them, so it's something you have to take into your own hands.
You should not let bullies take away your self confidence. Recognize that the bullying is not your fault. You have every right to sit at a table and read a book or do whatever without anyone walking up to you and calling you a loser. That's pretty basic. Most importantly, you do not have to try to become friends with these people or earn their respect.
What's also important is why someone is quiet in the first place. If someone is shy, it may be harder to stand up to people like this than for someone who is quiet, but not as shy.
You are not a loser. If someone ever finds that they have nothing better to do than make fun of you for minding your own business, then they are the losers.
The best way to combat any type of bully is to show that you are happy and confident in your own personality. If you are happier being alone sometimes, there's nothing wrong with that. Honestly, when it comes to situations like these, it is hard to give advice. Everyone on the planet will tell you to simply ignore the bullies, but it's not always that easy for everybody. A lot of the time, trying to ignore bullies will just encourage them to escalate their behavior and do/say something even more stupid to get your attention. Unfortunately, you also cannot always just stand up and leave, like you can do with a job or with a group of "friends".
The best advice I can give it to know you don't deserve treatment like that. Remember that the reason you are bullied is because the bullies have a problem, not you. If you are shy, you can learn to overcome it. But shy people who gain more confidence usually end up realizing on their own just how pathetic bullies like this actually are.
As for people for who being quiet is simply part of your personality, just remember there is nothing to apologize and if you ever do change anything about yourself, it should not be to please people that bully you, or to please "friends" that you suspect are not really friends.
If people are bullying you or getting in your face, stand up for yourself. Tell them to stop, just to let them know that you are not someone who can be pushed around. Introverted or not, you cannot let bullies know that they are getting to you or making you upset.
I wouldn't go for physical violence, though. As much as you might want to punch someone in the face for harassing you, it will probably get you into more trouble than them.
Bullies in general suck. As long as the world rotates, we will probably have to deal with them, but you don't have to let them tear you down or take away your confidence.
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