Are kids cruel?

There are a variety of discussions going on fluther right now where the kinds of cruel things that kids do are being discussed. For example there are kids who use “slut” as a term to deride a member of their cohort. In another question kids use that same term to denigrate a girl because she just started her period. One of the commenters said that “kids are cruel,” which gave rise to this question.

Are kids cruel? Is it human nature to be cruel, particularly at this age? If so, why do you think we are so cruel?

If we are not naturally cruel, then what is going on that causes these kinds of behaviors at this age? What causes bullying? Is it a lack of proper parental supervision? Or are kids just imitating what they see at home?

Watch any stand-up comedian on TV. Watch, especially, the ones on cable TV. Is not a large portion of their humor based on being mean? Calling names?

Don’t people get “cool points” for being the first to take someone else down with a good putdown? Why would we expect our children to be any different? Perhaps we are all cruel, but kids get a bad name because they are so unsophisticated at it?