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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

On Bullying..

"I've been actually really very pleased to see how much awareness was raised around bullying, and how deeply it affects everyone. You know, you don't have to be the loser kid in high school to be bullied. Bullying and being picked on comes in so many different forms." ~Lady Gaga

I'm not sure how I ended up on this blogpost: 'When It Doesn't Get Better: More Bullying, Another Suicide', but I did. I'm using the Lady Gaga quote because, as the post says, 'Jamey Rodemyer loved Lady Gaga'. Jamey Rodemyer was found dead of an apparent suicide last Monday morning and was, according to what I've read, a victim of bullying. He is one of many... boys and girls that decide to end their lives because of being bullied.

I find it heart-breaking and I don't understand how people can go so far to make someone feel so bad that the person would take their own life. What kind of person does this? Where does this person come from? What sort of background do they have? And most of all... what do they get from this? Any power that is received from doing such activities is useless - negative energy that comes back around... What has happened to 'do unto others...'?

It's strange that just last week we were talking about bullying in our lunch room.. I didn't have experiences to share but a lot of people did. To the best of my knowledge I've not been bullied or have not considered myself to be (unless I've blocked it out... I should ask my parents :s) ... I don't think my brother has either. I don't consider myself to be a bully...  How does one become a bully? Or how does one get 'chosen' to be bullied?

In this age where we are so connected... this age of instant messaging and access to people and their information - bullying is changing... it doesn't have to be up close and personal anymore. Or maybe it can get too personal. This excellent article by Melissa Ford states that, 'Bullying is not only becoming more prevalent, but according to the Telegraph, in England, cyberbullying has become the most common form of bullying ("How Common is Bullying" has equally scary statistics for the United States).'

We all need to look at ourselves and ask what we can do to make this better. Bullying affects us whether we experience it first hand or not.. whether we are the bully or the one being bullied. We need to educate ourselves and if we are in a situation, then whether we feel like it or not, we should get help. Seriously, get help. There is always someone that cares.

Education.com has a selection of articles on the topic, including these which I thought particularly helpful:
peace,
Ren

Edited to add:
I arrived home at 5 pm... whilst waiting for my brother to open the gate for me I heard on the news that two children had to be taken to hospital after being beaten by one of their classmates. :s I really wonder what the world is coming to.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

They killed the husband. I am speaking about the Big C show I have been watching.

The story line is your dad dies of a heart attack suddenly, given what your mom is going through.

It's like...you have got to be kidding.

Of course is TV and they may yet bring him back. But still.