Bullying will never go away, it has always been a part of human existence and probably always will, but as in everything in life, there comes a time when enough is enough, you can’t force someone to respect you, but you always have the choice to refuse to be disrespected. In the process of prevention and awareness, we can decrease the number of incidents and the unnecessary death’s of our youth.
Growing up in the 1970′s, I remember as a teen in a small town how many times I witnessed Bullying, unaware of what Bullying was at that time, and how destructive it would become to society, it was a major problem then as it is now and just as visible, it’s just nowadays we are being made more aware of it’s existence, people are finally realizing just how big a problem it really is in today’s society, it’s has to stop, it’s a time for change, KIDS are killing themselves and that should be reason enough because it is not acceptable in our society and I for one can’t and won’t just idly stand by and do nothing any more especially after being a victim of Bullying myself for most of my life.
Take for example the two boys who stood up for another teen who was being Bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school, they purchased enough pink shirts for all the boys in the school in protest, the result, the Bully’s disappeared and it also sparked the creation of what is now known as “Pink Shirt Day in Canada” they really should be recognized and commended for those efforts, we as people must continue, because awareness is the key to prevention, not sitting back waiting for Governments to act……cheers
It seems that even cases of child suicides as a result of being bullied aren’t even enough to drum home the seriousness of bullying within schools.
I really think at this point that schools need to push messages of anti-bullying as much as they do extra-curricular activities and sports teams – run classes, workshops etc – invite anti-bullying organisations into schools also.
Technological advances have opened up even more avenues in which bullying can now take place – kids need to be reminded that just because the words aren’t coming out of your mouth, they do still hit home with bullying victims.
I posted more of my thoughts on bullying in schools within a post on my blog –
http://jpharding.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/bullying-in-schools-finding-right.html
Feel free to add any thoughts of your own on the points I raise, as well as general thoughts.
Yes, we all have to do our part to stop the bullying. I was bullied myself as a child because I was small and shy and it was very hard on me. I attended a bullying seminar recently at one of our local high schools and it was great to see that people are working hard to bring awareness to this problem and find solutions. You ask, ‘When is Enough, Enough”. My answer is A LONG TIME AGO!
Public awareness is very key to ending bullying; but educating our kids that bullying is not teasing is also so important! They need to be taught by parents and educators (not lawmakers) the difference!
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