Bullying

Bullying has been taken to a whole new level that’s become quite dangerous. The “telling an adult” or “just ignore, they will eventually stop” method does not work and has the potential to make matters worse. Being bullied is degrading to a person’s self-esteem. It “kills their souls” as my CCD director once told my confirmation class.

With all of our new technology such as cell phones, computers, and ipods with internet, bullying has the ability to be with a person even after the school day is done. Children don’t just get bullied at school but can also be bullied through these new electronic devices. Writing mean and degrading remarks over social networking sites can instantly cause hurt feelings. A secret, insecurity, or a family problem can be public information within seconds. In the victim’s eyes, there truly is no way out.

It is not uncommon to hear about kids taking their lives or threatening to take their lives because they feel there is no way out. Two 11 year old boys hung themselves after constantly being bullied at school. These two boys mothers were on the Oprah Winfrey show in May of 2009. These women explained how the scheduled weekly appointments with the guidance counselor to meet with there son, they joined PTO, and tried to comfort their boys as best as they could. Neither mothers would have ever thought their sons would take their own lives.

A person who witnesses the bully in the act is called a bystander. Bystanders are just as bad as bullies to not prevent bullying before their eyes. Bullying is looked at as “simply teasing” but that’s not the case. Stepping in and simply sticking up for the person can literally save someone’s life. At my church retreat, a speaker included a story about a jock and a nerd that was really inspiring. The jock and his friends were all walking home from school one day. The nerd dropped all of his books and the jock Josh picked up his books for him and helped him carry them home. They walked home everyday from then on and became really good friends. At graduation a few years later Ben the nerd made his valedictorian speech and included his best friend Josh. He explained how Josh saved his life when he picked up his books and stood up for him against what his friends thought were cool. That day he cleaned out his locker and planned on killing himself that afternoon but he realized that he wasn’t alone.

Josh’s, Ben’s, and Josh’s friends walk the halls of school everyday. Adults need to be aware of what’s going on and try to stop it in any way possible. Prevention programs should be created not only for people who get bullied but also the bullies themselves. There is always an underlying problem that there insecure about, reason why they bully. Fewer bullies, fewer problems. Next time instead of being the bystander you can step in and save a life, literally.

Kayla O. is a student at SHS.