So many things related to bullying have occurred that I feel I must share my thoughts and feelings concerning them, the latest being the "suicide by police" of a young teenager in Winter Springs, Florida.
According to Kelli Kennedy, an Associated Press writer, Paul Cavallini, a neighbor is reported to have said about the victim, Christopher Penley, "he was a quiet kid - polite and everything. He was just a normal teenager."
Reportedly friends and investigators say Penley was bullied and emotionally distraught, going to school that day expecting to die. I wonder if Mr Cavallini had any idea of how prophetic his words were, "just a normal teenager." I don't know what the national population of teenagers is, however, as "The Recovering Bully" I do know that everyday over 160,000 children skip school or pretend to be sick so they don't have to attend school because they are afraid of being bullied!
Children should not be afraid of going to school yet they are because of people like I used to be, a bully. Society has the belief that bullying is just "kids being kids" or as adults we think that "I went through it and it made me stronger", or that it is just harmless fun. Harmless fun ends when someone else begins being hurt, emotionally or physically. In my opinion bullying is any harmful or hurtful act that continues after the recipient says "STOP". Saying "stop" is not a sign of weakness or a sign that "you just can't take it". It is a signal to those who choose to make fun of others that their target feels the results of being bullied. When the bullying continues, it too often results in tragedies such as we have witnessed at Columbine, CO. or Red Lake
Bullying has become an international pandemic with no end in sight! As adults we need to empower our children to say “Stop!” When they come to us we need to listen and give them sage advice and suggestions to help solve their problems. As a society we need to finally understand what I have been saying for years in my school assemblies: “Bullying hurts! No one deserves to live in pain.” We must empower our children and each other with the knowledge that we have the power to put an end to bullying; when we no longer support bullying by allowing it to go on, when we stop supporting the bully by repeating rumors and name calling, when we no longer allow bullying to be seen as “cool”, when we learn to celebrate the diversity in people, when we feel empowered to “become a defender of the un-defended” then we will understand that the true power lies within each and everyone of us individually.
Bubba sz visit www.youbigbully.com
