I urge you to share this message with the young people you know:
The "It Gets Better Project" has already received 130+ videos submitted by adults whose message to gay or "different" teens is that no matter how dark and difficult it seems, it does get better -- by the time you get out of high school or college. 220,000 views on YouTube, featured in Time Magazine & other media. See one of the videos by clicking here.
Perhaps this message can help save one bullied young person. Before they do something tragic, they need to know it does get better.
Peace.
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5 comments:
I don't know that I would consider the events that transpired, which lead to Tyler's tragic decision to kill himself, as "bullying."
Rude, insensitive and ignorant maybe but not bullying.
Well, by my own definition, one person deliberately embarassing another, even once, is bullying. In addition, yesterday I did a little research and saw the following definitions of "cyberbullying:"
"...the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others"
"...the use of electronic means [by a minor] to torment, threaten, harass, humiliate, embarrass or otherwise target another [minor]..."
"...the use of an Internet service or mobile technologies - such as e-mail, chat room discussion groups, instant messaging, webpages or SMS (text messaging) - with the intention of harming another person."
To your list of rude, insensitive and ignorant (which are true but rather passive), I would add hostile, aggressive and just mean.
I would concur with you that the actions taken were mean. I don't believe the two perpetrators thought they were being hostile or aggressive. Mean yes, as are many teens to one another. However, aggressive and hostile imply anger, which I believe was absent from their motivation. They were out to embarrass this lad and to have what they thought was a little fun at his expense. It was a tragic misjudgment for all concerned.
As for bullying, I guess we have redefined the term in the information age.
However, the term is misused and bandied about by those who claim victim hood for the sake of social intimidation of their critics, that I often recoil at its use. It is often used, like the word racist, to silence those who disagree with the progressive agenda to re-order society in their liking.
That said, I will acquiesce to the use of the term "bullying" in this case.
As for the words "rude, insensitive and ignorant," in which I described the offensive behavior, I hardly see them as being "passive." Perhaps a more tempered way of describing bad behavior. One needn't use hyperbole to show their disdain for bad behavior.
Sadly, I would agree that the two perpetrators undoubtedly did not THINK (or care) that they were being hostile or aggressive. But they were. Publicly outing someone using pre-meditated and devious behavior is aggressive. It wasn't an accident. It was willful.
I agree that the term "bullying" can be misused. I am going to have to think about your comparison to the word "racist," and your statement that these words are "often" used to "silence those who disagree with the progressive agenda to re-order society in their liking." What does that even mean? Example?
While one needn't always use hyperbole, sometimes it (or, as in this case, what I feel was simply stronger language) is called for.
Laurie,
Really, need I give you examples of how the word "racist" is bandied about to silence those who would have an honest discussion of race, quotas and a myriad of other topics that might affect people that are non-European.
How about the Tea Party? Or the officer who encountered a raging professor from Harvard, not to mention Mark Ferman (sp) who was the detective in charge of the Nichole Simpson and Ronald Goldman murder investigation.
Oh, I could go on and on. How many times was that epitaph hurled at G.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan or at Republicans in general?
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