I don’t want to post this. I don’t want to talk about this again. However I know we have to keep the conversation going. Bullying. Are we making any progress? This week in Canada another teen took her life as a result of bullying. What a heart-breaking tragedy. No one has the right make someone’s life so miserable.
Seven weeks ago Amanda Todd posted this video on YouTube. How is it possible that our system failed her?
A memorial fund has been set up through the Royal Bank of Canada and donations may be made at any branch. I wasn’t able to find an online link at this point.
In just ten days, we should all be talking about the International Stand Up Against Bullying Day. This year October 26th is the designated day. One day is is not enough though – we need to speak out about bullying at every opportunity.
Click here to read the post I wrote about that day last November with all sorts of links to helpful sites. Everything I said then I will be saying again. I hope when we all write and speak about the fight against bullying that … sometime … somewhere … somehow … some of us are helping to make a difference.
When I read about a situation like Amanda’s, it makes me sad … and angry … and determined to urge everyone to make even more of an effort to speak out against bullying. It simply shouldn’t happen!
The poster below offers a simple message we can share with everyone. Please pass it on. Please raise your voice and ask a young person you know to do the same. We all know bullying is not just an issue amongst young people but in this instance let’s focus on them. They are the future after all and the world needs to become a better place. Thanks!
Oh, Patricia… I’m so sorry that you had to post about this. Sorry that we’re still not “getting it” about bullying, sorry for every evil bit of torment Amanda suffered, and very grateful that you’re such a staunch ally and spokeswoman. You’re definitely helping to make a difference, and the rest of us can chime in, too, by sharing this post and engaging in the conversation. Thanks for this, friend.
Tele, thanks for spreading the message. Somehow we have to help eliminate this dreadful behaviour.
Thank You for posting and making us aware of this tragedy. (I am in the UK). I will share this to my page. So sad. I was bullied at school and at home. I know the effects it has on a life.
Oh Niamh, I know you are only too aware of how this story goes and I also know that through your experience you are helping many others. Thank you for reposting. We MUST continue to speak out!
Reblogged this on On The Plum Tree and commented:
I know the effects of bullying…another child takes her life because of it. What kind of world is it that allows/creates this?
What a horrible shame that anyone has to go through what this beautiful girl has suffered. I just wish kids (and adults) would realize bullying doesn’t make them cool, it destroys people. So terribly sad and so absolutely avoidable.
Tameri, this us so heartbreaking and yet doesn’t stop. I’m sure progress is being made but obviously we need to keep this conversation going. Thanks for helping!
That is so very sad. I don’t think many make it through life without some experience of being bullied. Sometimes the scars heal and sometimes they don’t…
So true, Susie. Hopefully we can make our voices heard and make a difference in some small way.
This is a critically important issue and one that I care deeply about. Thanks for posting. Keep it up.
Cindy
Cindy, let’s all join forces and continue to make a lot of noise about bullying. Thank you for stopping by!
Patricia-
Agreed. Let me know what I can do.
Cindy
We just talked about the importance of supporting young women and how important it is to stand with them as they seek out their future and keeping them safe as they do so in our troubled world. This business of bullying has gotten so out of hand, I’m convinced that we as citizens are the only ones that will be able to bring it back into focus. This behavior is unacceptable on every level. How this girl must have suffered. . .not to mention her family.
You are so right, Sheri, everyone has to play a very active role in trying to make a difference. This affects every gender and age.
This is tragic. There’s no other word for it. As a society, we failed this girl, and from the links that came up after the video, there are so many others we’ve failed as well. This is a HUGE reason I am so saddened by budget cuts to schools causing programs to end, teachers to quit, extracurriculars to be lost. What opportunities are we giving these kids to be involved, a part of a group with like minded people, a mentor who is watching out for them, having discussions?
In college I participated in a diversity education group for 3 years and we led programs for campus, administrators, and traveled to area middle schools to help kids put together their own performances that would inspire dialogue. There’s still a lot of bullying and hate crimes and sexism and prejudice in this world. You’re absolutely right, Patricia, one day is not enough to talk about it. Until it stops, we stand up to it EVERYDAY.
Well said, Jess, and you really cut to the heart of a most important topic. If schools don’t provide the right kind of programming and mentoring then we are losing one of THE most valuable opportunities to reach young people. We know in today’s societies there are so many kids who are not getting the right kind of parenting and we must depend on our education systems, rightly or not, to help fill that gap. Thanks for raising your voice!
What have we done to our kids to make them so hateful? And to our girls that they are so needy and lacking in self-respect? Oh, this makes me angry!
We need to be angry and stay angry in our attempts to work against bullying. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I don’t think we should be angry; I think we should be committed and impassioned.
The suicide of Amanda Todd was just so ridiculously awful and sad. The lengths someone will go to hurt another person–can’t believe it. Cyber-bullying is one of the most insidious and painful brands of bullying, too.
Yes, Kiersi, it’s one of the unfortunate negative aspects of the internet. Keep the conversation going!
Such a devastatingly sad story. Thank you so much for posting the video and the links, poster and information. I’ll definitely do my best to pass it along and bring awareness.
I agree with jess, as a society, we failed this girl. And so many others that we continue to fail every single day. It’s senseless. It’s tragic. It needs to stop!
Thank you for your non-stop advocacy Patricia – we’ll all join you in the fight!!!
Thanks, Natalie. You are such a great advocate for important causes and we will a keep supporting each other in spreading our messages. I truly believe that even small voices can be heard.
I watched this video a few days back and it just breaks my heart that this girl felt so desperate and alone – and she isn’t the only one.
It also makes me angry when I see this kind of behavior perpetuated in TV shows aimed at young people. Being mean to another person (behind their back or in their face) appears to be the norm in so many shows. The media likes to talk about how awful bullying is, yet they keep creating shows that more or less glorify that sort of behavior.
Thank you for posting this, Patricia.
Heartbreaking is the right word, Amber. Sadly, bullying shows no signs of being eliminated and we all must continue attempting to make a difference. I know you are one person who will do just that.