Being teased, ridiculed and picked on hurts. Most of us have dealt with this occurrence at some point in our lives. As children, some of us were strong enough to brush it off. The rest of us took it to heart and let it affect us in a negative way for years to come.
Jami, who grew up in a small town Philadelphia neighborhood, was picked on and made fun of constantly due to her weight. Jami became insecure and withdrawn. Twenty years later, if she walks by a group of people who are laughing, she immediately believes they are laughing at her and the pain starts all over.
A Rite of Passage
The White House hosted a conference on bullying and harassment prevention on March 10, 2011.
President Obama addressed the problem saying, "our nation must dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up."
Rob Hoage of Ilion, NY says, "I've been on both ends of it. The best you can do is suck it up and move on." This goes along with the old adage, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.
Cyber Bullying
Back in the day, which would be any day before social networking and text messaging, the "sticks and stones" statement held true for the most part. However, these days there is a bigger type of bully. The cyber bully.
Cyber bullying is particularly cruel because the bully remains anonymous while posting vicious rumors and photoshopped pictures on the Internet.
Three children between the ages of 12 and 13 have committed suicide due to cyber bullying. One of those children was Megan Maier. Maier's suicide resulted in the U.S. vs. Lori Drew. Drew, age 47, was found guilty of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act when she posed as a teenage boy on Myspace and flirted with Megan eventually telling Megan the "world would be a better place without her." She was later acquitted. However, that case lead to Missouri changing the law on harassment to include cyber bullying. That bill was approved on May 16, 2008.
When Enough Is Enough
As parents, we need to lay down the law and be the grownups. As a mother of a teenage girl, I see parents get caught up in the drama of their teenagers' lives. It is important to step back and look at our kids' dilemmas from an adult perspective. Teenagers need our wisdom and our adult skills to teach them how to handle situations that arise. Calling our nieces to "beat someone up" or "post rumors" on the Internet is not an adult way to handle any situation.
Our children look to us for guidance and direction. It is up to us as parents, teachers and mentors to teach our children that we need to respect others for who they are. We are all unique and have something positive to offer the world.
Sources/References:
Rick Ward, Obama Anti-Bullying Message Called Symbolic, 2010, CNN.com
Dana Wollman, Lori Drew Found Not Guilty Of Felonies In Myspace Trial, 2008, Laptopmag.com
Jami F., Philadelphia, PA, Interview
Rob Hoag, Ilion, NY, Interview
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