nulifeonline.com

    So I just read an article about a teenage girl in Massachusetts who hanged herself, and about how there are actually charges being filed against fellow students for bullying her, which they feel may have been a cause for the suicide.  I later read that because of this incident, the Massachusetts Legislature has approved an anti-bullying bill, the Boston Herald reported, that mandates that school principals report bullies to police in cases where criminal charges might be applicable.    You know what?  Maybe we are finally on to something here.
    I always felt that it was sad and terrible that, in our society, there always has to first be an accident, tragedy and/or death before certain rules, laws and preventive strategies are put into place to protect us and our children.
    Speaking as someone whose day job consists of working with at-risk children, I see first hand  who it is that is being bullied and/or is doing the bullying.  In all cases, the question remains the same................Who is supervising the child?  Who is supervising the child at home, and who is supervising the child at school.
    Pretty much everyone on the planet has some kind of story about their childhood, which consisted of who beat them up in school, or who they beat up.  And every time I start to hear stories from children now, I usually ask them the same questions.  What was the point.  Why beat up a kid you barely know because they are gay, boring, tall, short or fat?..............And on the opposite end, why listen to people who call you gay, boring, tall, short or fat?.............Are you planning on being around these kids when you are a grown up?  If not, then why bother (Obviously its more involved and more complicated for the child going through this, but you get the point).
    Then comes the responsibility of us adults...........parents and professionals alike......... What should be our role in protecting our children?
    Do we still seem to have that inner child in us that wants to keep things quite, stay out of it, or leave it up to someone else to figure out?  Then what................What happens is what reportedly just happened to this poor girl.  There was even a story in the article about a school staff actually being present during one of the times she was being bullied, and nothing was officially reported.......
    Maybe the problem is that many of us adults seem to not even have enough confidence, strength and courage to care for and look out for ourselves, let alone others.  Maybe that needs to change.
    You don't need to go out there and be someones hero.  You don't need a cape and some tight spandex to report abuse.  Time to start looking out for everyone, including ourselves, and at least pretend that you give a flying fuck about this society and what it has become.