Very few times in life do I get so impassioned about things that I must write them down immediately because I feel like if I wait I will lose the passion of the moment. Tonight I am highly disturbed and confused about some things that have taken place recently and that have spanned over the last year.
This past year has been marked by several suicides by young people who have been bullied, mistreated and damaged by the words and actions of others. Granted there are only a few faces to represent the masses that commit suicide in a year people are up in arms about bullying. People are calling for our legislature to pass laws that make bullying illegal.
Before I continue I must tell you that through my whole life I have been bullied. I was bullied in grade school for being overweight. This bullying continued throughout high school. I also was called all kinds of names including but not limited to Faggot. Though I personally believe I was not actually picked on that bad I just wanted to let you know that I was not the popular kid and I am not speaking out of my behind.
Continuing As I told my twitter followers, I do not support an attempt to make bullying illegal. I do not support it because though there are certainly some extremes who is going to be the one to draw a line in the sand between criticism and bullying? I want to know who has the guile to give me a clear concise legal definition of bullying. I think that you will find that definition is hard to make concise and I hate to tell you world but the best laws contain no gray.
When does it come to a point where Joe Somebody calls the police on his neighbor because he said something that hurt his feelings? I mentioned I was bullied and I have to tell you folks that I would not take that back for one second and if you know me and love me you would not want it taken back either. Life is never a straight flat trip and though it can be down right horrible and discouraging at times it essentially shapes who we are inside. I love myself because someone held hate in their hearts for me, isn’t that a wild contradiction?
I do not know about you but I enjoy my freedoms. I enjoy being able to have a bad day and decided to be a bitchy queen(King) because of it. I know you may not value your right to be an a-hole but I sure do. There are better ways to handle this situation that does not involve restricting peoples rights.
I am not going to complain and leave with no possible solutions. We don’t need complainers we need doers. I suggest that the first thing that would help is to make sure that all programs that offer support to people that are feeling suicidal become federally funded. That means I support funds going to things like The Trevor Project , Suicide hotline, Etc.
I also feel like the institutions surrounding these individuals lives need to be evaluated. If someone is at the brink of suicide then the signs they are being bullied should be very apparent and schools, neighbors and families should have some recourse brought against them after a formal investigation is completed to see if there is anything that could have been done.
There is also an independent assignment you can work on for me. Teach your children tolerance. Tolerance does not mean you need to like someone personally but it means that your respect the things that make you different. I was raised to not hate anyone for any reason so parents if you want to see a change in our world it starts with you and your children.
I am not even going to lie to you and declare that I am still a praying man. I haven’t prayed in over a year but I know plenty of you do pray a lot. Please pray for the families of these youth that have taken their lives. The hardest thing about suicide is not that you did it, it’s what you leave behind.
I sort of agree with you in not supporting bullying laws, but for a different reason. I don’t support them because harassment and intimidation are already illegal – and that’s exactly what bullying is. Jumping on the bullying bandwagon and calling for bullying laws is just a political move of people who are desperate for votes. No new laws are needed – just enforce the ones that are already in place. I fully support an interpretation of our civil/constitutional rights as being that my rights end where yours begin. Yes, I have freedom of speech, but you also have the right to live your life without being harassed by backward egomaniacs who are compensating for a HUGE lack of identity.
Also, being someone that has had a close friend kill themselves, I will say that there are a LOT of warning signs before it actually happens and family members should not only be ashamed of themselves, they should be held accountable – in the very least for neglect, especially when it’s concerning a minor. Having said that, my friend was on the worst end of the mental illness spectrum. My entire life I had been staunchly against suicide as the weak way out…until I met Andrew. Then I realized that we have made great strides in science, but we haven’t conquered everything – and for some people, unfortunately, suicide is the only way to permanently get the pain to stop. That’s not to say that I don’t hurt from what Andrew did – it’s just that I understand…and least of all I don’t demonize him.