Hi Everyone,
I hope you're OK.
Eleven year old Jaheem Herrera hanged himself in his bedroom closet. He was the victim of bully abuse and couldn't take it anymore.
NO ONE WAS HELPING HIM.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/23/bul...ide/index.html
Every single time I read stories like this - my heart drops to the floor. I find it SO upsetting. But soon after - I start to feel frustrated and angry. Not only angry because boys like Jaheem were not helped. But ALSO angry because the little creeps who bullied him will NOT be held accountable. [In any real way - IF AT ALL] Rarely - IF EVER - are bullies punished for their inexcusable behavior. Society
MUST get over this nonsensical idea it has that bullying is just a matter of 'kids being kids'. And that bullying is just part of growing up and 'they' [THE VICTIM] will soon forget all about it once they get out of school. YES! I've heard people say things like that. But bullying is NOT just 'part of growing up'. It is NOT just 'kids being kids'.
Bullying is ABUSE. And ABUSERS - no matter WHO they are AND no matter how old they are - MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. And in some real way. The consequence to being a bully MUST HURT the bully. He or she MUST realize that IF they choose to bully someone - there is a very real chance of THEM being hurt in some way. I suggest - an immediate transfer to another school - separating them from their friends. I suggest - being kicked off any sports team they might belong to. I suggest - denying them the right to get a driver's license for 5 years. [And so on] The punishment has to hurt THEM in a way that THEY can understand. And if their bullying results in the suicide of their victim - then criminal charges
must be laid against them. It is a CRIME - is it not [At least in most countries that I am aware of] to assist someone in the act of suicide. So should it not also be a crime if you directly contribute to someone deciding to kill themselves? I think so. Some people will argue that it's not really the bullies fault that their victim couldn't take it anymore and chose to end their own life. But I say in response to that..... BULLSH*T!! An abuser [A bully] is DIRECTLY responsible for how his or her victim of THEIR abuse responds TO that abuse. To suggest otherwise would be like me always throwing a handful of marbles down on a path that your are walking on and refusing to accept blame IF you fall down. "Well - I didn't actually PUSH you down - did I"?! What a joke. Kids need to know that ADULTS are there to protect them. THAT is the responsibility OF an ADULT. And every time a bully gets away with whatever he or she is saying and/or doing - it is a FAILURE on the part of an ADULT. Kids need to know that IF they talk to an adult [A teacher, a parent, a doctor, a police officer, a neighbour, etc.] they WILL be taken seriously and they WILL be helped. This is why I also believe that the law must burden every adult with that responsibility. If a child/teenager comes up to an adult and says, "I am being bullied!", that adult - BY LAW - must report it to the police. And the police must - BY LAW - take that complaint seriously. Kids/teenagers need to know that they WILL be taken seriously. Far too often a victim of bully abuse has found the courage to talk to someone only to be either brushed off - or worse - BLAMED for what's happening to them. And what a horrible - and inexcusable - thing to do to a victim. Any victim.
End of rant!!!
GREAT BIG HUG
Craig!!
