Bully Awareness

A very important issue that is affecting everyone globally is bullying in general. It is an issue that needs to be stopped. According to www.stopbullying.gov, bullying is defined as aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power and is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. I believe it is National Bullying Prevention month and I think its appropriate to address the matter. Bullying consists of three types of abuse: verbal, physical, and emotional where they all involve coercion or intimidation. There is both direct bullying, which is interaction with an individual, and indirect bullying, through social media or gossip. Since it has only started to pique researchers, parents and authority figures recently, they had separated this offence. The Anti-bullying movement had gained popularity and many projects has been formed to prevent bullying. The It Gets Better Project inspires hope for gay teens who face harassment, and the aforementioned website wants people to help by speaking out.

Suicide is a big issue and it usually results because of bullying. A study in Britain shows that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying. Phoebe Prince committed suicide in 2010 for being bullied by two groups of teenagers who attended her school in Massachusetts, Megan Meier killed herself in 2006 because of consistent cyber bullying, and Eden Wormer committed suicide after enduring years of bullying at school. The teens ages range from 12-17 which is very sad to see that this is happening at a very early age. Most kids are targeted because of their race, appearance, religion, gender, sexual orientation etc.

The whole issue of bullying has motivated many states and countries to raise awareness and encourages others to do the same to prevent the life of a person from being destroyed by hatred, anger and jealousy. They encourage us to speak up because it will make a difference. Yes, I was bullied in elementary for being too smart and quiet but I learned to speak up which showed the bully that I was no longer afraid of their threats. In my opinion, the ability to speak up and stand up for yourself helps a lot because it shows that you have control over your own life and you won’t fall under their command. However, every situation is different because they might push you to not do it again but it just means you have to work harder.

Bullying impacts the world globally where people strive to make a difference by trying to prevent it. It brings you to the lowest point in your life and allows you to accept the criticism people hit you with. There are people out there who have committed their lives to preventing this cause because they are motivated to stop it and I admire them for it. Bullying can destroy everything we love unless we stop it from happening. United, we can make a difference.