The recent suicide of a gay teenager at Rutgers University George Washington Bridge
yling and bullying of others has made its way into the spotlight once again as four other gay teens have also taken their own life recently as well. The blatant disregard for others and exploitation of others has brought to light some problems not only for kids that are gay, but others as well.
yling and bullying of others has made its way into the spotlight once again as four other gay teens have also taken their own life recently as well. The blatant disregard for others and exploitation of others has brought to light some problems not only for kids that are gay, but others as well.
This story of the Rutgers teen was covered by CNN, HLN, and MSNBC. They all spoke of the distress and the invasion of privacy that took place and the humiliation this teen faced. There did not seem to be any bias other than they were unanimously against bullying and agreed that some action needed to be taken.
“Thirty percent (30%) of U.S. students in grades six through ten are involved in moderate or frequent bullying — as bullies, as victims, or as both — according to the results of the first national survey on this subject. Bullying is increasingly viewed as an important contributor to youth violence, including homicide and suicide. Case studies of the shooting at Colombine High School and other U.S. schools have suggested that bullying was a factor in many of the incidents” (National Institutes of Health, 2001).
“1 out of 4 kids is Bullied. The American Justice Department says that this month 1 out of every 4 kids will be abused by another youth. Surveys Show That 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically. In a recent study, 77% of the students said they had been bullied. In addition, 14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse. 100,000 students carry a gun to school” (National Institutes of Health, 2001).
While these are startling statistics, they are not far-fetched and bullying is a problem that is not going away. It is being considered a widespread problem that needs to be dealt with and solved. Martin Luther King Jr. Said, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” Martin Luther King Jr. (Moncur., 1994-2010). Another startling statistic is that over 280,000 kids are physically attacked every month in secondary schools. This is a big problem and these news stations have brought this to light.
Some of the points of view of all three of these news stories were the epidemic problem of bullying and ways to handle the problem. Other viewpoints was that bullying was not just against individuals that are gay, but those who are too short, too tall, overweight, or whatever the issue. Kids are bullied for a variety of reasons; but regardless what the reasons, bullying is not all right and should be dealt with by teachers and school administration with diligence and swiftness. Some of it was subjective due to the fact that how to deal with it can be a matter of opinion. The majority of it was objective and gave good advice and good strategies to counter bullying; they also spoke about how parents need to get involved with the school and create a stigma attached to bullying. Other ideas brought forth were to rally other parents to get involved and go to the school and administration to stop bullying. They also brought up the issue if a kid tells they are being bullied; they need not have a stigma of being a tattletale. While that might be true, that will never stick in school since other kids will always see that as tattling. Breaking that stigma would be nearly impossible. There really was not any part of the news story that should not have been included. Every part of the news story was legitimate and fit on all three news stations. What was omitted is what is more important. Advi
cse was given to go to the teachers and administrators and if that did not work go to the school board and then to the local education columnist. It was pointed out that when reporters start poking around and asking questions that will get a school to react quickly. This is only in an extreme case where the teachers and school administration is not doing anything about it after it has been brought to their attention and the attention of the school board. What should have been included was teaching your kids to defend themselves. Not necessarily hurting the bully, but a kid that is in self-defense classes could protect him or herself and not be as fearful due to the simple fact that they know how to defend themselves and learn how to deal with fear. Fear can be crippling and it can be debilitating if someone does not know how to deal with it. Experience shows that in many instances the kid that is bullied is the one that is smaller and cannot do anything about it. If a kid was taught self-defense he or she would be able to defend themselves without even having to go on the offensive. This could put an end to the bullying because this person would have the ability and knowledge to stand up for themselves without going to an extreme like shooting the bully or causing severe physical harm. These are kids and they are not countries at war, but a bully does need to be put in his or her place and the bully would realize that bullying is not all right and they might have just bullied the wrong person.
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The various social groups within the news segment are represented from a broad viewpoint. Some of the groups represented were fraternities, social media groups, such as Facebook and Twitter, teachers, and parent’s organizations. Tyler Clementi Even posted his status as he was jumping off the GW Bridge. Sorry. Right before he jumped. This is heartbreaking. They are represented favorably and are encouraged to continue to be active and vigilant in curbing and putting an end to bullying. The sad part about some of the social groups is that the two individuals who did this spying and then broadcasting over the internet came off as a group of individuals that lack respect, have no sense of privacy, and respect for others. It is sad that these two people not only destroyed this young man’s life, but they have destroyed their own and now will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. Their guilt will consume them and they will now have to rebuild their lives. Parents and society are also represented as
they need to teach their children before they get to this age. These were college age kids that are not junior high kids. They have obviously not been taught the ramifications of their actions and the severity of it as well as what the consequences could be for doing something like this. The two individuals who did this could face five years in prison. This will destroy their lives and it is doubtful they knew what they were doing.
they need to teach their children before they get to this age. These were college age kids that are not junior high kids. They have obviously not been taught the ramifications of their actions and the severity of it as well as what the consequences could be for doing something like this. The two individuals who did this could face five years in prison. This will destroy their lives and it is doubtful they knew what they were doing.
These news segments are not sensationalized for entertainment at all and can be taken at face value. These news segments affect my personal values in several ways. First of all the two students who did this lack respect and privacy for another person, and worst of all it was his roommate that did this to him. They obviously have no concept of having their own life and not being concerned with what others are doing as long as it does not hurt you. They should not have been this concerned with what this person was doing. The news segment did not cover the topic of parents teaching kids to protect themselves and I wish it had included this as an option for parents to teach their kids to stop bullying by teaching the bully a lesson. I was bullied a lot by numerous different kids growing up, when I knocked the bully out he never bothered me again, and no one else bothered me for a long time because they knew I would not take that from anyone.
I think teaching kids to protect themselves and stand up to bullies is extremely advantageous. A bully only has power over someone if two things are true. First, the bully scares that person and the bully can actually beat that person up. If kids are put into self-defense classes or taught by a parent to defend themselves this could stop a bully right away. I have had numerous people tell me that fighting does not solve anything, but when someone is punching me and I knocked them out, it solved the problem, not only for the moment, but permanently. While I do not advocate violence and violence is not always the solution, when a person is being attacked, that is the only solution. The other thing that needs to be done
is parents need to raise their kids teaching them that bullying is not all right and not acceptable. I have a three-year-old son and I never let him get too rough with his 16-month-old sister or other kids that are younger than he is. I always tell him it is not ok to be a bully and that he needs to respect everyone and be nice to everyone and that he needs to be their friend. I do not want him to be the kid picked on, but I do not want him picking on kids either. I want him to learn to respect others and to know that he needs to interact with other people in a way he would want to have others interact with him. Parents are not teaching their kids about bullying and they are not raising them to respect others. This is resulting in a lack of respect for others.
is parents need to raise their kids teaching them that bullying is not all right and not acceptable. I have a three-year-old son and I never let him get too rough with his 16-month-old sister or other kids that are younger than he is. I always tell him it is not ok to be a bully and that he needs to respect everyone and be nice to everyone and that he needs to be their friend. I do not want him to be the kid picked on, but I do not want him picking on kids either. I want him to learn to respect others and to know that he needs to interact with other people in a way he would want to have others interact with him. Parents are not teaching their kids about bullying and they are not raising them to respect others. This is resulting in a lack of respect for others.
Therefore, while Tyler Clementi was pushed to the point that he felt like he had to take his own life, not all kids respond this way. Some do however respond in extreme ways such as the Columbine shooting showed. Not all situations are this extreme, but as statistics show, a large portion of kids are bullied and this reflects a problem at home that parents are not teaching their kids respect and kindness for others. They are just assuming their kids will not do this. There needs to be a stigma attached to bullying just like there is with the stigma of the one being bullied. If it is turned around and there is no stigma with being bullied, but the stigma is with those who bully, this could curb bullying and make a difference.
References
National Institutes of Health. (2001). BULLYING STATISTICS. Retrieved from http://www.pascack.k12.nj.us/70271919141818/lib/70271919141818/Bullying_Statistics.htm
Moncur, M. (1994-2010). The Quotations page. QuotationsPage.com. Retrieved from http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/38982.html
