Tag: bullying

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Big Time Rush answers letter to Santa for girl bullied at school

Big Time Rush serenades 8 year old Amber Suffern after she was the victim of bullying at her school

Well, this has got to be the feel good moment of the day.

Amber and Ryan Suffern are twins, and like many twins they have a close understanding about how each other feels.

Amber suffers from ADHD, depression and mood disorder.  As if it wasn’t enough to cope with those issues, kids at her school would bully and abuse her.  One day Amber shared with her mother, Karen Suffern, “sometimes I just feel like I wanna die so they’ll leave me alone.”

At school Ryan would protect his sister as much as he could but he felt something bigger might be needed to address the problem.  Santa Claus.

Asked by his mother to write an early letter to Santa, Ryan Suffern wrote:

“Dear Santa … I wanted a [remote control] car and helicopter, but I don’t want that any mor. Kid at school are still picking on Amber and its not fair because she doesnt do anything to them … I prayed that they will stop but god is bisy and needs your help. Is it against the rules to give gift early?”

“Can you ask Big Time Rush to come to Amber’s birthday party? It will make her so happy. If you can’t get them to come, but just get her everything she asks for. Thanks, Santa,”

The Santa letter went viral after their mother shared it on her Facebook for friends to see. Well, more than just friends saw it. The letter went viral quickly.

Good Morning America saw the letter and co-anchor Josh Elliot to talk to the family. What Amber didn’t know during the interview was that her favorite band, Big Time Rush, was waiting in the wings to surprise her as an early birthday present, just what Ryan wished for. The family will also be VIP guests of the band at a concert this weekend in New York City.

The letter also opened a dialogue between Suffern to open a dialogue with her children’s school, and begin to make things better for Amber.  

Check out the video documenting the feel good story on Good Morning America’s Yahoo page.

Let’s hear it for Big Time Rush for stepping in and making an 8 year old girl’s birthday so great.

Happy Friday everyone!

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Quote of the day – Ricky Martin “I was an anti-gay bully”

“I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, I’m not like that, I don’t want to be like that, that’s not me. I was ashamed.

“When you’re told you’re wrong by everyone, from society, from your faith – my self-esteem was crushed. I took my anger out on those around me. I look back now and realize I would bully people who I knew were gay. I had internalized homophobia.

“To realize that was confronting to me. I wanted to get away from that.” – Ricky Martin, speaking to GQ Australia.

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New Mexico seventeen year old commits suicide after years of being bullied

I want to write about this loss, but I’ve taken my fingers off the keyboard five times now. Something in me really doesn’t want to address this, as if by not writing about it maybe it won’t be true.

Carlos Vigil, 17, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was an anti-bullying advocate, but over the weekend he took his own life — the apparent victim of what he fought against.

Bullied much of his life, his parents only found out about three years ago the extent of how much and often the bullying at school occurred.

From Queerty:

As a member of Youth and Government, Carlos pushed for stronger anti-bullying laws. Before Carlos published his suicide note, his friends said he had just returned from a trip out-of-state where he had spoken out against bullying.

“Words can really hurt and I think Carlos…he couldn’t do it anymore,” said Patricia Valles, one of dozens of Carlos’ classmates who showed up to the hospital Monday where he was on life support.

Meanwhile, Carlos’ peers have held fundraisers to help his family and have been inspired in the face of tragedy. “Even though now Carlos is gone, we need to focus on what he left trying to say,” said former classmate Alyssa Cisneros, “that bullying is a problem.”

The suicide note Carlos left behind for the world to see on Twitter is posted below.  I’m posting it because Carlos shared it on his Twitter account, so he made a decision he wanted people to see it.  AND I think it’s powerful in how it demonstrates the frame of mind kids find themselves after years of being bullied.  Maybe actually seeing where kids are in their heads in such dark times will help some to understand how real this problem is.

RIP Carlos Vigil.

"I'm sorry to those I offended over the years. I'm blind to see that I, as a human being, suck. I'm an individual who is doing an injustice to the world and it's time for me to leave," reads the note. "The kids in school are right, I am a loser, a freak, and a fag and in no way is that acceptable for people to deal with. I'm sorry for not being a person that would make people proud."

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“Day of Dialog” from anti-gay Focus On The Family

The video above is to promote anti-gay organization Focus On The Family’s “Day of Dialogue” – a rebuttal to GLSEN’s “Day of Silence:”

The National Day of Silence is a day of action in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.

Founded in 1996, the Day of Silence has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. From the first-ever Day of Silence at the University of Virginia in 1996, to the organizing efforts in over 8,000 middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across the country in 2008, its textured history reflects its diversity in both numbers and reach.

Fascinating that Focus On The Family and other anti-gay organizations urge parents to keep their kids home from school on Friday to try and minimize the impact of something positive like teaching kids it’s not cool to beat the shit out of gay kids.

But on the website for “Day of Dialogue” they say:

“Wouldn’t it be nice if a deeper and freer conversation could happen when controversial sexual topics are brought up in your school?”

So NOW they want to talk about sexual topics???

And btw – the students in the above video keep saying they “have a voice” but notice how they don’t say anything about the topic at hand?

(h/t JMG)

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Video: “Make It Out This Town”

The official video for “Make It Out This Town” by Eve feat. Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship.

Wanna know when it’s your second, your minute, your time
Sick of dreamin’, wanna lay the pictures in your mind
Never been like all the others, you’re one of a kind
I know you’re feelin’ like you wanna break free, it’s a sign
Just wanna fly above it all, see where you can land
Know that you can do it on your own ’cause you can
Know that you can conquer all with a plan
Forget about the negatives buried in the sand
Yeah, never forget this is your life
Your path, your dream, this is your fight
Victory, you’ll see, you’ll be alright
Get through the darkness, on the other end is pure light

p.s. I was one of those kids who lived through a lot of this. And I made it “out that town.”

A few Broadway shows later; a happy 19 year marriage; and the respect of people I actually respect – folks who regarded me as a peer. I brought a megaphone up to my voice and found a whole lot more self-esteem once I realized I could like myself.

It happens. Trust and believe.

Forward.

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Jennifer Livingston rocks – and makes her critic that much smaller by standing up for herself

Jennifer Livingston of WKBT in La Crosse, Wis., slammed the viewer on-air after he wrote in to complain that Livingston wasn’t “a suitable example for this community’s young people, girls in particular” because of her size.

Livingston used the personal attack to send a public message about bullying, noting that October is National Anti-Bullying Awareness Month.

“That man’s words mean nothing to me, but really angers me about this is there are children who don’t know better — who get emails as critical as the one I received or in many cases, even worse, each and every day,” she said, adding that children often learn bullying from their parents.

“To all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the color of your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face, listen to me right now,” Livingston continued.

“Do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. Learn from my experience, that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many.”

(source)

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Rochchester bus bullies get their punishment

Almost two weeks ago, I wrote about on the school bus bullying of Karen Klein, the 68-year-old grandmother who was bullied unto tears by a pack of Rochester 7th graders. A video of the abuse went viral, landed both Klein and one of the abuser’s fathers on AC360, and led to an online donation campaign meant to provide Ms. Klein with a much-needed vacation. (The campaign has raised north of $640,000 and counting — Klein says she’ll use the money to “pay some bills” and donate to a Down’s syndrome charity.)

The Rochester school district has now doled out its punishment to Klein’s abusers: One year suspension and 50 hours of community service.

Following individual meetings this week with school and district administrators, each family waived their right to a hearing and agreed to one-year suspensions from school and regular bus transportation,” the Greece Central School District said in a statement.

The students will be transferred to a special alternative education program because the district is legally required to give them an education. Each student also will be required to complete 50 hours of community service with senior citizens. They will be able to reapply to middle school after they complete the discipline. In a statement, the school system said each of the students involved admitted wrongdoing, accepted the consequences and agreed to let the district publicly release the terms of their disciplinary action.

Repeat: The offending 7th graders will be forced to perform community service with senior citizens. Hopefully, the experience will prove enlightening for the boys.

My earlier post with the viral video can be found here.

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Bullied bus monitor on donation windfall

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The online fundraiser for Karen Klein, the bullied bus monitor, has grown to more than $650,000. She appeared on the Today show this morning to discuss the week’s events and what she would do with the mounting funds contributed by anonymous internet donors.

Klein said she would invest some of the money, contribute some to charity, and share it with her children.

“I want kids to stop bullying,” Klein said.

(via Towleroad)
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14 year old NYC student blinded in anti-gay attack

The parents of a 14 year-old Brooklyn boy say they will sue the city after their son was blinded in one eye during a brutal anti-gay attack by two fellow students.

Kardin Ulysse, 14, has undergone two surgeries on his right eye since the June 5 beatdown at Roy H. Mann Junior High School in Bergen Beach. It is unclear whether the bullies’ multiple punches or the broken shards of lens from his eyeglasses caused the damage to his cornea. “The doctor says he needs a transplant,” Pierre Ulysse said. “For me to send him to school with two eyes and come back with one eye is really absurd. “I want the world to know about this,” he added. Kardin, an eighth-grader, was set upon by a pair of seventh-graders who were calling him a “fucking faggot” a “pussy,” a “transvestite” and “gay,” according to a Department of Education occurrence report. While one schoolmate pinned the victim’s arms, the other rained punches on Kardin’s face, head and neck. Kardin broke away and the fight continued in the cafeteria until school safety officers and school aides finally intervened.

The parents’ lawyer is calling on police to investigate the assault as a hate crime. Both suspects are charged with misdemeanors in Family Court.

I have to ask: what kind of parents do the attackers have?

At a time when you have anti-gay groups like the National Organization for Marriage and Family Research Council fighting gay couples rights, why are they not instead fighting parents like these attackers seem to have?  These are kids hunting, beating and blinding 14 year old boys.

Tony Perkins – why don’t you work to prevent THIS?