Today is National Stop Bullying Day. I’ve written in the past of my absolute disdain for those who feel the need to bully. I’ve written of the absolute heartbreak of having to have conversation with a younger Bug about why a child of 11 or 12 would feel no other recourse than to take their life. Last year, I had to contact the school for a particular cruel social media bullying of my son who didn’t even have access to social media. The reason? A little boy didn’t like that Bug was friendly with a girl the boy had a crush on. The silliest thing to his father and I? Bug was only 11 and dating is absolutely not allowed nor to be encouraged at this age. So the entire thing was unnecessary. We were fortunate that it was addressed very quickly, but we’d heard several horror stories of when it was not.
Today’s children have it so much more difficult than we did at their age. I was bullied as a child and hated it. It seemed that I never had the latest styles and my love of speaking proper English was dubbed “acting white” by those who were more interested in slang talk and being cute than getting an education. Those years had a profound impact on me, but I at least had the solace of the end of a school day or of music to gain a respite from the rumors and ridicule. Today’s kids have it 24/7. It’s on social media. It’s on websites. It’s on chat boards and within electronic games. These kids even make up boards specifically for the purpose of bullying. It’s horrible!
