marym625
marym625's JournalAnother life lost to bullying
Originally I thought about posting this in LGBT but decided to post in General Discussion. Because bullying is a problem that does not discriminate, it seemed the better option. However it had very few views and only 2 comments. Perhaps this is not written well and I can certainly take criticism on that. But I want to try and help keep this subject in the forefront and to share a couple excellent resources.
Another 17 year old, Carlos Vigil, was bullied to death. The bullying took place for nearly a decade, at multiple schools, from a myriad of kids. He was made fun of for having a lazy eye, for his size, because he had acne and mostly, because he was gay.
Carlos Vigil, like so many kids, didn't share with his parents the daily suffering he endured, not until he was in his mid teens. That was nearly 7 years after it began. Unlike other kids, Carlos worked hard to end bullying of others. He even traveled across the country to help out when he hoped to make a difference. He was a good kid doing his best to make life a little better for others in what can be a heartless, shitty world.
We live in a society where violence, hatred and just plain being rude is becoming the norm. Social media is stealing the ability to empathize and sympathize. It creates a mob mentality. When someone attacks another from behind a keyboard, others, who probably would never say something mean to another in person, will join in. There is no personal interaction to cause the compassion most feel when face to face with someone. Humanity is lost in cyberspace.
As adults it is our responsibility to step in when we see bullying. So many social media groups allow hate to be spewed. It is nearly always aimed at the person and not the subject under discussion. We gain nothing by feeding into that and have everything to gain if we try and defuse the situation.
Carlos wrote in his suicide note, "..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."
NO CHILD should be made to feel that worthless. NO CHILD should feel they should apologize for being.
Please step in whenever you see bullying and help end it. Please teach every child in your life to be respectful of others. Please embrace any child you influence with enough love and self esteem that they will be confident without being cocky. Please use compassion when dealing with children so they can be compassionate themselves.
This is one national organization that can help www.stopbullying.gov There are many local chapters
A couple non-profits that teach kids and have tools that are proven to work are www.thecorematters.com and www.safetyeducationalliance.com If they are not in your area they can point you in the right direction.
Story about Carlos Vigil
http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/07/bullied-n-m-gay-teen-posts-suicide-note-online-before-taking-his-own-life/
hmm
I honestly never considered that.Will have to think about that. Rather frightening thought but no more so than where we are headed.
Good quote. Thanks!
Is It Already Too Late?
Last night I commented on a post saying a certain part of our judicial system needs fixing. Then thought, what doesn't?
There are so many things we need to fix or change it seems insurmountable. It is getting to the point I honestly don't know if it is possible to recover from what we have allowed to happen in this nation.
When a "liberal" President excuses and allows the clearly unconstitutional spying on all US citizens, without reason or warrant but for profit; when the SCOTUS rids us of voter rights; when banks and other financial corporations dictate law and abscond billions of tax payer dollars; when the President starts a war, attacking a nation based on lies, is not tried for war crimes and there is little call for him being charged; when our elections are bought and paid for by the highest bidder; when an amendment, so simple and beautiful, that protects a person from discrimination based on sex, 90 years after it was written, cannot be ratified; when a woman is legally raped by the State if she wants to control her body, how do we recover?
And that only touches on the problems.
I believe public funding of elections is the first step but I honestly think it's too late.
Another life lost to bullying
I thought about posting this to an LGBT board but decided that isn't where it belongs.
A 17 year old was bullied to death. Not just because he was gay and certainly not just by other kids that are gay. The bullying took places for nearly a decade, at multiple schools, from a myriad of kids. He was made fun of for having a lazy eye, for his size, because he had acne and mostly, because he was gay.
Carlos Vigil, like so many kids, didn't share with his parents the daily suffering he endured until he was in his mid teens. Unlike other kids, Carlos worked hard to end bullying of others. He even traveled across the country to help out when he hoped to make a difference. He was a good kid doing his best to make life a little better for others in what can be a heartless, shitty world.
We live in a society where violence, hatred and just plain being rude is becoming the norm. Social media is stealing the ability to empathize and sympathize. It creates a mob mentality. When someone attacks another behind a keyboard, others, who probably would never say something mean to another in person, will join in. There is no personal interaction to cause the compassion most feel when face to face with someone. Humanity is lost in cyberspace.
As adults it is our responsibility to step in when we see bullying. So many social media groups allow hate to be spewed. It is nearly always aimed at the person and not the subject under discussion. We gain nothing by feeding into that and have everything to gain if we try and defuse the situation.
"..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. "
NO CHILD should be made to feel that worthless. NO CHILD should feel they should apologize for being.
Please step in whenever you see bullying and help end it. Please teach every child in your life to be respectful of others. Please embrace any child you influence with enough love and self esteem that they will be confident without being cocky. Please use compassion when dealing with children so they can be compassionate themselves.
This is one national organization that can help www.stopbullying.gov There are many and most places have local chapters. If there isn't one in your area, perhaps you can help start one.
Story about Carlos Vigil
http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/07/bullied-n-m-gay-teen-posts-suicide-note-online-before-taking-his-own-life/
wow
I'm not saying each person in the country took part in this travesty. I am saying as a nation we are to blame. It is the people in this country that have allowed us to get to a point where laws protect murderers. Where corporations have more rights than humans.
I didn't say, Joe, you did this.
We're all to blame
This unbelievable State sanctioned murder of a child, because of nothing more than the color of his skin ,is symptomatic of so much that is wrong with this country
A man kills a child and the victim is drug tested but not the murderer.
A man kills a child after being told by the police not to follow the child and the family of the child has to hire attorneys to even have the murderer charged.
The Stand Your Ground law in Florida was not applied in the case of an abused woman who shot at the ceiling when her abuser came after her again. The same prosecutors for that case were the prosecutors in case the Zimmerman trial. But in the case of the abused, black woman, who hurt no one, the woman was convicted and put in jail for 20 years. But a black boy with skittles walks home from the store, is murdered in cold blood and the murderer gets off. He will receive his gun back and be allowed to conceal and carry.
The NRA, corporate greed, racism, lack of gun laws, misogyny are all to blame.
However, at the heart of the matter is we are all to blame for this child's death.
Nearly 60 years since the murder of Emmett Till and we seemed to have learned nothing.
"The deterioration of every government beginswith the decay of the principles on which it was founded." Charles-Louis De Secondat
btw
Wendy Davis and Elizabeth Warren seem to be the only elected officials with backbone anymore
well said my friend
Prior to the last Presidential election people finally seemed to have had it with the corpocracy. Anger from the middle to as far left as you can go before turning right. With the current, unbelievable, attack on our rights I think so much is so far gone that we're too disjointed to fight with results.
The war on women has spread to every nook and cranny in the country. If anyone stuck an object in a woman's vagina without her consent it would be called rape. But the State has made it law if a woman wants to control her body.
State Constitutional bans on marriage equality have passed or in the works.
Religion and religious beliefs, fairy tales, are being taught as fact in public schools.
Gun laws (or lack thereof) have allowed for people to carry weapons in bars ,on school property.
The list is endless. Frightening. Unreal. And almost all aimed at controlling the populace for corporations to gain income. Those "persons" that follow a law of their own.
And as you said, 20Score, the end of this insanity will only be possible if we start with election reform.
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Name: Mary MathieuGender: Female
Hometown: Chicago
Member since: Wed Sep 12, 2012, 09:25 PM
Number of posts: 17,997
