I really don't like the singling out of gay teens being bullied as if it's somehow automatically worse than any other kind of bullying. I agree. Bullying itself is definitely just a generally horrible thing.
I do think, though, that the thing with singling out specifically homophobic bullying is that it very often does become the more severe bullying and it is one of the few things that is greatly compounded by general societal attitudes. Poor? Well, you can become rich. Hair colour? There's hair dye for that (or appreciation for different hair colours... although I must say, being bullied for being ginger isn't something I've ever seen in my part of the world!). Gay? You get screaming religious madmen and constant jokes/references even when you're not being bullied.
And we seriously need to do something about the attitude to bullies in the west. Agree with this, too. Especially what you say about 'once they're over 7, etc'.
We need to make it so that if a kid iss a bully the other kids, the bystanders stand up and say no this is not acceptable. That's the biggest thing, I think. Mass disapproval... which actually has action behind it. You can have all the 'bully free zone!' posters you want, but if you don't (or can't!) do something about it... it means shit-all.
And has 'just ignore them' ever worked as a strategy for dealing with bullies in the history of ever? Not if they're the determined sort likely to drive one to suicide, I'd wager! :/
The other thing about singling out homophobic bullying is it seems a slightly odd message to be trying to send - we need to stop homophobic bullying... gives the underlying implication that bullying for other reasons is OK or that the bullies aren't as nasty. A simple 'we need to stop bullying' seems to make more sense. And if we're aiming the campaign at kids, then clearer is better.
I do agree that homophobia can make the bullying nastier - maybe the kids who videoed and streamed their roommate having sex would have had second thoughts if the guy had been straight because maybe they wouldn't have expected their 'audience' to be so receptive to the 'joke', but then again if you're the kind of person who thinks filming two people having sex without their consent and then broadcasting it is acceptable you may be beyond help.
When I was at school the bullying I saw was aimed at two friends of mine who were Bangladeshi. I imagine it's exactly the same types of people who are now engaging in homophobic bullying. If we teach them that it's unacceptable to bully people for their sexuality they won't stop being bullies, they'll just find some other group to pick on. It's not ending the issue, just moving it on. Not that you can ever end bullying completely, but you can make it socially unacceptable.
But I do agree with the campaign and don't think it's exactly wrong I just think maybe instead of remembering ten gay teenagers who committed suicide because of bullying maybe we should remember *all* teenagers who have committed suicide because of bullying, but at least with the focus on homophobic bullying it is drawing media coverage which given the rate of teen suicides maybe 'straight teenager kills self' wouldn't have done.
Hmm. See, I'm not getting that message. Really not getting the 'underlying implication that bullying for other reasons is OK'. That might be because the area I come from, there has been a lot of anti-bullying stuff for a little while now - although I gather from certain places I am online that it isn't the same in the States, at least. To me, the focus on homophobic bullying is focusing the message more on homophobia than on bullying. Probably partly because I do have that assumption that people have been looking at anti-bullying stuff already and probably partly because homophobia rather concerns me a little more directly than other types of bullying (which I've basically outgrown).
then again if you're the kind of person who thinks filming two people having sex without their consent and then broadcasting it is acceptable you may be beyond help. Really though. :/ That particular incident was more disgusting than usual.
Not that you can ever end bullying completely, but you can make it socially unacceptable. Indeed. And I also agree with what you said about the people who bullied your friends being likely the same sorts who would engage in homophobic bullying.
And to your last paragraph: Indeed, quite so. To both thoughts in that. (Although I'm not quite sure what to make of the fact that you're likely right about the media coverage being drawn because of the homosexual angle!)
I'm kind of ambivalent on the first point I made there - I'm certain that that's not the message people in the campaign are trying to send or even see being sent. And I can also see *why* a specific type of bullying is singled out, which is why I don't think this campaign is wrong per se.
Anti-bullying stuff around here seems to be kind of patchy. You get lots of messages that bullying is an issue but I never see any kind of concerted effort to do anything about it. It's more of a kind of feeling that yeah, bullying, it's not nice is it? Oh well, it's just part of childhood, you get over it. Some individual schools have policies and others just think that claiming 'we don't tolerate bullying' will eliminate it without them doing anything. But of course this campaign doesn't come from my country, it's just spread because of the internet. So I don't know how much effort has gone into anti-bullying in general in the US and whether this is just one section of a much more comprehensive move against bullying.
At least in the schoolboard district that my high school was in, I can say that it was largely (from what I could tell with the beginning of it happening while I was in junior high, and much of the effort focused on elementary and junior high (which, for my area, would exclude only the last three years of schooling)) a lot of talk, yes, but some at least vague effort in it. Lots of 'no nonsense policies' and there was, as I mentioned, a 'wear pink for anti-bullying' thing that spawned from a student/student body. Dunno about the rest of the province, though, let alone the rest of the country.
I do think, though, that the thing with singling out specifically homophobic bullying is that it very often does become the more severe bullying and it is one of the few things that is greatly compounded by general societal attitudes. Poor? Well, you can become rich. Hair colour? There's hair dye for that (or appreciation for different hair colours... although I must say, being bullied for being ginger isn't something I've ever seen in my part of the world!). Gay? You get screaming religious madmen and constant jokes/references even when you're not being bullied.
And we seriously need to do something about the attitude to bullies in the west. Agree with this, too. Especially what you say about 'once they're over 7, etc'.
We need to make it so that if a kid iss a bully the other kids, the bystanders stand up and say no this is not acceptable. That's the biggest thing, I think. Mass disapproval... which actually has action behind it. You can have all the 'bully free zone!' posters you want, but if you don't (or can't!) do something about it... it means shit-all.
And has 'just ignore them' ever worked as a strategy for dealing with bullies in the history of ever?
Not if they're the determined sort likely to drive one to suicide, I'd wager! :/
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I do agree that homophobia can make the bullying nastier - maybe the kids who videoed and streamed their roommate having sex would have had second thoughts if the guy had been straight because maybe they wouldn't have expected their 'audience' to be so receptive to the 'joke', but then again if you're the kind of person who thinks filming two people having sex without their consent and then broadcasting it is acceptable you may be beyond help.
When I was at school the bullying I saw was aimed at two friends of mine who were Bangladeshi. I imagine it's exactly the same types of people who are now engaging in homophobic bullying. If we teach them that it's unacceptable to bully people for their sexuality they won't stop being bullies, they'll just find some other group to pick on. It's not ending the issue, just moving it on. Not that you can ever end bullying completely, but you can make it socially unacceptable.
But I do agree with the campaign and don't think it's exactly wrong I just think maybe instead of remembering ten gay teenagers who committed suicide because of bullying maybe we should remember *all* teenagers who have committed suicide because of bullying, but at least with the focus on homophobic bullying it is drawing media coverage which given the rate of teen suicides maybe 'straight teenager kills self' wouldn't have done.
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then again if you're the kind of person who thinks filming two people having sex without their consent and then broadcasting it is acceptable you may be beyond help. Really though. :/ That particular incident was more disgusting than usual.
Not that you can ever end bullying completely, but you can make it socially unacceptable. Indeed. And I also agree with what you said about the people who bullied your friends being likely the same sorts who would engage in homophobic bullying.
And to your last paragraph: Indeed, quite so. To both thoughts in that. (Although I'm not quite sure what to make of the fact that you're likely right about the media coverage being drawn because of the homosexual angle!)
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Anti-bullying stuff around here seems to be kind of patchy. You get lots of messages that bullying is an issue but I never see any kind of concerted effort to do anything about it. It's more of a kind of feeling that yeah, bullying, it's not nice is it? Oh well, it's just part of childhood, you get over it. Some individual schools have policies and others just think that claiming 'we don't tolerate bullying' will eliminate it without them doing anything. But of course this campaign doesn't come from my country, it's just spread because of the internet. So I don't know how much effort has gone into anti-bullying in general in the US and whether this is just one section of a much more comprehensive move against bullying.
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At least in the schoolboard district that my high school was in, I can say that it was largely (from what I could tell with the beginning of it happening while I was in junior high, and much of the effort focused on elementary and junior high (which, for my area, would exclude only the last three years of schooling)) a lot of talk, yes, but some at least vague effort in it. Lots of 'no nonsense policies' and there was, as I mentioned, a 'wear pink for anti-bullying' thing that spawned from a student/student body. Dunno about the rest of the province, though, let alone the rest of the country.
And yeah, I've no idea what its like in the US.
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