Comments | ontd_political: To This Day: Poet Shane Koyczan Narrates Beautiful Anti-Bullying Animation (VIDEO)

zemi_chan in ontd_political

To This Day: Poet Shane Koyczan Narrates Beautiful Anti-Bullying Animation (VIDEO)

Feb 20, 2013 18:01

B.C. poet Shane Koyczan is no stranger to being bullied as a kid. The poet, who gained notoriety for his inspired performance at the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony, also knows that bullying can leave psychic scars that last years.

Earlier this year, Koyczan put a call-out to artists to animate "To This Day," a poem he wrote that tackles ( Read more... )

youth, *trigger warning: bullying, canada, art, bullying, poetry

Comments 81

shorofsky February 21 2013, 08:53:49 UTC

I was bullied most of my childhood because I happened to have been born into a very poor family and thus wore the wrong clothes (hand me downs and thrifted or homemade items). I then had the misfortune of needing glasses and having bad teeth which didn't much help the bullying and as a result I started eating for comfort and got fat. I also got bullied for eating the wrong things, like fresh eggs from our chickens or veg from our garden that didn't conform to supermarket standards.... Yeah, my childhood was a right joy. It shaped my life in that I still feel uncomfortable being different. However, I now teach kids and am so much better at spotting bullying and helping stop it than the teachers who taught me in school. So, I find that having been the victim of this has helped make it so I can help others not have to deal with it.

muizenstaartje February 21 2013, 09:32:47 UTC

I had to cry too when I watched it. It's such a recognisable mixed message of despair and strength out of necessity ( ... )

muizenstaartje February 21 2013, 15:03:29 UTC

Oh, and the reason why I was bullied: they were sadistic jerks.

I was a bit timid and quiet, because I was also abused at home and the best way to survive there was by being invisible. If there had been nothing wrong with me, they would have made up stuff like I would smell or have fleas. It would be the first one someone life is ruined, because others say they have "fleas".

Once I wasn't that much fun to target anymore they moved on to another quiet girl that was an easier target.

girly123 February 21 2013, 18:07:15 UTC

The teacher thing is so frustrating. I understand why they don't encourage that bullied kids beat the shit out of the people bullying them, for liability reasons, but "go tell an adult! :D " only actually works if the adults give a shit.

muizenstaartje February 21 2013, 18:28:36 UTC

Yeah, that's why I said I was lucky. Instead of being "a bother" and make the adults aware of a problem, I handed them the solution to one of their problems. Yet the effect of that guy getting expelled was significant and helped me nontheless. People in charge stepping up to end bullying is really important. It really makes a difference.

Thread 9

cuterabbit33 February 21 2013, 13:40:20 UTC

I was strong until the last couple of minutes, the "They Were Wrong" segment. Then I lost it ( ... )

hey_kayla_jay February 21 2013, 21:02:33 UTC

Thank you for sharing this. Jr. High was particularly rough on me too. I dunno what it is about being thirteen that turns people into dicks.

cuterabbit33 February 21 2013, 21:05:25 UTC

You're welcome. And I don't understand it either. Somehow the idea of 'now we must leave childhood behind and be adults' translated into 'to be adults, you must harass those who are different'.

msloserrific February 22 2013, 20:15:02 UTC

I have no idea why either, but I distinctly recall middle school being the Great Leap to Jerkdom. Even as a tutor in an after-school program, that's when a lot of the kids started being assholes to one another.

seashell_bikini February 21 2013, 13:51:02 UTC

I was bullied went I went to a new school in 6-8 grades. It was led by one boy. I was called names based on my appearance. It hurt. A lot. I eventually told my mother and that was the worst thing I could have done. She confronted the boy and told him to leave me alone. After that, the verbal abuse got worse and he started hitting me and pinching me and telling me I'd be sorry I told my mom. I never told a teacher because it wouldn't have mattered. It only stopped when I graduated and went to high school because he went to a different one.

Children can be absolutely horrible.

(The comment has been removed)

Re: TW: suicidal thoughts redstar826 February 21 2013, 14:38:46 UTC

Perceived lesbian (I realized they had guessed right about that later)

I went through that too, and it made it really hard for me to accept it later on when I started to realize that I was, in fact, gay

Re: TW: suicidal thoughts maladaptive February 21 2013, 23:58:08 UTC

I don't get how perceptive strangers are, or if it was just a shot in the dark for them. But I didn't realize I was gay until well over a decade after my bullying....

Re: TW: suicidal thoughts romp February 22 2013, 03:41:29 UTC

re dissociating: I did that or at least tried hard to. I remember willing myself not to FEEL on my way to school.

I feel like many people learn to emotionally shut down. And our culture backs up the idea that being unfeeling is a strength. Then those of us who survive spend the rest of our lives trying to learn how to be emotionally healthy. FFS