Bullying Has to STOP!

Some say bullying is just a fact of life.  That its something every child goes through and must live with. 

Unfortunately, bullying has gone far beyond what even my generation experienced in school.  Not only do kids and teenagers have to deal with bullies at school, but now even in the privacy of their own homes while surfing online. 

Take, for instance, the case of Phoebe Prince, a teenage girl from Massachusetts who in January took her own life as a result of such relentless bullying.  As a result, nine of the bullies now face felony charges, and multiple others have been expelled.  Ironically, the nine who are facing charges elected to withdraw from school, so as to avoid harassment over the death.

This posting is not just a random posting of mine.  In fact, on Friday I felt a bit of nostalgia when a bully from my past began harassing me via my own Facebook page.  While he wasn't able to get under my skin, and I did put him in his place (maturely of course).  The entire experience really made me think back to high school, where this individual probably called me 'faggot' or 'queer,' more often than he called me Ryan. 

Having moved out of the area and establishing my own confidence, I could really care less of what others think of my sexuality.  However, his words served as a grim reminder of what school can be like, and how some people never grow out of that bully mentality. 

Let's stand together against bullying!  On Sunday, ChicagoNow Blogger Kate Sosin of The New Gender mentioned an upcoming protest in her post Queer Youth to Protest CPS This Tuesday.  Please visit her blog and find out more about this awesome way we can help students stand up against bullying and tell CPS officials that we don't want this kind of behavior in our schools!