Teen afraid of going to school after constant cyberbullying
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VANCOUVER, Wash. - A teenage girl says she is being bullied beyond belief and now she's afraid to go to school.
The girl and her mother said and there's no end in sight.
It all started over the summer. The two girls were best friends but had a falling out.
"She's multiple times told me to kill myself," Makayla, the teen, said Tuesday.
She said the bullying started with text messages in August. Then she said it went to the Internet on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
One of the messages said: "Makayla, I hate you. I see you, and I'm enraged. (Expletive deleted) you. Kill yourself. You’re just a fail anyways. Nobody cares. (Expletive deleted) do it. Kill yourself. Cut yourself more. Starve yourself more. Die already."
Once class started at Reynolds High School Makayla said things got worse.
"She'd have her friends come up to me so I finally confronted her at school, and we got in a fight," she said. "Every day she would push me more and more to the edge."
After last week's fight, Makayla got suspended and said both girls were told they couldn't contact each other.
"It's heartbreaking. It really is," Makayla's mom, Tonia, said. "My whole goal as a parent is to protect my child."
Tonia met with the school's resource officer who she said told her to block the bully from social media sites and let them know if the harassment continued.
She said it did even after a second meeting Tuesday.
"She's gotten phone calls. People anonymously calling, hanging up, telling her she's a snitch," Tonia said.
With her daughter afraid to go to school, she doesn't think enough is being done.
"The students causing the problem need to be held responsible. Otherwise, it's not going to stop," Tonia said.
A district spokeswoman said when they met with the family Tuesday, an agreement and terms were worked out. But they wouldn't reveal the details of that. And they said there will be disciplinary action if that agreement is broken. They said they are taking steps to prevent anymore harassment.
The father of the person accused of bullying said his daughter never sent the messages, and that someone hacked into her account.
Cyberbullying is a huge problem in our high schools these days. That's why KATU has teamed up with the University of Portland to bring you a cyberbullying conference called "Take a Stand Against Cyberbullying."
It takes place next Tuesday, Oct. 2. KATU’s Deb Knapp will be joined by freshman and sophomore students, teachers and counselors from schools in our area.
@PumpkinPatty If u read what I said, KATU DID NOT explain or say everything that the father said. He said a lot more then "my daughter didn't do it, she was hacked". My point is, they need to stop listeneningtto an emotionally disturbed teenage girl with daddy issues and get the real facts out in the open.
 @duchess0323  @PumpkinPatty Obviously you've chosen to take the side of the person who is accused of sending cyber messages.  That would be somewhat acceptable except for one thing.  SOMEONE is sending the messages.  So instead of your being all "oh my poor friend is being accused of something she didn't do" ... you should maybe be thinking, "So BOTH Makayla and my friend are being drawn into something really nasty ... but by who?"  Who hacked the girl's account?  You think the girl is sending herself messages using her friend's account?  Well now, THAT would be something that your friend should have been able to figure out and stop, given that there should have been codes that could quickly and easily be changed.
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In other words, you are part of the problem. Â Regardless of whether those messages were sent by your friend or not, you have chosen to believe that Makayla herself is "the enemy", and you are acting out on that premise. Â But you are blindly choosing to follow your friend's lead on this, and SHE could have stopped this at ANY time by publicly and privately simply stated, "I'm not doing it and I am disgusted by it. Â I am going to publicly AND privately keep trying to get this stopped and to stick up for Makayla." Â That doesn't have to mean that she'll go back to spending time with her. Â But the ENTIRE rest of this mess is just words and stupidity. Â Lots of them. Â Including yours. Â You keep the bitterness and anger going. Â And you aren't helping.
This whole situation is BS. I know the parties involved. Makayla is making the whole thing up to try to bring everyone on her side. The real story needs to be told of what was going on when this all started. KATU DID NOT explain everything of what was said by the father of "the other girl". This whole story is geared to get the sympathies of the public for a girl who has a lot of emotional problems and probably needs to be in counseling.Â
 @duchess0323 Pretty sure they mentioned that the father was called, so he had an opportunity to say what ever he wanted.  He took this time to say: "My daughter didn't do anything and she was hacked!"
High School is out for the day, time for these girls to get on here & show the public how easily they run their mouths & create drama, without a care of how it will effect someone else besides them!
I find it funny how the news is meant to show you the full side of the story, and behind the scenes of everything that happened. This only showed what happened to Makayla. There is no proof that she was being bullied because she could have easily sent those messages to herself. She could easily be hoaxing media into believing her story just so she can get attention. I know Makayla, and I know the girl being accused of bullying. She did NOTHING. She never touched Makayla, she never said a word to Makayla. Makayla constantly was picking fights with her because Makayla wants the attention. She threatened to fight me because I was standing up for my friends. If Makayla didn't post these, then yes, someone should be talked to. But, I know for a fact that the girl Makayla is accusing, didn't do it. Who ever wrote those messages was obviously immature enough to take it to the news. She isn't afraid to go to school, because she still goes and picks fights with anyone that gives her a hard time.
 @Br0o0oklyn She could not "easily" have sent those messages to herself unless the other girl gave her passwords to her account.  And her father has checked this out and says that SOMEONE did hack her account.  This should have been done almost instantly, instead of waiting until this blew out of proportion.
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However, the point is that as angry as you are at her, you do note that if someone else posted them, THEY should be talked to. Â And then you go on bad-mouthing her.
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I don't care who is at fault, you need to all step back and cut it out. Â If Makayla has a problem, shrug it off, tell her you're sorry she feels that way, and walk away. Â Stop "standing up" for your friends, since you don't even know who it is that has been sending the messages. Â
 @Br0o0oklyn Pretty sure they mentioned that the father was called, so he had an opportunity to say what ever he wanted.  He took this time to say: "My daughter didn't do anything and she was hacked!"
 @Br0o0oklyn So, you admit that people are giving her a hard time & when she stands up for herself, you are going to cry that she is the one causing the problems? Sounds like you need to get your stories straight before coming on here & run your mouth. Law requires her to go to school, you can't judge how she feels about it. It is also impossible to say what another person is/isn't capable of, we as humans like to think that we know a person well enough to judge this, but unless we are inside the other person's head, you don't know for sure. So you really can stop think that you are one of these teenagers that knows everything, when really you don't. Your whole comment screams of ignorance!
 @Br0o0oklyn What is your fact? How can you know for sure whether someone else did something or not?
I've been through cyberbullying and I know how it feels, but Makayla could have delt with it on her own. She could have changed her number, deleted her facebook and twitter. She could have BLOCKED the anonymous messages on Tumblr. Makayla got herself into this just as much as she could get herself out. If she didn't want to hear all of this, she should have just deleted everything. Facebook and twitter are social networks sites that anything can be said, at anytime. She can easily prevent that. She can put her twitter on private. She can block the girl/boy(s) on facebook. WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE DONE ANY OF THIS? Why would someone contact the news when she could easily fix the problem. Â
 @Br0o0oklyn I'm pretty sure that this is what she's been told to do at this point.  But let me see here ...
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If someone were to cyber bully me, one of the first things I'd do is to block them. Â But I'm an adult. Â I know that sometimes other people have problems that I can do nothing about. Â I'm okay with not being able to save the world, and I'm okay with not having everyone in the world love me. Â So .. I'd block them.
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But this person being someone that she sees daily means that every time I see that person, those words worry me and fret me. Â And now I'm getting messages from OTHER people, standing up for her.
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ALL of you need to CUT IT OUT. Â I do not care WHO started it, you are part of the problem. Â Even HERE, you are in fact cyber bullying. Â And if I were your mother, I'd look at every message YOU had ever sent.
 @Br0o0oklyn Why should Makayla have to change her phone number & delete her accounts because of the actions of another person? It's the person that is threatening her that is in the WRONG & she shouldn't have to bow down to them & run away from them. They should be STOPPED!
What the heck is going on here?! This whole problem of bullying is really out of control. Especially since you know who is responsible for it and it's usually some stupid teen age argument over nothing, someone needs to go have a not so nice talk with whoever is doing it and stop it, period. I would think the cops should be doing their job and putting an end to all this crap. Make sure the cowardly bullies are informed that if anything happens in any way to this person or a member of their family as far as any retaliation,they will be hauled off and considered at fault until they prove otherwise. This is so stupid, If this ever happened to my kid I would be in someone' s face, the school, the parents or the cops or all three.
I know the girl accused of the bullying, shes the one being bullied. Makayla beat her up at school. Maybe the news should interview both girls and get their facts straight. This story is a lie I know cyber bullying is serious because I've been there. But to fake a story and make it up is wrong. If this was really happening, how hard is it to change your phone number?Â
 @Kyli3Ra3 KATU tried to get a hold of both parties!  Did you not the watch and listen to the story?
 @Kyli3Ra3 I know both too & your wrong!!!
 @Right2MyOpinion  @Kyli3Ra3 If you are a friend of Makayla, you do need to stand up for her ... but the best thing you can do for her is to not let yourself get drawn into this.  These are JUST WORDS.  People get mad; they say things that really only mean, "I'm enraged".  And that's all these words do mean.  Makayla, by getting angry or hurt, gives them life and she changes the actual meaning into being something more horrible.
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And then she acts on it. Â She needs to learn to shrug off words. Â The "feelings" that we get ... all through life ... aren't created by other people. Â You can't "make" Makayla feel loved, if she chooses not to feel it. Â You also can't "make" her feel enraged, unless she decides to feel that. Â So regardless of what is said to Makayla, the "feeling" that she takes from it is her own responsibility.
 @Kyli3Ra3 WOW, this is interesting. If what you say is true it should be dealt with just as seriously. What is wrong with kids now a days, they all seem to need a swift kick in the rear and a slap upside the head. I imagine it has something to do with lousy parents. Country is going in the toilet. And this generation is supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow?? Good god.
 @sick of everything This is crap.Â
 @Kyli3Ra3  @sick of everything Yes, Kyli, this IS crap.  And you are determined to stand in the middle of it and keep throwing it at people.
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You need to stop defending your friend and get a clue. Â Someone IS sending the messages, and if it is Makayla, it isn't out of a "need for attention". Â This is far more than that. Â And regardless of what the truth turns out to be, your standing up and spitting rage at her is adding to the problem, and nothing more than that. Â
 @Kyli3Ra3 So sending scathing "I hope you die" messages via text, facebook, twitter, ect makes it all better? Don't defend those words. It makes you look just as guilty as the person who sent them. All you kids need to have your phones smashed, no online access, and frequent spankings when you screw up. That's what wrong with kids. LACK OF DISCIPLINE.
 @PDXBEAR  @Kyli3Ra3 LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE
 @PDXBEAR She didnt say any of that, thats the point. I will defend my bestfriend, shes the nicest person ive ever met. She didnt say one bad thing to makayla.Â
 @Kyli3Ra3  @PDXBEAR Okay ... so let's say she didn't.  But SOMEONE did.  Whether it was one of her friends, or was Makayla herself, someone hacked into her account to send those messages.  You keep harping on the idea that "she" didn't ... but no one has yet said how it is that they think Makayla sent them to herself.  Did she have access to your friend's account?  Had she been given the password?
 @PDXBEAR  @Kyli3Ra3 LOL! Pdxbear you made me laugh in the middle of all of this Wise One!
 @PDXBEAR All the have to do is track it and it will stop. I will stand up for her because she didnt do anything.Â
 @Kyli3Ra3 With further investigation it will all come out in the wash.. If I were you I'd stay out of it. When you lay down with dogs, you get fleas. Proceed with caution young grasshopper.
Today in Oklahoma. http://www.news9.com/story/19643696/stillwater-school-on-lockdown-after-reports-of-shooting#wnSocialToolsSection ...a 13 year old committed suicide AT SCHOOL.
I am asking for some help here. Back in my school days, there were no computers but there were still bullies. Nothing new. You sucked it up, dealt with it how you had to, and everybody survived to become the wacked out mental messes that we are today! And none of this bullying was in the headlines. What is the deal with this? Where is my disconnect? Am I wrong to say pull up your big girl panties, sticks and stones and all that?
 @randola I went to school in the 50's and 60's.  If there was a bully, you ignored him and made friends with someone else.  On my part, I went around gathering younger kids around me under my protection ... which was nothing more than my mouth.  I had no fear ... always thought of my scrawny little body as being just a body, but NO one could mess up my mind.  And right was right.  Ya don't pick on the little guys.Â
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Makayla is obviously making a mess of this, even if she did get cyber bullied. Â But so are ALL of the people who came in here to gripe about Makayla. Â They don't even see that they've chosen to be a part of the problem, and to add fuel to it. Â They don't even see their words as being bullying .. they instead only hear themselves standing up for their friend. Â
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But they should all just butt out. Â They're making the issue worse, and I don't for one second believe that none of them ever sent an angry or nasty text to Makayla. Â They're obviously still keeping it all alive, instead of understanding that to stick up for a friend does NOT mean that you need to fling insults at someone else.
 @randola Back when I was in school bullying didn't include text messages, facebook messages, or twitter, it was usually up close and personal, these kids now days know no boundaries nor do they care. Â
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Also the old saying of sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me is the farthest thing from being true. Â While bruises and broken bones eventually heal, the emotional scars that can exist after being told that you are too fat, too skinny, stupid, ugly, etc, can last a life time.Â
 @BarbWire  @randola Barbwire, if I were to have one wish .. it would be for people to understand that being told ANYTHING, is only worthwhile if we realize that it is up to US to decide what to do with that information.  Told that I'm "too skinny", do I think, "I'm therefore unattractive and hideous"?  Told that I'm fat, do I think, "I'm hopelessly ugly"?  In fact, I can't even recall all of the words that have been flung my direction, but in the last twenty years, I've found that whenever that happens, my thoughts have been, "Oh dear, you are angry or frustrated.  Can I help?  Or is it better if I just play punching-bag?"
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We need to teach our children that when others say horrid things to them, it is out of something within those people that is in pain or is out of kilter. Â We need to teach our children not to internalize it, but to instead either find sympathy for the name-caller, or to at least recognize that there is something off-base, out-of-kilter, or even problematic in that other person.
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I have, for instance, never in my life called someone fat (I've always been very thin). Â But I've said, "Don't be stupid," hundreds of times. Â And in recent years, it has occurred to me that most often, when I've said that, it has actually meant that I am frustrated that I can't get someone to understand what I'm trying to say ... which is to say that I feel incapable ... and to some degree, stupid.
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Having recognized that this is what I really meant, when I said, "Don't be stupid," I found that I stopped saying it.Â
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These kids ALL are doing things inside out. Â Every one of them, no matter whether they are Makayla's friends or the other girl's friends, keep the trauma piling up, by insisting upon attacking each other. Â It's fine to believe in your friends and to care about them. Â But you do them no favors, to react as they are reacting. Â Be supportive. If Makayla is feeling attacked, teach her to see that attacking back is simply "being" the same person who attacked her. Â
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Shame on every child and parent that has been involved in this.
 @randola When did you go to school? I went in the '70s and '80s. Times have changed as have parenting styles. While I can't say exactly why THIS story made the news I suspect it might be because KATU was already planning on having their anti-bullying show on Saturday so this fit in nicely to their timeline.
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Your "suck up and put up" attitude may or may not be what both girls (and everyone else directly involved in this particular situation) need to do. We only are hearing one side of the story and we're not hearing it totally fleshed out (like have the parents of the two girls primarily involved even talked about this and if not, why not).
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The problem with bullying today is that, in some ways, its almost easier to do (especially if you can hide behind a false identity or when you don't have to face the person to confront them). Through social media you can easily arrange to have someone get beaten up or to have a flood of hate emails or media posts -- including getting people involved who don't even know the people personally. Plus, you can assume anything that's put out over the internet might stay there forever. You never know who might see it and make an assumption based on what they read, not what they know. There has also been some horrific crimes committed through social media (usually one ex partner acting in retaliation with another ex partner).
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If your parenting style is the helicopter parenting version, you seem to not want your kids to get their feelings hurt so, in a misguided way, you basically teach them how to NOT cope with problems and how to resolve issues before they grow too large to easily contain. I've watched this with my own family.
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If, on the other hand, you are a latchkey kid, you've got plenty of time without adults around to redirect your negative behaviors or encourage positive ones. Especially if you've got a single parent who works one or more jobs, the kid(s) suffer. The parent comes home from work tired and frustrated, has to prepare or plan dinners, and needs to relax and unwind. It leaves very little time (even if the relax and unwind portions are very short or nonexistent) to spend with the children -- let alone quality time.
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Add to the mix the changing technology and, if you're not a technology expert, you may not even know what to check or where to check to see if your kid acting appropriately or not. Early on they said to have computers in a shared family space so you could supervise your child's activity. Now, with everyone in the house having their own smart phone, that's a lot more challenging to do. And that's assuming you know where kids go on the web to meet up with their friends and foes.
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So, newsworthy, not so much. Bullying will probably always continue to some degree. What can be done? Well, in cases like this, bringing responsible people in to have a discussion will probably be best but, especially if you're a person who tries to avoid confrontation, you probably will give in to the consensus of the group -- even if that merely is agreeing to disagree. At least that's what I've observed.
 @CTWU  @randola Very well said.  In my day, "sticks and stones" was actually used a LOT.  Words were only words.  I think, "Nyah nyah nyah" was also used a lot, against someone.Â
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But one thing that people in that ever-so-wise era <lol, NOT> didn't do well at, was to teach their kids that no one can make them "FEEL" something (anger, love, hate, fury, happiness). Â And in today's schools, I think it's time that we teach kids that our nasty attitudes are never ever ever provoked by someone else's nasty attitudes. Â We are THE only people in charge of it.
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And if we react every time someone else says or does something that we find offensive or hurtful, then we give all of the power to other people. Â We are never bothering to take the blame for our own actions. Â That's saying, "I'm a weak and puny thing with no backbone of my own. Â Pull my strings so I can walk."
 @CTWU  @randola Or maybe everyone should start carrying pepper spray and tasers.
 @CTWU That has got to be one of the most thoughtfully worded posts I have ever read on any story on this website. Thank you!
With a response of "block the person" no wonder it's escalated, lame...and while I would favor deleting all social media accounts the bullies would still incite hatred to those around her.
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They really need to come up with some standards and harsh punishments for those who bully via social media or nothing will change. My kid would never see the light of day if I found out they bullied, and I will be paying attention, good luck disabling the keylogger, spyware, and avoiding random and frequent cell phone inspections child, you'll need it.
 @deejm2112 While I sympathize with your reaction, I disagree with it.  If I knew a child who was being bullied (great grandchildren, perhaps), I would teach the child to reach out and be overly sweet to that person.
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When I was 57, one of our tenants approached me in fury because something hadn't been fixed in his apartment. Â He was bullying and brutish, and I was a new apartment manager with no knowledge of what had been occurring. Â Each time I tried to explain that we had it set up for the entire building to get worked on, the next week, he'd interrupt and be simply nasty. Â I finally softly stated, "I don't allow people to talk like that to me. Â I don't deserve it, and I don't see any reason to stand here and listen to it. Â Do you want me to answer your question, or do you just want to keep swearing at me?" Â He stopped. Â I explained. Â Situation was over.
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Because we lived in the same building, we saw each other many times a day. Â Each time, I'd cheerfully call out, "Good morning." Â Each time my husband saw him, he'd ask whether the man had been able to get in some golf. Â Being totally pleasant to him meant that we showed that we held no animosity and let him off the hook for a moment of being boorish. Â Every holiday, he brought us a coffee cake or something special. Â I once said, "Fred, you really don't need to do this!" and he answered, "Yes, I really do."
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That lesson is one that I sometimes have to remind myself of. Â It was my husband who suggested our making sure to always greet him cheerfully, and it honestly felt very nice to do so. Â
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YOUR lesson is understandable .. you're talking about being pro-active if you discover that one of your children is bullying another. Â But bullies don't stop being bullies simply because their parents bully them. Â Yeah, I'd do all of those things too. Â But stopping cyber-bullying is all that you would be doing. Â The "need" or "love of" bullying others would still exist.
Unfortunately Parenting does not come with a Instruction Booklet, but we all get by with instilling our morals and beliefs. Most of us have good morals and beliefs and raise great kids. But there are parents out there that are selfish immature people that are trying to raise kids. They abandon, abuse and ignore their children and cannot figure out why there kids have serious issues! There are also those parents that just can NOT believe that their child would ever do anything bad. Just, because their child told them so. These ones are the most disturbing because they are teaching the child that lies do work! If I can fool my parents I can fool anyone! HOW SAD!
"I have a new best friend so kill yourself." The person who composed these messages has the mentality of a 10 year old.  This story has been the same for YEARS! I was bullied right in front of teachers as they ignored the pain I was going through. Teachers are just as guilty if the allow this to happen. By the laws' standards, this constitutes a harassment case. He's reading directly from the evidence it's self.. Go above the school, get a restraining order, take the little brat and her idiot father to court. MAKE him be accountable for his daughters actions. If parents were held responsible for their children's actions, I feel there would be a lot less delinquent kids running around.
 @PDXBEAR I understand your comments and to some extent, I agree.  At the same time, Makayla herself is not reacting acceptably and needs to be taught how to handle such things.  And any child who has been complicit ... on either side ... needs to "get" that being a friend means helping friends get through stuff.  It doesn't mean taking on their battles.
 @PDXBEAR Parents used to be held accountable for everything kids did until they turned eighteen, then it was the courts. What happened??
 @PDXBEAR Used to be if you picked on someone in school and a teacher saw it, you were grabbed by the collar (or some other body part) and drug to the principal's office. Then your parents were called and another dose of punishment was added to whatever the school did to you.
Not so much anymore. Everyone just wants to talk and negotiate. If kids could do that, we wouldn't have bullies. Sometimes, certain actions require a swift and memorable punishment. We won't see it happen because of people who yell "Sue!" every time something happens that they don't like.
I think it's time we stopped "talking" to these kids and actually did something. Perhaps it's time to bring back continuation schools? There they can get a dose of reality. A cross between jail, the military and school.
I think most of us would agree that most of these problems have escalated because of how we have handled them over the last 20 years or so.
Also, years ago, the victim didn't get punished, schools understood that their actions were in fact, self defense.
 @Owt_Raged That doesn't happen if your'e a gay kid in small town Southeastern Oklahoma.Â
 @PDXBEAR  @Owt_Raged There you go!  You got it!  People who bully or shame others have something inside them that is twisted.  It doesn't always have one word that will explain it (like "gay" was the one word they could use to hurt you).  I think it usually does include fear.
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When I went to school, special needs children didn't attend our schools. Â But one child had gone through all of the special needs classes available to her and insisted on going to "regular" school in fourth grade (I was in third). Â She had cerebral palsy, and it was very hard to talk with her because she was hard to understand and she often spit when she spoke, but I was one of the few who was able to interpret for her, and we became best friends.
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I have no idea how many times I stepped in and stuck up for her, or took her aside and comforted her. Â Years later, her mother lauded me for being so kind to her, and it knotted me up inside. Â Being her friend wasn't a "problem". It didn't make me special. Â I had needed what it was that she had offered me, every bit as much as she had needed me. Â
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There was a cost, in loving her and standing up for her. Â Few people wanted to be my friend and take the chance of having her join us. Â At times, I felt insecure about it, but I simply couldn't trade her friendship for someone else. Â My parents tried to force me to stop being her friend, and once I even allowed them to convince me. Â For about a week. Â Then her mother called me and I found the strength to ... for the first time in my life ... deny my parents the right to make that choice for me. Â I was eleven.
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Years later, she had moved away and we still wrote each other. Â I started going out with someone who I really cared for, and she told me that he had bullied her when she'd been in school.
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That night, I asked him about it. Â We talked about it for a little while, and I was surprised at his answer. Â It was much like my mother's had been, when I asked her why she'd been so awful to Merilyn. Â It was that simply seeing her felt as though Mom had to recognize how uncertain life is. Mom had to constantly keep herself from crying for her.
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Now, THAT is a sympathetic heart that I didn't have. Â I didn't befriend her out of sympathy. Â I had no sympathy for her affliction. Â I expected her to TRY to catch a ball, and to TRY to get her homework done, and to TRY to do whatever she needed to do, to learn to live on her own some day (and by the way, she did do that and she learned to speak well, too). Â I gave her no slack. Â I loved her, that's true. Â But I just didn't care about what Mother and Howie cared about. Â I didn't hurt for her. Â
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In essence, the actions of those who seemed mean to Merilyn, were out of a sense of fear, horror, sorrow and sadness (at life itself, actually). Â Was my sense of simply liking to be a big sister and teacher to her "better"? Â It sure didn't point to my having a good heart. Â I simply did not sympathize, because I really didn't see her issues as being that terrible.
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My point is ... who had more sensitivity, really? Â Those who reacted out of fear and sadness and who wanted to hold reality at a distance? Â Or me, who wasn't much affected by physical problems and didn't actually notice them? Â I wasn't a bully. Â It made life easier on Merilyn.
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But it also didn't mean that I shine.
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 @PDXBEAR  @Owt_Raged I'm older then you and I remember back then being gay was an invitation to getting your ass kicked and daily harassment. The thought of a boy kissing another boy and wanting to have sex with another boy was about the nastiest thing we could imagine and went against all things normal. Even to day I consider that whole notion disgusting and just plain nasty, the difference is I tolerate it because I learned that people are supposed to have choices. Even though I still don't understand how another man wants another man, it's their choice. Kids should be taught this tolerance.
 @Owt_Raged People in the South feel entitled to know your business. Whether it's fact or assumed, but yes... It sucked feeling like I had nobody to turn to. I know now that those kids that bullied me did it out of low self esteem. They're real winners now. Let me tell ya...
 @PDXBEAR We didn't think about or discuss schoolmates sex lives. Guess lots of things have changed. We were taught it was none of our business. But then I grew up in the Bay Area, not small town in size, just in attitude.
Amen!