In the past few years an age old offense has suddenly been thrust into the spotlight: bullying. With the advent of social networking sights and youtube bullies have found new ways to humiliate their victims, and victims have found new outlets to expose their abuse.
There was a rash of teen suicides after victims had been harassed on Facebook and Myspace. And then there has been a hugely successful cyber campaign on Youtube called "It Gets Better" which has given hope to those struggling with the abuse of classmates.
Personally, although never a direct victim of bullying, I have a hyper-sensitivity to it and have always felt my heart ache when I see it happening with others. It completely breaks my heart. I remember two early instances of seeing such a cruel and frivolous disregard for someone's feelings. They both happened when I was eight and waiting at the bustop. There was a bully who lived down the street from me and he was a daily companion on our way to and from school. One early morning as we waited for the bus my first-grade neighbor approached the bus extremely happy and proudly showing off his brand new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shoes. The bully, his name was Ryan Triplett, immediately tore into the new shoes laughing and criticizing them, and, as bullies do, encouraging his friends to do the same. As my neighbor stood there, surrounded by older kids making fun of his new shoes, he began to cry. I loudly claimed how cool I thought they were but I was just a girl and of no match to the bullies. My neighbor ran all the way home, skipped school that day, and we never saw him wear his shoes again. The second instance involved the same bully: Ryan Triplett. Is it obvious I shall never forgive him? After returning from school one day he spit on my brother's glasses. While they were still on his face. I screamed at this bully as my brother took off his glasses and headed home. I still feel my heart bleeding when I think of the cruelty inflicted for no reason.
And this brings me to Karen the Bus Monitor.
http://www.indiegogo.com/loveforkarenhklein?c=home&a=730336
Karen is a bus monitor in Greece, New York. One day the students surrounding the seat where she was sitting relentlessly called her fat, poor and berated her for an entire 10 minutes. When she started crying they only went in harder. I couldn't watch the entire video, I actually had to build up the courage to watch any of it at all. But, after seeing an interview with her talking about the incident I felt that I should know some of what she had suffered. How these children could torture an older woman, is beyond me. I kept thinking what if someone had treated my mother like that? Or my grandmother? But this incident has a happy ending. A stranger set up this page for her trying to raise enough money for her to take a nice vacation, and show Karen how many strangers support her. So far they've raised enough money for her to retire on. The video became viral because one of the kids posted it on his Facebook page. And now Karen can retire because the video became viral. I wish there was no bullying. But, since there is, I wish it all to end this way.
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