Ever Wonder What Makes Bullies Bully?

We've reached the point, finally, where we all, for the most part, agree that there's a serious problem in our society today with bullying, especially (though, not exclusively!) with our young people.  Great!  Now comes the real work.  How do you detect a bully when you see one?  How do you know if your own child is a bully?  You certainly can't be with them 24/7 and almost certainly have no idea of every single thing they do at school or in public when you're not around.  Well, good news!  There are characteristic that you can look for to help you detect and correct it.  Some of the incidences of bullying that we're seeing today are nothing short of appalling.  Lives are being lost because of it.  Acknowledging, finally, that there is a serious problem is a great first step.  Now, let's educate ourselves so we can start reversing the trend.

Know the Signs

I awakened this morning to the following post on facebook:  "I want to die".  Needless to say, every alarm in my head went off .  I checked my text messages, and the same person had texted me:  "Well, things are worst than ever.  suicide seems like the best way to go now".   Let me first say that he's alive and well.  Secondly, this is a young man I've known a few years.  And, it's been a struggle for him the entire time I've known him.  He doesn't want to die.  He wants the pain, suffering, and struggling to go away.  Sound familiar?  I do know that he suffers from depression, so I contacted him right away.  Depression, however, is just one of the warning signs to look for.  Can you name 4 more?  Most people can't.  In order to bring this sad chapter in our history to an end, we need to educate and re-educate ourselves. LEARN THE WARNING SIGNS!!!! (lives depend on it)

Today is International Survivors of Suicide Day

This is the 13th Annual International Survivors of Suicide Day. It's a day of healing. From my experience, I will tell you that EVERYDAY, for the rest of your life!, will be a day of healing. I'm posting this early enough for any of you who wants or needs to can get involved, either in person or via Internet. And, it's available is Spanish and French, as well.  For you who want to attend...

Hating In The Name of God

So, you've seen the videos over the past few days of school administrators bullying students, unaware that their actions were about to be broadcasted worldwide.  It's well documented how, in some cases, the parents, themselves, are as responsible for their children's low self-esteem, and in some cases suicides, because of their intolerance and lack of acceptance.  But, to have a pastor, A MAN OF GOD, spew hatred towards, intolerance of, and utter lies about gays is absolutely unacceptable.
When you start to look at the bigger picture of what today's youth have to deal with as the struggle to find their place in this crazy world, it's quite easy indeed to see why we have so many emotionally damaged young people taking their own lives.  When they see and hear so many adults, people they look to for leadership and affirmation, from the homes to the schools to the churches, instead give them just the opposite.  Then, when the end result is another tragic loss, we shake our collective heads and wonder "why".

And You Thought It Was Just a Kid's Thing!

It's horrific enough that you have to be concerned about your son or daughter being bullied at school by their classmates.  We've already seen the damage that causes, and we are very well aware that it oft times is the major contributor to teen suicides.  And, we as adults have been preaching that they should report these bullying instances to their teachers and/or school administrators immediately.  Well, as I'm sure many of you saw just yesterday, it isn't JUST the kids who are doing the bullying as a teacher in New Jersey was caught on video verbally abusing (bullying) a special needs student.  That's unacceptable, right?  Of course it is, and we should be outraged.  But, if you think this is an isolated case...an anomoly, THINK AGAIN!!  See, this atmosphere of intolerance isn't a kid's thing; it's handed down to them from the very people who are entrusted to mold them into upstanding citizens.  It's taught in churches, in the homes and, as is evident here, in the schools.  If it's true that the young minds are like sponges, and it is, then why are we so careless as to what they're "soaking up"?

Every 18 Minutes

Ok, I've set my stopwatch.  It wouldn't make sense for you to set yours since it will take you less time to read this that it will for me to type it.  The fact I want to drive home is the there's a teen suicide every 18 minutes, statistically, in this country.  That's exactly 18 too many.  And, in most cases, bullying played a major role in it.  The time is now for every single person with an iota of compassion to start getting involved in order to bring this epidemic to a swift end.  Educate yourselves on the issue.  Educate your own children!  And, educate your friends.  The atmosphere of hate and intolerance comes from somewhere.  So, the best place to start attacking it, in order to eradicate it, is in the homes.  We can NO LONGER count on the schools and school administrators to do the job for us.  To be sure, in some cases, they're as culpable as the kids who do the bullying.  It is my belief, and I'm sure the belief of countless others, that the time is now to get involved (...just lost another teen to suicide).  Here's a helpful tool to help kickstart the education process.