To add to its soreness, I also had a massive group paper due today, and a presentation.
Interestingly, my group assignments were on the subject of advocating for North Carolina House Bill 548, which is an anti-bullying law currently in committee in the North Carolina House and Senate. All of the research we have been doing on the negative effects of bullying for victims as well as bullies has made me much more aware of the problem, and I am pretty upset about it.
I'll spare you the details, because I know my entries can get long, but let me just say that I would HIGHLY encourage you to stop any form of bullying wherever you see it. Boys tend to bully directly by name-calling and physical intimidation or injury, and girls tend to bully indirectly by spreading rumors and using more covert methods. Either scenario can be devastating for children.
One of the newest and most hurtful methods of bullying is homophobic name-calling and hate crime against kids who are either out or just don't fit stereotypical "maleness" and "femaleness" molds. No word or action that targets kids because of their identification with a minority group, or even perceived identification with a minority group should be tolerated. That's all there is to it.
3 comments:
4/20 is practically a holiday here in Santa Cruz. thousands of people gather to smoke pot together. They had to shut down the west entrance of campus because the flow of people and cars was out of control. So 4/20 is also national pot day.
I actually thought of that too! WOW! Shut down campus? Wow!
I think too often in our society people joke around using names or stereotypes without realizing they are enabling those who are the true bullies. Thanks for your insightful post!
P.S. You're forgiven for not stopping in to say hello on your latest Utah trip - provided we receive the pleasure of your company on the next visit! :)
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