The Bully Project Promo from Lee Hirsch on Vimeo.
The goal of The Bully Project is to raise awareness about the devastating affects of peer to peer abuse and then do something about it. It can't be finished soon enough.
One of the challenges of this tangled ball of a mess called bullying is engaging more people in the solution. It's a difficult issue. Parents in general don't get involved until their child has had a bad experience. Although bullying affects millions, when it happens to your child you feel desperately alone.
A good film goes a long way to capture people's attention. With insidious issues like peer to peer abuse, we have to "see it, to feel it, to fix it." Or as Maya Angelou says, "When we know better, we do better."
If you care to donate, IndieGoGo makes it easy.
It is good to see this issue addressed openly. As a child I was bullied & shunned by classmates because I was "fat" & had "dirty teeth" (tetracycline stains from frequent antibiotic treatment as an infant & toddler) . This occurred in parochial school as well as public school. Attempts to get help were met with disapproval of me, i.e."you're too sensitive" or "just ignore them", and sometimes "what did you do to make them mad at you?" Rarely if ever did anyone take up for me, adult or peer. I am 51 years old now and the scars of that time in my life still haunt me. I have an intense fear of ridicule to the degree that I will avoid any activity that requires me to present myself if I can. When I do have to present myself in some way I feel a need to apologize for my shortcomings such as appearance (no matter how much preparation I have undertaken)& size(even though I have been at a reasonable size since 1993 & gastric bypass) . This is a forum which allows me to feel comfortable enough to speak about the effects of these ghosts. Thank you for this blog.
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
ReplyDeleteYou deserved better and I'm sorry you went through that. The goal of this blog is to make people aware that they should step up. It's amazing what a few words of compassion will do and I just wish you had received more understanding.
You're not alone. It leaves a bad trail for so many. It's needless pain. Thank you for commenting. It's a help to others and a reminder to keep talking about it.
I hope you have sunny days ahead. The best way to get back at the "bullies" is to have a happy life.