America the Bullying

[puppetmaker]

A couple of things happened that made me start thinking about this.

The first was that Caroline is sorting some of her t-shirts out of her school rotation but she loves to wear them at conventions. I asked her why she didn’t want to wear any of her avenger shirts or her Skylander shirts. She hems and haws a bit and then said because I don’t want to be told again that they are only for boys or why are you wearing a boy t-shirt are you gay? She does wear her cute Avengers t-shirt and her cute Thor t-shirt because the characters are done in a “cute chibi” style and that is OK for girls to wear. Now I am thankful that there are comic book related t-shirts that she does wear to school but I am also sad that there are other t-shirts she owns that are only for conventions where she feels like she is among her own kind. Exception to this is her Girl Scout Troop that is an amazing group of girls that let each other be themselves without judgment. I give a large amount of the credit to the two troop leaders who have done a great job creating this environment for the girls.

Caroline is reaching that awkward age where she is defining herself and she feels like “other”. What she can’t grasp yet is that all the other kids are feeling the same way. Now her “other” is a little more extreme than most kids but then her life is a bit different than most kids. We work on giving her support and showing her how her life is not that different but we do agree that her childhood is not the norm around here.

Last night Coca-Cola did a commercial of the singing of America the Beautiful, which I thought was a lovely commercial. It showed that even with our differences, we are America. Part of the song were sung in different languages and it showed all kinds of people across demographics and this country enjoying time together while consuming Coke. Apparently some people in this country didn’t appreciate the artistry of the commercial and were upset that they heard words that they didn’t understand. They screamed about learn the language and America for Americans. Guess what kids all the people in that commercial were Americans. It just was depressing to see such a lovely commercial and before the Seahawks next interception (I guess if your last name is Manning, there is a genetic need to throw picks in that stadium) there was protest about the commercial on the Internet. It made me sad.

What makes me sadder is this story about a 11 year old boy who tried to hang himself because he was being bullied for loving My Little Pony . Take a tissue and be warned that there are pictures of the kid in a hospital bed. His family tried all that they could to make sure he knew that he was OK and being a Brony was not a bad thing and it didn’t “make” him anything but a fan of My Little Pony. But it wasn’t enough. I am praying that Michael will make a full recovery and will go on to do wonderful things with his life.

I am glad we are recognizing bullying and other forms of bad behavior. I also recognize that this will not change overnight but at least schools are making an effort to make schools a safe place for kids to be.

I am grateful that Caroline can talk to us about what is bothering her.

Comments

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Sigh. I worry about this, too. I'm really glad Caroline can talk to you about stuff, too. That is a sure sign of a good relationship! I hope I can have that kind of open dialogue with my children as they grow older as well.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I'm not clicking that link because I know in my heart that it will wreck me and I can't take it. 11 year old kids should not be contemplating suicide for any reason, least of all the things that they're into. That bothers me on a very deep level and I can't understand why more people aren't bothered by this and trying to make more of an effort to stop it. I know that some people are, but not nearly enough.

I think one of the saddest things about this country is that everything offends everyone and people's first reaction is to jump right online and tell everyone how they're offended.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

That's just horrible about that little boy, and I'm sorry Caroline is being teased. That is, as you say, a normal part of going to school with children that age, but it can be horrible, too. I'm glad you're being supportive.