It is sad that my 13 year old daughter talked about suicides for about a half hour last night. She wouldn’t shut up about it but then again, she needed to talk about it. But what was scary was how she was so matter of fact about it. But she was also passionate and angry about it.
Bullying is an issue everyone, whether you have children or not, should be concerned with and should be upset about. This post that Vampire Maman wrote brought up many important points that need to be addressed immediately. Bullying should not be tolerated or allowed to exist in our school systems. Go to her site and read the complete post. Join in the non-violent fight of stopping this HORRIBLY SAD situation, where children think that suicide is the only answer to ending the pain of bullying. Stopping the Bullies is the answer and coming to the aid of those who need help. Tell them it will be alright. Help stop their pain by stopping the torture and stopping teen suicide because of it. "Teen Suicides - I wish I had a real answer" written by Vampire Maman *******I have the film "Bully" but I haven't watched it yet. My therapist thought it would be too triggering. Someday soon I am going to see it. (She gave me her approval today to watch this as long as I do some Art Work while watching to de-stress me. *******The young man in the film, I have heard who was mercilessly bullied, now has come out of his shell because of the film. He has lots of friends. He is a success story. *******Far too many teens have taken the road to commit suicide. It is far too painful and the bullies are far too merciless. *******I understand the effects of bullying. I was in music, marching band, orchestra, theatre, sports, and other activities that drew unwanted attention to myself. I didn't fit in anywhere, and I was also extremely shy. But when I was in school the bullying wasn't what it is today. Suicide wasn't the first solution. I don't remember anyone succeeding or attempting suicide. But I may have just blocked it all out. I know that I did think about it. I even did try to commit suicide because of the pain inside of me.But I realized that suicide wasn't the answer. I didn't want to die, I just wanted the pain to stop. *******It seems that today, it is the first resort to ending the pain. Like you, I don't know the answers. If you tell on the bullies, you are considered a snitch, and it makes the bullying worse. I think you are right , there should be a no tolerance rule on bullying. You bully kids you are out of that school. Try a little home schooling on the bullies. Let the other kids live in peace. ******* I suppose, if I were a student today, I might or rather I would be one of the at risk kids to commit suicide. I know from the way I felt at that age, I would not be able to take the kind of torture they are handing out today. *******I think maybe it is time for me to watch the film "Bully." It is one of the top issues I try to focus on and I try to talk about on the secret keeper, but I haven't done it recently. I have an avatar of purple lightning on FB that I vowed I would not replace until bullying was brought under control and stopped. *******It is time to watch the film, review it and to talk about it. *******Vampire Maman, your post is great. Something I needed to read right now. Thank you for bringing up the issue to help people become more aware. There does need to be a constant awareness bringing "Bullying" to everyone's attention. We need to be continually reminded that the issue exists. *******It is curious that I happened to be talking to my partner Shawn about this just this past week. I wondered where was our copy of "Bully." I told her about the boy I mentioned above. I lost my point. Until I remember, I would like to say that I think the point of Vampire Maman's of giving strong support to the weaker kids is a brilliant idea. All kids should get involved. *******I remember. It was about one of the authority figures on a film clip I had viewed, who was from the school where the film "Bully" took place. She said, that "she has ridden the bus in question," (she is talking to some parents,) "and the kids were nothing but behaved. There wasn't any problem here, that she saw." Well, she sounds like a real idiot. Does she really think those kids, especially the bullies, are going to act out while she is present. How stupid is she. This is the mentality kids and parents are dealing with, because they don't see it, it isn't happening. They would rather not see reality, that way they don't have to do anything about it, or feel responsible for the bullying happening. Who knows maybe some of them were bullies themselves and feel, "well, isn't that too bad. why don't they stop whining and just suck it up." *******Something has too happen in the schools. Bullying should be tantamount to abuse on many levels and should not be tolerated and should be prosecuted. It's plain out and out torture. *******Since when is it ok to torture kids. It's like one level below domestic violence, which once upon a time was ignored, and not considered significant enough for the police to do anything about it, until someone was usually killed. *******I am going to reblog this, and later today I'm going to try to find our copy of the film "Bully" and watch it. *******Sometime this week, if I am able, I am going to write a review of the film "Bully". But if not this week I will do it as soon as I am able to. It will be soon, I promise you that. jk the secret keeper. ps. A Great Post Vampire Maman. jk the secret keeper *******STOP BULLYING NOW---*******STOP TEEN SUICIDE NOW---*******SUICIDE IS NOT THE ANSWER---*******IT IS ONLY AN ALL TOO PERMANENT ANSWER FOR A TEMPORARY PROBLEM.
Homophobia & Bullying Needs To Stop
Post Created by jk the secret keeper
Opening Written by Jennifer Kiley
Created 02.27.13
Posted 02.28.13
I have the film Bully and intend to watch once my psychotherapist returns from vacation. Those are her orders. No Hunger Games or Girls With the Dragon Tattoo either. Subject matter too triggering. Here is a video of the trailer to Bully and a film review plus a synopsis from the producers. I will be writing a film review once I have watched this very important film. Originally, b/c of language & subject matter those that really need to see this film were going to be kept from viewing it. If I understand correctly that is no longer the case. Some of the children that are shown in the film ended up becoming so overwhelmed by their being bullied that they committed suicide. Suicide is a strong reaction but it is not usually b/c you want to die but you just want the pain to end. I have those words echoing in my head as a mantra. I have had my own experience with all of these issues as so many of us have. Here is the the trailer to Bully. Following the material representing the film Bully is a video made by a young man who is not gay but takes on the topic of homophobia, bullying & respecting one another. You will be shocked by some of the material he posts from Facebook pages in the comment sections. It is quite horrible that people would hold such violent hatred toward other humans who are “different” then they think they are. But in fact, we are all different & unique. Why bullies cannot see that they would not want to receive the same treatment as they administer to those that they bully. I have been reading the book “Orange Petals in a Storm.” One of the many imaginative & magical elements in the story that absorb you includes the quite intriguing way the young girl and main character finds the resolutions to the many situations she encounters such as that of bullying and abuse. Not to give too much away, those who bully & abuse are often victims themselves. That is not a reason to go on to become a bully yourself. When I hear about those who sexually abuse children speak up & tell that they were sexually abused themselves. NOT AN EXCUSE. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR BULLYING, ABUSE, VIOLENCE, DOMESTIC ABUSE, SEXUAL ABUSE or any form of sexual abuse toward a child or an adult. NO EXCUSE. NO EXCUSE IS ACCEPTABLE. By Jennifer Kiley
Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, Bully is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America’s bullying crisis. Bully follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals’ offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children. — (C) Weinstein
Film review of BULLY:
Bullied like me
COLIN COVERT
Minnesota Star Tribune
April 13, 2012
Documentary focuses on the torment faced by a handful of young students, including two who took their own lives.
Parents just don’t understand. That’s the message of Lee Hirsch’s powerful documentary “Bully.” The parents of kids who behave thuggishly to their classmates shrug off child-on-child abuse as “kids just being kids.” The families of children on the receiving end of nonstop mistreatment don’t comprehend their suffering. The parents of 17-year-old Tyler Long, allegedly the victim of longtime harassment by his classmates, didn’t realize how he felt until he hanged himself in his bedroom closet.
David and Tina Long have been battling school bullying in Georgia since their son’s 2009 suicide. Their story is one of five told in the film, which Hirsch filmed over the course of a year with no lights, no sound person and only a small video camera. While his film is limited in scope (all his subjects live in fairly rural settings), it reflects a sadly prevalent state of affairs.
From the Longs, the film moves to Alex Libby and his family in Sioux City, Iowa. “I feel kind of nervous about going to school,” says Alex, whose classmates ostracize him. “I like learning, but I have trouble making friends.” He enters seventh grade fearful it will be another chapter in a continuing story of humiliation. “They punch me, strangle me, take things from me, sit on me. Sometimes they push me so hard it makes me want to be the bully,” he says. Alex’s mom brings the problem to the school principal, who — apparently more concerned with saving face than addressing the problem — shrugs off her concerns.
But Hirsch’s film captures the perspective of Alex and other victims: physical abuse, insults and threats, school bus rides that resemble mob scenes from “Lord of the Flies.” It’s painful viewing, but necessary. Catharsis often involves going to dark places.
Related Article: Director’s Bully Pulpit
Director Lee Hirsch’s documentary “Bully” lifts the veil on a seemingly perpetual childhood scourge. Recording the experience of several adolescents with a compact video camera, he provides an authentic glimpse at conditions that some victimized students face daily…
Published on Feb 24, 2013
A Statement made by the young man who created this video on Homophobia, Bullying & Respect
I’m not gay myself but even so. It’s a shame that things have gotten this bad. I’m sorry the editing isn’t very good, I wanted to get it uploaded asap. Sorry also for the speed of the screen shots, you may have to pause them. It’s a shame that ‘gay’ has now become some kind of derogatory term. It’s bad that in this day and age, people cannot be grown up about sexual orientation. Everyone is equal. It’s those that actually accept that are the winners.
“The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either don’t realize that they are bigots, or they convince themselves that their bigotry is perfectly justified.”
― Wayne Gerard Trotman
“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
― Michael J. Fox
“Our love of lockstep is our greatest curse, the source of all that bedevils us. It is the source of homophobia, xenophobia, racism, sexism, terrorism, bigotry of every variety and hue, because it tells us there is one right way to do things, to look, to behave, to feel, when the only right way is to feel your heart hammering inside you and to listen to what its timpani is saying.” ― Anna Quindlen
“Some people won’t be happy until they’ve pushed you to the ground. What you have to do is have the courage to stand your ground and not give them the time of day. Hold on to your power and never give it away.” ― Donna Schoenrock
“I hate the word homophobia. It’s not a phobia. You are not scared. You are an asshole.”
― Morgan Freeman
“No, you don’t know what it’s like
When nothing feels all right
You don’t know what it’s like
To be like me
To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you’re down
To feel like you’ve been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one’s there to save you
No, you don’t know what it’s like
Welcome to my life”
― Simple Plan
“Social conservatives seem to see a bigger threat to marriage from committed gay couples who want in on it than from straight ones who opt out of it.”
― Margaret Talbot
“1. Bullying is not okay. Period.
2. Freedom of religion does not give you the right to physically or verbally assault people.
3. If your sincerely-held religious beliefs require you to bully children, then your beliefs are fucked up.”
― Jim C. Hines
“What would my first sergeant do if he came across me and another girl getting it on? He’d want pictures. He’d want to join in. He’d want me and this other girl to double-team him right then and there. On the other hand, since most heterosexual men are homophobic and sexist, most straight guys figure gay men will treat them the way they themselves treat women- that is, like sex objects. And this freaks them the fuck out.” ― Kayla Williams, Love My Rifle More than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army
“It gets better. It seems hard, you know, I think being different is always gonna be a tough climb. There’s always gonna be people that are scared of it. But at the end of the day you give those bullies, those people, that are so ignorant, if you give them the power to affect you, you’re letting them win. And they don’t deserve that. What you’re doing by being yourself is you’re keeping it real, and you’re being really brave.” ― Adam Lambert
“The whole world goes on and on about love. Poets spend their lives writing about it. Everyone thinks it’s the most wonderful thing. But, when you mention two guys in love, they forget all that and freak out.” ― Mark A. Roeder, Outfield Menace
“Could a scar be like the rings of a tree, reopened with each emotional season?”
― Magenta Periwinkle, Cutting Class
“I have almost completed a long novel, but it is unpublishable until my death and England’s.” — E.M. Forster (speaking of Maurice & England at the time.)
“When the Washington Post telephoned me at home on Valentine’s Day 1989 to ask my opinion about the Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwah, I felt at once that here was something that completely committed me. It was, if I can phrase it like this, a matter of everything I hated versus everything I loved. In the hate column: dictatorship, religion, stupidity, demagogy, censorship, bullying, and intimidation. In the love column: literature, irony, humor, the individual, and the defense of free expression. Plus, of course, friendship—though I like to think that my reaction would have been the same if I hadn’t known Salman at all. To re-state the premise of the argument again: the theocratic head of a foreign despotism offers money in his own name in order to suborn the murder of a civilian citizen of another country, for the offense of writing a work of fiction. No more root-and-branch challenge to the values of the Enlightenment (on the bicentennial of the fall of the Bastille) or to the First Amendment to the Constitution, could be imagined. President George H.W. Bush, when asked to comment, could only say grudgingly that, as far as he could see, no American interests were involved…” ― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir
“The concept that really gets the goat of the gay-hater, the idea that really spins their melon and sickens their stomachs is that most terrible and terrifying of all human notions, love. That one can love another of the same gender, that is what the homophobe really cannot stand. Love in all eight tones and all five semitones of the world’s full octave. Love as Agape, Eros and Philos; love as infatuation, obsession and lust; love as torture, euphoria, ecstasy and oblivion (this is beginning to read like a Calvin Klein perfume catalogue); love as need, passion and desire.” ― Stephen Fry, Moab Is My Washpot
“Everyone I say stop bullying it is sad and tears someones heart apart and next thing they do is Suicide because they think that is the right next step! If you are a Person who gets bullied find someone who will stop this! Don’t just kill yourself for the other person to be happy because you are gone! They are just jealous of you and want to start problems and make you a troublemaker! Ignore those mean cruel evil people in you life and spend time with the nice caring sweet loving angels of yours! Because bullying is a dumb and stupid waste of time! Try to shake it off the mean hurtful stuff and keep on doing the right stuff that is going to help you become a better person and when i say a better person i mean more than a better person! ― Skye Daphne, The Witch who was a princess
“You could move.’ —”Dear Abby” responds to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood.”
― Abigail Van Buren
“….watch me rise like smoke from fire.
Watch me fly above your hate.
Watch me dance upon your meanness
like a ballerina with posture; grace.
Watch me laugh over your hatred;
watch me soar above your sea of grief.
And know that I am out there somewhere…
C R U S H I N G.”
― Coco J. Ginger
“We’re sick of hearing people say, “That band is so gay,” or “Those guys are fags.” Gay is not a synonym for shitty. If you wanna say something’s shitty, say it’s shitty. Stop being such homophobic assholes.”
― Pete Wentz
“You know, when someone hurts my feelings, somehow it does not comfort me to know that it was deliberate… On the other hand, knowing that someone else thinks they are assholes helps a great deal.”
“I think that’s some kind of rule for the universe.”
― John Barnes, Tales of the Madman Underground
“He had put his hand up in class, a declaration of existence, a claim that he knew something. And that was forbidden to him. They could give a number of reasons for why they had to torment him; he was too fat, too ugly, too disgusting. But the real problem was simply that he existed, and every reminder of his existence was a crime.”
― John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In
Hate Is Not a Family Value-Chick fil A Counter Protest
Chick-fil-A declares it had a record day Wednesday as a result of Mike Huckabee’s call for an “Appreciation Day.” But the experience has left some gay and lesbian employees with a bad taste.
A closeted gay woman who said she works at a Chick-fil-A in the South wrote an anonymous column on The Daily Beast about how the day changed her mind on whether LGBT people should boycott her employer.
“When this first started, I implored my friends and allies not to boycott,” she said, warning it might hurt employees like her who are trying to make a living. “Now, if I didn’t work there, I’d be boycotting too. That much hypocrisy and hatred leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and the last thing I want to eat is their chicken.”
The woman confirms Chick-fil-A spokesman Steve Robinson’s claim to CNN that “it was a record-setting day.”
“We were so busy we nearly ran out of food,” she wrote. “Though we didn’t have to close early like we feared, by 10 p.m., we barely had anything left.”
But her day included working alongside people who talked about proudly being part of “a righteous movement” and voiced their support for Dan Cathy, whose company has donated $5 million and counting to antigay groups and who himself has said marriage equality is “twisted.”
One of her fellow employees said he wished gays would go hungry. And The Huffington Post reports on gay and lesbian employees who said customers repeatedly thanked them for hating gay people.
“I’m so glad you don’t support the queers, I can eat in peace,” one employee remembers being told, according to The Huffington Post.
At the Chick-fil-A in Hollywood, just outside predominantly gay city West Hollywood, singer Pat Boone showed up in line. “Marriage is something instituted by God,” he said. Boone was among a distinctly homophobic crowd. They told cameras that “homosexuality is not about love, it is not about family, it is not about civil rights, it’s about sex.” Another customer claimed being gay leads to polyamory.
Children cannot eat words; blinded by starvation, they cannot see pictures. Yet, we are calling on artists, poets, writers and photographers to join us in a Song Of Sahel. by Dr. Niamh Clune
when christians are their worst enemies editorial comments/layout and illustrations by jennifer kiley
article aggregated from cnn written by LZ Granderson, CNN Contributor Tue July 24, 2012
blaming aurora theatre killings on judeo-christian bashing Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, right, said the theater slaughter is related to “ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs.”
For all of the rhetoric about Christianity being under attack in this country, oftentimes it feels no one does a better job of hurting Christianity than the people who call themselves Christians. Especially after a national tragedy.
pat robertson and jerry falwell (died)
For example, after the September 11 terror attacks, Jerry Falwell blamed the ACLU, as well as feminists, gays and lesbians, for lifting God’s veil of protection.
pastor john hagee
After Hurricane Katrina, Pastor John Hagee said he believed God caused the largest natural disaster in U.S. history to stop a gay pride parade in New Orleans.
pat robertson and jerry falwell (died)
Bodies were still being recovered from the 2010 earthquake in Haiti when Pat Robertson said the country was struck because it made a “pact to the devil.”
jerry newcombe said: “Tragedies like the Aurora theater mass murder happen because people no longer believe in hell, and unless the victims of such tragedies “know Christ” or if they “knowingly rejected Jesus Christ,” they’re on their way to hell.”
And just this weekend, as the nation is trying to heal from the theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado, Jerry Newcombe, a spokesman for the evangelical group Truth in Action, took time out of his day to inform mourners that some of their loved ones were going to hell.
rep. louie gohmert r-texas
Newcombe’s comments were made after U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, said he believed the shootings happened because Christianity is under attack.
He then wondered why “you know, with all those people in the theater, was there nobody that was carrying? That could have stopped this guy more quickly?” Carrying a gun, of course.
That’s right — a congressman who sits on the House Judiciary Committee is talking about a shootout in a dark room filled with tear gas and panicked, innocent people. And we ask ourselves why Congress is so dysfunctional.
rick santorum for traditional american values
This past winter, Sen. Rick Santorum, a devout Roman Catholic who made his faith central to his presidential bid, blamed higher education for the declining number of young people who identify as Christians. This might have struck young people looking at Santorum’s three degrees as … curious.
Dare I say, hypocritical? Hysterical? Dumb?
As in ignoring that Haiti sits on two seismic fault lines, but choosing to go with the pact-with-the-devil-to-explain-the-earthquake kind of dumb.
Of course, people of various faiths, agnostics and atheists make questionable statements all the time. The difference is this mantra of an “attack on religious freedom” is most often repeated by politicians and religious leaders of the Christian faith, usually when a political discussion about marriage or women’s reproductive health is taking place.
I’m fine with that.
jerry falwell speaks out through fundamentalist zealots blaming everyone
But I have a problem when a disaster claims innocent victims or causes a great deal of pain and loss, and instead of showing compassion, these so-called leaders of faith say the gays did it. Or the liberals. Or that gem Falwell served up — the ACLU. That kind of rhetoric not only violates Christ’s greatest commandment — to love — but is completely illogical.
As a Christian, I understand the importance of faith. But Jesus did not say you have to be illogical or inhumane to be a person of faith. If Newcombe and others like him would remember that, I doubt he would have chosen the day after the Aurora shooting to tell mourners their loved ones are burning in hell.
a rant on the westboro baptist church by jennifer kiley
volcanic eruption
i cannot believe the discussion going on over at youtube around the death of sally ride. some bloody idiot is spouting hell and sin and if you don’t believe in jesus christ that you are going to hell. have some bloody respect. i’m surprised they haven’t blasted her for being gay and having a partner of over 27 years who, it has been reported, does not receive any of the government benefits as a person would who is straight. that strikes me as something people should be concerned about, and that her partner has lost the woman she loves. i wonder if the westboro baptist church antichrists will be being disgusting at sally ride’s funeral, the way they plan on disrupting the funerals for all of those who were killed in the shooting spree in Aurora, Colorado.
if you haven’t heard of the westboro baptist church from florida, definitely google them. they are the lowest form of life on this planet. you may first have heard of them from the Matthew Shepherd funeral. he was just an innocent college kid who happened to be too trusting. when he was hanging out at a near by bar, minding his own business, these two pathetic men coaxed him to come with them. without getting too graphic, they tied him to a hitching post out in the middle of nowhere to die after they beat him into that condition. there reasoning is that he was gay and coming on to them.
they were just good ole boys, homophobic til the end. Matthew’s parents told the court they didn’t want them to get the death penalty even though they killed their son Matthew. that’s when the westboro baptst church appeared more visibly on the scene. they tried to disrupt and condemn Matthew and blame him for his own death because he was a homosexual. there has got to be a law put on the books to protect us from such mean spirited trash as these people are. they even protest at soldiers funerals saying terrible things. they don’t give a shit who they offend or hurt. they should first not be allowed to have church status and second they should be prevented from being closer than ten miles from any funeral for any person who has died in the way the people they protest against have died.
i am just very angry that such people walk this earth and use whatever perverse thinking they have messing around in their brains and go out and disrupt in such a horrible fashion such sacred moments for the people who are left behind from such tragedies as Aurora or Matthew Shepherd or soldiers dying in Afganistan or Iraq or protesting any other kind of tragedy. these are very sick people who need to be kept away from society.
You know what they say: The darkest moment is always just before the Westboro Baptist Church shows up.
If there is one thing that most of us can agree upon as a nation, it is that we do not want the Westboro Baptist Church to come to whatever event it is we are having. Barbecue? No, thank you. Funeral? Please, no. Family reunion? We’d prefer to sit near creepy Uncle Elmo with the glockenspiel collection.
Whatever it is, we do not want the church members, more emphatically yet when we are gathering in the wake of a tragedy. But that is always when they show up, like cockroaches with brightly colored signs…
it’s good to see this being spread around. it is so meaningful. the message is of vital importance. did you see the video that went viral and was all over the news and talk shows on june 21st 2012. the woman in her 60s who is a bus moniter was being bullied by students on the bus. they were verbally as well as physically bullying her. fortunately, one of the students on the bus used his cell phone to get it on record. he, also, wanted to submit it to the show tosh 2.0 to be broadcast. it made youtube instead. it was so disturbing and even more disturbing that no one stood up to these bullies to come to the woman’s/grandmother’s defense.
the students will be disciplined. the father of one of the students said in an interview that when he was talking about this to his child he cried. he couldn’t believe that his son would do such a horrible thing. he was very disturbed by the whole thing. it will open up a discussion among parents and their children. that is at least one of the positive results from all of this.
also, some people started up a collection to send the grandmother on a vacation. they thought they would receive enough to send her someplace nice, well, as of last night’s (wednesday) news braodcast people had sent in over $130,000 dollars. that’s how effected people were to seeing this barbaric behavior.
since i wrote the above paragraphs the amount of the donations exceeded over $500,000 dollars and there are 28 days to go to make a donation. also, the students have made a public apology. when at least one of the students watched the video, they said that they couldn’t believe that they could have done such a horrible thing. the grandmother who was bullied is doing okay. she is not going to press any charges. she is leaving it to the school to discipline the students. she has done several interviews. disney wants to invite her to be their guest. airlines are offering free airfare. the grandmother is taking it pretty well and is even saying that they really are not bad kids. watch the video for yourself if you haven’t already seen it. judge for yourself.
if you have’t seen this footage, it is important to understand the kind of behavior that is being committed by the teenager of today. these teens are relentless in their bullying treatment of an adult. this is terrible and one incident of bullying. imagine being a gay teen having this kind of bullying harrassment occurring on a daily basis while in school or out of school or through the social media or through text messaging or any form of communication that you can think of. this is wrong on any level. there are too many teen suicides because of bullying. the students in this video may have apologized and are sorry and some are horrified to see their behavior. but the bullying doesn’t stop. the teen suicides continue to happen because their lives are made to feel like hell. the hopelessness of their feelings of being made to feel worthless. the pain feels like it will never stop. the bullying is endless and it never feels like it will ever stop.
how does this behavior of bullying ever seem acceptable? why is it acceptable to the bullies? don’t they realize how destructive their behavior is to the victim of their bullying? the words that bullies use. the physical abuse the victim must endure almost constantly. when you watch this video you get only a sampling of how persistant and continuous the bullying goes on.
it reminds me of the torture of the bull in a bull fighting ring. first the matador teases the bull with his red cape causing the bull to charge him. the matador wants to exhaust the bull and to make the bull angry so that he will charge him. but what does the matador have in store for the bull but pointed sticks to push into the bull’s body. this continues to the crowds cheering excitement. eventually, the sword comes out. it is time to finish off the bull. the bull must die after all the torture that he must endure first. this is fun for the crowd. thumbs down for the bull. he must be sacrificed to satisfy the mob mentality for blood.
it’s interesting that the word bully contains the letters for the word bull. the bull was just behaving like a bull. defending himself. he doesn’t know they want him to die. all along death is his fate. do bullies act the way they do so that the ultimate outcome will be achieved. that their victim will, after all the horrible tormenting, take their own life as a sacrifice to the bullies? it is afterall what they want symbolically, to be rid of the person who is different and makes them feel uncomfortable. they have this urge deep inside to torture their victims. why? what for? what compels them? have they no sensitivity to how their torture is making the other person feel inside?
is there a pleasure or sense of power or control bullies receive from such vile behavior? to see someone gradually deteriorate before their eyes. are they blind? can they not see cause and effect? are they not aware of the teen suicides? what do bullies think teen suicide is about? don’t they make the correlation between bullying and teen suicide?
are bullies sociopaths? do they need to be locked away from society? are we safe with them free to roam our schools? our playgrounds? cyberspace? what should be done to protect the innocent from bullies, the other predator?
this song stands for all people overcoming the injustices brought upon them. hatred, bullying, homophobia, teen suicide need to stop. we shall overcome. listening and singing this song gives me the chills. i feel that is from all the ghosts who have stood tall and fought for all people to be able to say “we shall overcome” and have it truly and really happening throughout the world over. WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY! i’d like that day to be now. how do you get the prejudice and bigotry to stop? why do some people feel this way in their hearts? where is there room for love to live within them when all they can find to speak out loud are words that hurt, harm and kill other people?
i feel that Blowin’ In the Wind is singing about when will people open their eyes to see what is happening in the world around them. developing an awareness that there are things that are so wrong with the way that some people treat other people who are different in a cruel, dismissive or violent way. they either express themselves through verbal, emotional or physical violence and sometimes a combination of all three. teenagers become so emotionally damaged by the treatment they receive, they feel the only alternative to escaping their nightmares is to take their own lives in order to find peace. being bombarded with hatred and violence through the social media or during school hours or being secretly taped while having intimate moments with someone of the same sex and then the video being released online so that anyone could see it. it is difficult enough realizing that you are gay or lesbian but to have your privacy constantly being thrust out into the open in a derogatory manner is not only humiliating but the intentions from the victimizers is to denigrate your life style so that you doubt who you are as being an acceptable human being with feelings the same as everyone else.
i chose Bridge Over Troubled Waters for its ability to show comfort. when i was a teenager this song brought me great solace when i felt the pain of being different and isolated with no support around me and when i didn’t feel that there was anything to live for. listening to this song would make me feel the presence of someone’s spirit holding me and helping me to temporarily feel safe. it helped my mind to focus on the optimism coming from the lyrics. also, the way simon and garfunkel sang it was so uplifting and emotionally moving. feeling the music touching my soul made me feel for the moment support and a relief from the pain.
GREENSBURG, Ind. — An Indiana church is on lock down and its pastor has left for an undisclosed location after a video recording surfaced this week of a toddler singing an anti-gay song at the church altar, that included the lyrics, “Ain’t no homo going to make it to heaven.”
Pastor Jeff Sengl and wife Julie
Members of the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church in Greensburg, Ind., on Wednesday told media outlets that the church’s office has been receiving harassing calls and its pastor received death threats at his home since the video was posted on several LGBT blogs and subsequently went viral.
In the video, church Pastor Jeff Sangl can been seen in smiling and nodding in approval behind the unidentified youth.
Church members can be seen applauding and cheering the toddler as he sings the anti-gay verse — “I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong- Romans 1 and 27, ain’t no homo going to make it to heaven” — with one person shouting, “That’s my boy!”
According to some congregants, a prayer meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening at church was moved to a secret location, and church members also said that Sangl, accompanied by his wife, abruptly left on vacation to an undisclosed location out of concern for his safety.
Criticism from LGBT activists has been swift, prompting the church to post this statement on its website:
The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason. We believe and hope that every person can find true Bible salvation and the mercy and grace of God in their lives.
We are a strong advocate of the family unit according to the teachings and precepts found in the Holy Bible. We believe the Holy Bible is the Divinely-inspired Word of God and we will continue to uphold and preach that which is found in scripture.
Noted author Anne Rice, whose son Christopher is openly gay, posted the video to her Facebook page, writing, “In this country, Christians can teach toddlers to hate and to persecute, and we, through the automatic tax exemption for churches, foot the bill.”
Author Dan Savage, a gay rights advocate and co-founder of the “It Gets Better Project,” wrote in his column Wednesday:
“The Apostolic Truth Tabernacle is in Greensburg, Indiana. That’s the town where Billy Lucas was bullied to death for being perceived to be gay by his classmates. I wonder if they stood up and cheered at Apostolic Truth Tabernacle when Lucas died—hey, another homo in hell.
I wonder if any of Lucas’s tormenters attend services at Apostolic Truth Tabernacle. And remember: I’m an anti-Christian bully for pointing out the connection between what straight kids are taught about ‘homos’ in the shithole mega-churches they’re dragged to by their parents and what they turn around and do to ‘homos’ they encounter in classrooms. And what if that precocious little four-year-old singer is gay? Praise the Lord and pass the barf bags.”
TMZ reported Wednesday that despite the threats, all the members they spoke to had no regrets about the song getting posted online — in fact one said, “The people who are upset just don’t read the word of God. If we don’t teach the children the truth early they will never learn.”
"Build a great big large fence... put all the lesbians in there... Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can't get out..."
"...And you know what, in a few years, they'll die out... Do you know why? They can't reproduce."
Pastor Swirly shows the raging xenophobia that religiosity encourages.
Pardon my language right up front: this fracking a$$hole has no clue how fracking stupid he really is. no i do not want to kiss any man b/c i am a lesbian. if i am going to kiss anyone it will be someone of the same sex as i am. but i ask you rev. do you kiss your wife with those filthy,hateful, homophobic lips? now that would make me sick to my stomach. ~jennifer kiley~
Legalize Marijuana - End the War on Drugs FREE THE WEED
by Jen Kiley
Happy 420!!! Everyone. Legalize Marijuana. Let those who toke not fear government retribution. FREE THE WEED. Stop the War on Drugs. Use the money spent on a futile endeavor and use it to train Law Enforcement to pursue more important matters. Examples: Train the Police to stop bullying legal protesters for supporting their causes. Go after Corporations who are stealing from the people. Go after Domestic Violence; Stalkers; People who shot innocent people and murder them; Try to Stop Murder; Work on ending Homelessness, Hunger. Build Affordable Housing for Everyone. Improve Education so that Children are encouraged to have an Imagination and to be Individuals. Find the resources to afford Everyone who wants a continuing Education to be able to a have one. End Bullying. Make available more resources for Mental Health & the Treatment of Mental Illness so people can find Mental Wellness. Improve the Environment. Work on Creating Greener Ways of Transportation by building Affordable Greener Car & a Rail System throughout the United Stated. Stop the Republicans from taking away Women’s’ Rights. FREE THE WEED. Legalize Marijuana for Medicinal & Recreational Purposes. Those who toke tend not to get behind the wheel of a car the way someone who has the Freedom to drink as much as they want do and end up injuring &/or killing other people and also themselves. Put more Finances into Health Care so that all Have Health Care Insurance which includes Dentists. Support the Arts. Increase the Living Wage. Increase what the Government gives to those people who need to be on Disability. STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS. End AIDS. End CANCER. Put more resources into Research. Protect Animals and their Environment. CLEAN UP THE PLANET. Improve the FOOD everyone eats. STOP PREJUDICE. END HOMOPHOBIA. END RACISM. FREE THE WEED. Legalize MARIJUANA. Happy 420!!! National Weed Day.
Bullying is an issue everyone, whether you have children or not, should be concerned with and should be upset about. This post that Vampire Maman wrote brought up many important points that need to be addressed immediately. Bullying should not be tolerated or allowed to exist in our school systems. Go to her site and read the complete post. Join in the non-violent fight of stopping this HORRIBLY SAD situation, where children think that suicide is the only answer to ending the pain of bullying. Stopping the Bullies is the answer and coming to the aid of those who need help. Tell them it will be alright. Help stop their pain by stopping the torture and stopping teen suicide because of it. "Teen Suicides - I wish I had a real answer" written by Vampire Maman *******I have the film "Bully" but I haven't watched it yet. My therapist thought it would be too triggering. Someday soon I am going to see it. (She gave me her approval today to watch this as long as I do some Art Work while watching to de-stress me. *******The young man in the film, I have heard who was mercilessly bullied, now has come out of his shell because of the film. He has lots of friends. He is a success story. *******Far too many teens have taken the road to commit suicide. It is far too painful and the bullies are far too merciless. *******I understand the effects of bullying. I was in music, marching band, orchestra, theatre, sports, and other activities that drew unwanted attention to myself. I didn't fit in anywhere, and I was also extremely shy. But when I was in school the bullying wasn't what it is today. Suicide wasn't the first solution. I don't remember anyone succeeding or attempting suicide. But I may have just blocked it all out. I know that I did think about it. I even did try to commit suicide because of the pain inside of me.But I realized that suicide wasn't the answer. I didn't want to die, I just wanted the pain to stop. *******It seems that today, it is the first resort to ending the pain. Like you, I don't know the answers. If you tell on the bullies, you are considered a snitch, and it makes the bullying worse. I think you are right , there should be a no tolerance rule on bullying. You bully kids you are out of that school. Try a little home schooling on the bullies. Let the other kids live in peace. ******* I suppose, if I were a student today, I might or rather I would be one of the at risk kids to commit suicide. I know from the way I felt at that age, I would not be able to take the kind of torture they are handing out today. *******I think maybe it is time for me to watch the film "Bully." It is one of the top issues I try to focus on and I try to talk about on the secret keeper, but I haven't done it recently. I have an avatar of purple lightning on FB that I vowed I would not replace until bullying was brought under control and stopped. *******It is time to watch the film, review it and to talk about it. *******Vampire Maman, your post is great. Something I needed to read right now. Thank you for bringing up the issue to help people become more aware. There does need to be a constant awareness bringing "Bullying" to everyone's attention. We need to be continually reminded that the issue exists. *******It is curious that I happened to be talking to my partner Shawn about this just this past week. I wondered where was our copy of "Bully." I told her about the boy I mentioned above. I lost my point. Until I remember, I would like to say that I think the point of Vampire Maman's of giving strong support to the weaker kids is a brilliant idea. All kids should get involved. *******I remember. It was about one of the authority figures on a film clip I had viewed, who was from the school where the film "Bully" took place. She said, that "she has ridden the bus in question," (she is talking to some parents,) "and the kids were nothing but behaved. There wasn't any problem here, that she saw." Well, she sounds like a real idiot. Does she really think those kids, especially the bullies, are going to act out while she is present. How stupid is she. This is the mentality kids and parents are dealing with, because they don't see it, it isn't happening. They would rather not see reality, that way they don't have to do anything about it, or feel responsible for the bullying happening. Who knows maybe some of them were bullies themselves and feel, "well, isn't that too bad. why don't they stop whining and just suck it up." *******Something has too happen in the schools. Bullying should be tantamount to abuse on many levels and should not be tolerated and should be prosecuted. It's plain out and out torture. *******Since when is it ok to torture kids. It's like one level below domestic violence, which once upon a time was ignored, and not considered significant enough for the police to do anything about it, until someone was usually killed. *******I am going to reblog this, and later today I'm going to try to find our copy of the film "Bully" and watch it. *******Sometime this week, if I am able, I am going to write a review of the film "Bully". But if not this week I will do it as soon as I am able to. It will be soon, I promise you that. jk the secret keeper. ps. A Great Post Vampire Maman. jk the secret keeper *******STOP BULLYING NOW---*******STOP TEEN SUICIDE NOW---*******SUICIDE IS NOT THE ANSWER---*******IT IS ONLY AN ALL TOO PERMANENT ANSWER FOR A TEMPORARY PROBLEM.
Because bullying is a dumb and stupid waste of time! Try to shake it off the mean hurtful stuff and keep on doing the right stuff that is going to help you become a better person and when i say a better person i mean more than a better person! ― Skye Daphne, The Witch who was a princess 
