A History of Bullying...When, where, and how does it stop?

September 28, 2011

A History of Bullying...When, where, and how does it stop?

Miss Gulch: If you don't hand over that dog, I'll bring a damage suit that'll take your whole farm! There's a law protecting folks against dogs that bite!
Auntie Em: How would it be if she keeps him tied up? He's really gentle... with gentle people, that is.

Happy hump day everyone. Hope u all have a great one.

Yesterday, I posted an item on my Facebook page about yet another suicide due to the torment one received because of his sexuality. There have been too many suicides over the past few years because of bullying. For far too many years, it has been ignored. The internet has brought it to a level like no other time in our history. When I was in high school, if a guy asked a girl out on a date and she rejected him, he might retaliate by making up some bad rumor about her by telling a few friends and little by little it might trickle through the school system destroying her reputation. Today, by a single click of a button, that same information can go to thousands initially and then even further if those that receive the information decide to forward it even further. AND it is ALWAYS there! How do you ever remove that content?

Bullying has been a part of our culture since the beginning of time.Look at Cain and Abel.

One brother kills the other...wonder if the the world ever will recover.Cain and Abel seem to still be causing trouble.'
In all versions of the Bible, Cain is a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel is a shepherd.
Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first murder by killing his brother, after God has rejected his offerings of produce but accepted the animal sacrifices brought by Abel.

There are stories of oppression throughout the Bible. That is exactly what bullying is: OPPRESSION! It has been a part of every aspect of our lives. One feeling that one may have dominion over another. It is a part of the very first pieces of drama and literature that we have.
The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century Dead Sea Scrolls.Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other texts,and the story is the subject of various interpretations.
Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as an ancestor of evil.
A few scholars suggest the periscope may have been based on a Sumerian story representing the conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers.Others think that it may refer to the days in which agriculture began to replace the ways of the hunter-gatherer.Literature, especially children's literature, is replete with bullies of all sorts and since most of us have dealt with a bully (maybe even in ourselves) in one way or another in real life, they make an interesting sort of sub-group of villains. Of course, villainy is a small step from bullies and you can move into a study of villains real and imaginary but, for now, let's restrict ourselves to bullies, per se.

And of course, bullies are very much a part of our movie consciousness. Margaret Hamilton made a career out of playing bullies.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford did as well and who could forget Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed?

The Bad Seed is a 1956 American horror-thriller film directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
It is based upon a play (of the same name) by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn is based upon William March's 1954 novel The Bad Seed.
The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of the film.

It stars Nancy Kelly (pictured), Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden, William Hopper, Paul Fix, Joan Croydon and Jesse White.
The Bad Seed was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Nancy Kelly), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Eileen Heckart and Patty McCormack, separately) and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.
On her piano, Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) plays the French song "Au clair de la lune", while her father (William Hopper) says his goodbyes to her and his wife, Christine (Nancy Kelly), as he goes away on military duty.

Their neighbor and landlord, Monica Breedlove (Evelyn Varden), comes in with a present for Rhoda (a locket). Rhoda, looking pristine and proper in her perfect dress and pigtails, thanks Monica for the gift. She then tap dances on the hard floor. Monica notices the tap shoes, and Rhoda says the shoes were her own idea. They then discuss a penmanship medal that Rhoda lost to her schoolmate, Claude Daigle, and how infuriating it was for her to lose. Christine and Rhoda leave for the school picnic at a nearby lake.
Later, Christine is having lunch with Monica and friends when they learn on the radio that a child has drowned in the lake where Rhoda's school was having their picnic.
Christine worries that it could be Rhoda, but a follow-up report indicates that it was Rhoda's schoolmate, Claude Daigle. Relieved that her daughter is alive, Christine worries that her daughter might be traumatized by seeing the boy’s corpse. When Rhoda returns, however, she is unfazed by the incident and goes about her daily duties.

Nelson Muntz...is one of the greatest bullies of all-time...

Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh ("HA-Haw!").Evil and The Devil are also a bully as seen in this clip: Over the years, Nelson has terrorized virtually everyone in Springfield.
However, he rarely associates with the other bullies of the school, namely Jimbo Jones, Dolph and Kearney, who form a separate clique of their own.
He shows the occasional glimpse of humanity, however, and other characters have occasionally warmed to him; Lisa dates him briefly in "Lisa's Date With Density", Marge informally adopts him in "Sleeping with the Enemy", and Bart is shown as a friend to him several times, such as in "The Haw-Hawed Couple".
Even in a life-or-death situation, Nelson laughs at the one in misfortune.
Often, he makes his victim inflict self-punishment while yelling remarks like "Stop hitting yourself!", "Stop butlering yourself!", "Stop zapping yourself!", or "Stop endangering yourself!".
Usually, it is Milhouse and Martin who are subjected to this type of cruelty, although Nelson once described Bart as having "spiky hair, soft kidneys, and always hitting himself".

Cruella de Ville !

The cowardly lion tried very hard to be a bully because of his own low self-esteem. Once he found his courage, he didn't need to do that anymore - part of his character development."

Of course these are all fictitious depictions of bullying. But Bullying is a very real situation and concerns ALL of us. I was a bullied child for at least the first 18 years of my life. I was called sissy, and the "f" word, and the "Q" word when I knew nothing of my sexuality. It's because of the venom associated with those words that I REFUSE to accept them even when my own community tells me to embrace a word associated with hatred. My own father made fun of me because I wouldn't fight back. Fighting was not part of my nature then and it is not part of my nature now.
Even my own teachers were no refuge when I went to them. My partners used to leave us with a woman when I was eight and nine and her son used to torture me physically. NO ONE believed me when I cried out for help. I can't even imagine what my life would have been like if the internet was available to spew their hatred. But it's not just kids that are getting bullied and bully each other. We have chat boards where people so the most hateful vitriolic and vile things about people they know nothing of. I have chosen a profession (or it chose me) where I am constantly dealing with rejection on an almost daily basis. It's hard enough that our every move is scrutinized by the professionals in this business, now every person feels that they have a right to criticize.

When it was announced that Chaz Bono was going to appear on Dancing With The Stars, the hatred that came with that announcement was shocking and obscene. It wasn't just from tweets on twitter and Facebook posts, it also came from comedians who feel they have carte blanche to say hurtful things about people.

This was posted by Andrea Peyser last week, "
For some folks in the gay community, "Becoming Chaz" is unbecoming.

The man known as Chaz was born Chastity Bono, the cutie-pie daughter of
scenery-chewing singing duo Sonny and Cher. Chastity grew into a
depressed,pill-popping woman, traumatized by her Republican father's death in a
skiing accident, and overshadowed into invisibility by her gay-icon mother. There
was only one thing to do. Sex change."

Perhaps it's just me, but this is HATEFUL. I think GLAAD should go after Andrea! When did SHE become the spokesperson for the gay community? I guess I travel in different circles. I don't hang out with or associate with those who feel that it is acceptible to spew hatred. Andrea goes on, "Now -- to her mom's horror and the dismay of her lesbian girlfriend --
she's transformed. At 42, Chaz is a new man, in more ways than one. He has become a one-human
sex-change industry -- evangelizing, normalizing and selling the notion
that messing with one's gender identity is a reasonable choice for folks
who,
let's face it, might benefit from day jobs.But in the gay universe, a debate rages over whether Chaz is the
well-adjusted guy he claims to be. Or is Chaz -- who's chosen a four-letter
persona
strikingly similar that of his one-named mother, Cher -- using his stardom
to work out long-standing mommy issues?
Is Chaz's sex-change a stab in Cher's heart?"

I think those issues are respectfully between Chaz and Cher.

Then there are shows like The A-List. Here are the descriptions from three of the episodes this season: ‘Lies, Hypocrisy & Marriage Equality’: Alliances shift and tables are turned as Austin continues to alienate those closest to him. He and Jake continue to plan their wedding even though their relationship has dissolved to nothing more than fake smiles and a pack of lies. Will Austin and Jake make it down the aisle? And if they do, will anyone even show up for the wedding!?

Wig Parties and Threesomes’:Austin's on the outs as Nyasha makes her move at securing friendships to support her company's new product line. Meanwhile, Reichen's the only guy left who will even talk to Austin. But as their relationship grows, so do Jake's suspicions as he suddenly becomes a third wheel to his own boyfriend.

‘Cattiness on the Catwalk’:Ryan enlists the A-Listers to walk in his runway show, but with Austin in the same room as ex-bestie Derek and archenemy Nyasha, the real show ends up backstage. Shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals cast Austin out of his social circle and onto a path to self-destruction.

I KNOW there is an audience for this show but can we PLEASE have at least one POSITIVE role model for our youth?

LOGO, the network aimed at the LGBT community, focuses its programming on those shows that deal with bitchiness and cattiness. When our youth see these images, are we surprised when they act out as they do? I'm not asking for censorship but a more rounded portayal of our community.

A 14 yr old boy took his own life because of being bullied for being bisexual. This didn't have to happen. BULLYING IS FOR LOSERS. RIP Jamey. Jamey Rodemeyer, was yet another in what is an all-too-familiar pattern of a boy who is gay, or perceived to be gay, being harassed and bullied constantly until he snaps and kills himself.

Singer Lady Gaga asked President Obama at a fundraiser Sunday night in California to do what he could to prevent the bullying of young people.God bless you Lady Gaga for the attention you are bringing to this important issue! I am here if you need me!

The request came during a question-and-answer session closed to the media, according to reports.
Bullying is a problem that affects millions of students of all races and classes. 1 out of 4 kids is bullied and 43% of kids have been bullied while online. Child and teen Bullying and Cyberbullying are at an all-time high. Some kids are so tormented that suicide has become an alternative for them. It has everyone worried. Not just the kids on its receiving end, but the parents, teachers and others who may not understand how extreme bullying can get. Love Our Children USA is working aggressively to prevent these issues and to help the kids and teens affected by it.

Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!

Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!

Now, GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TONIGHT!

Thank you WIKIPEDIA for many of the details of this blog.

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Tomorrow's blog will be about...Madeline Kahn (on what would have been her 69th birthday) and an upcoming Actors Fund Benefit! I'm open to suggestions! I'm seeking a video question for tomorrow!