We rag on newspapers (no pun intended), but this took courage, and gives me hope...

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/iowa-paper-devotes-front-page-fighting-bullying-175921792.html

Iowa paper devotes front page to fighting bullying

In a rare and forceful act of advocacy, an Iowa newspaper devoted the entire front page of its Sunday edition to an anti-bullying editorial after a gay teen committed suicide.

Relatives have said 14-year-old Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. suffered intense harassment, including threatening cellphone calls and nasty comments posted online, after coming out to family and friends about a month ago. He died April 15 from what the local sheriff's office described only as a "self-inflicted injury."

The Sioux City Journal's front-page opinion piece calls on the community to be pro-active in stopping bullying and urges members to learn more about the problem by seeing the acclaimed new film, "Bully," which documents the harassment of a Sioux City middle school student. It notes that while many students are targeted for being gay, "we have learned a bully needs no reason to strike."

More at link, and go Sioux City Journal!!

[sabrina 1]

1. Good for them.

[Tax Man]

2. rec

x100

[BanTheGOP]

3. The bullies are the republican Party members

The bullies represent republicans, and the community represents the progressive, Democratic community. Very well analogized, my friend.

[freshwest]

4. +1,000

[mbuch64]

18. so true

I never met a liberal racist or a bully who wasn't a conservative. And since the advent of 24 hour Faux propaganda it has only gotten worse. We're at a serious crossroad here people. Time to take our country back and when I refer to our country, I am referring to the country the progressives built. You know, the people who got us out of the great depression, won WWII, created social security, built our interstate system (Ike was a marxist compared to today's repub party), oh yeah and I almost forgot, we landed on the moon. Fascism is here and stronger than ever. Get out and vote liberal and get as many as other people out to vote that you can.

[Tax Man]

5. kick

because it really is that important.

for my cousin peter, r.i.p.

[.99center]

6. It starts here

Last edited Tue Apr 24, 2012, 11:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Is a good motto for the Sioux City Journal considering they've been promoting anti-gay bigots for years. Nearly half of Sioux City's local city council is now ran by members of Cornerstone World Outreach which is a far right Christian church with ties to Family Research Council. If they're trying to stop bullying well maybe they should stop printing anti-gay, uncritical articles featuring members of a far right church so often!
They also have been on the attack for BPI for the last month, labeling everyone who wants to know what's in their food as "irrational" and printing articles daily with quotes from great minds like Rick Perry and his take on pink slime. They've been bullying all critics of pink slime and they've featured anti-gay bully's every time they have hate to spew!

THEY MUST STOP BULLYING.
IT STARTS THERE.

[libinnyandia]

12. If the SCJ really cared about bullying it would stop supporting Steve King. And don't get me

started about kscj which originated with the paper.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Don't ask but this sounds like

a local city council...

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

7. k&r

[Tax Man]

8. this thread ~

needs to be in gt.

[OneGrassRoot]

9. Thank you. K&R n/t

[Beowulf]

10. Steve King

That nutball represents Sioux City.

[GETPLANING]

11. Any coward can pick on the defenseless.

It takes character to defend the defenseless.

That's the difference between Paul Ryan and Bernie Sanders.

[truedelphi]

13. Wish I could rec more than once. n/t

[Tax Man]

14. me too /

[MarianJack]

15. This NEEDS to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize!

PEACE!

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. It deserves recognition

But not the pullitzer. It is not investigative journalism or amazing photo. Pullitzers are awarded for those.

That said, they deserve recognition by their peers and the community.

[MarianJack]

19. Fair enough.

Not being a journalist, I don't know the criteria, but yes, recognition is in order.

Unfortunately, as a parent, I know that recognition will mean next to nothing to the parents who have lost their precious son. That is a horror that I selfishly hope my wife and I NEVER go through.

PEACE!