I know that all of these cases of bullying and the resulting tragedy that

[WCGreen]

is so much a part of each report tear at the heart of most of us.

I know because I have seen just how cruel people can be.

But to think this is something new and, as some are claiming, that human culture is devolving back to the age when might makes right and that only the strongest survive is, to me, at least, lessening the real issues behind all of this.

It seems to me that the biggest difference between getting bullied when I was young was that it was contained with in a small population. Each event, and there were always many, many examples of this type of torture as long as people gathered together in groups, were dealt with or ignored depending on the make-up of the various communities where this was happening.

What we need to recognize is that with all of these horrible incidents bubbling up to the surface for the whole country to see, it shows that the national mood is now at stake. It becomes a cultural problem and not a local situation.

From where I sit, that is a good thing.

Think about it. Racial problems could be ignored until the media attention made us all aware of how bad and pervasive it really was. MLK and the Freedom riders were not doing battle with "John Bull", but taking the confrontations to the nation.

It wasn't until we all could see the inhumanity of racism that things started to change not just in the South but in the North the East and West.

We complain a lot about how the prurient nature of our culture attracts us to these act of cruelty. But that attention also makes us aware that a problem does exist.

I hope that because of the attention now drawn to the brutality that exists in High Schools and neighborhoods across the country that we will see another step forward in out evolution as a culture.

One can only hope, especially given the current political culture that now openly promotes doing what ever it takes to attain power, that we can rise above.

But I wouldn't place any bet for the short run.

If history proves anything it is that cultural shifts happen slowly.

Let's hope for the sake of all the kids out there dreading even getting out of bed in the morning that all the attention speeds things up.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Cultural shifts do come slowly, too slowly for those kids.

Many more young lives will suffer from the hands of bullies. I do agree though, that all the attention is really a good thing.

You can't cure the disease without killing the organisms that cause it.

And that means that you must know who they are, and what will stop them...

Recommended.

[Heidi]

2. I've seen more than enough cruel adults,

even self-described progressive adults, to not be surprised that some of our young people are cruel. I'd like to see a cultural shift, too, but like you I'm not placing any bets. :(

Edited for speeling.

[hermetic]

3. Please spread the word

about the It Gets Better channel on YouTube where hundreds of videos of GLBT people who have survived the bullying and ended up living happy, fulfilled lives can be viewed. There is already evidence of the positive impact this is having.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfZhjUVlWE

[WCGreen]

4. That's good news....

Thanks for sharing

[Lilith Velkor]

5. This is also the consequence of learning the wrong lesson from Columbine

Yeah, crack down on the victims of bullying, that's real smart. :sarcasm:

I have no hope myself, but acknowledge that things might get better anyway.