As Anti-Bullying Week continues....the story of 12-year-old Corbin Linklater. Bullying victim and Canadian hero.
Not because of what they did to him.
The video shows 12-year-old Corbin Linklater being stopped on the stairs by a larger teenaged girl who says "I'm gonna' have to break your neck," while several others laugh and videotape the bullying. The abuse goes on for about five minutes as Corbin calmly expresses his right to be himself and not be bullied. It eventually ends when Corbin goes back down the stairs, instead of get involved in a physical confrontation.
But because of the way he reacted.
"I think if I were Corbin's parents I would be very proud of that young man," Karpenko said. "He showed he was not going to get involved in a fight, he stood up for his rights, ultimately he walked away with his dignity and spirit intact. He did everything that he could have to rise above and he did."
And how he insisted on going back to school to face his tormentors.
"He said 'I want to be in class, sir, I've got things to do. I'm here to go to school, sir.' I was impressed. I was impressed before, and now even more so."
What disturbs me is that the Principal needed to watch a YouTube video to understand the horror of what was going on in his own schoolyard.
Like so many other Canadians who seem to have a blind spot for bullying. Or think it isn't their problem. When of course it's Canada's shame.
Canada has one of the highest rates of children in welfare care of all industrialized countries, PEER VIOLENCE AND BULLYING is prevalent...Compared with other industrialized countries, our children are suffering from unacceptable rates of poverty, obesity, mental illness and violence...
And EVERYBODY'S problem.
Sixty percent of those categorized as bullies in school have criminal records by the age of twenty-four.
If you don't stop them when they go after other children.
When they grow up they'll come after you.
The good news is that the kids get it. They're standing up for bullied kids like Corbin.
Corbin stood up for himself.
I'm taking a stand against bullying.
Are YOU?
Bullying problems are on the rise in almost every country which is why I wrote my children's book Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-Downs. All the stories in my book are based on true bullying incidents related to me by students during my school visits and the book is dedicated to a 12-year-old boy who took his own life as a result of being bullied.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra!! Good for you. I'll try to look it up. Anything that can be done to make more people aware of the problem...and how to deal with it...is so welcome. I'm afraid too many people think of it as a rite of passage. But the consequences can be enormous for the bullied kids....and their societies...
ReplyDeleteI don't get why someone is still interested in bullying others,actually,in my place,there's little.people don't want to involve others' here coz everyone has his own ROOM.No one can get in or should.they r really stupid coz when they did ,they didn't care anything ecept their own joy and the joy stands on other's miser.Or i guess r they have some trouble in mind cos they get the own fun things from that kind?!errrr,i'm quite confused with these person who wanna show the strong thing but actually become tiny.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do school visits and we role-play stories from my books, the students invariably choose a bully story to role-play. What I've been doing lately is emphasizing the importance of the bystander, for he/she can be a force to stop or facilitate the bullying.
ReplyDeleteSandra is true,if these bystanders show no interested in or even hate these,then the bully won't go on.
ReplyDeleteHi Ur Merit!!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting...I was wondering what it was like in China. And like you I don't know why people bully others. It's not just young people either...it can be seniors in nursing homes. (I'm going to be doing a lot more about that)
It's a cruel streak in humans and the important thing is to stop and change them when they are young.
And you're right again when you say that bullies want to be big...but it just makes them tiny...
Hi Sandra!! Yes you're rights bystanders are so important. If they just look on and don't say anything...even if they don't agree with it...they are validating it with their silence.
ReplyDeleteI think a great nonconfrontational way to deal with bullies is to invite the bullied child to join your group and turn your back on the bully....