Stand up against Bullying

George’s classmate would always kick him or slap him at the back of his head. One day George had enough, he threw the bully onto the ground and started kicking him. After that day the bully stopped bothering him.
Thats called one way of stopping the bully.

You might wonder if others have had this experience. Bullying was never a new problem it is just that more people are becoming aware of the problem now. To see how many teenagers are bullied, the reporter put a poll on a social media website. Of the 50 votes 80% (40 teenagers) are bullied. And the remaining 20% have not been bullied. The reporter took another poll to see how many people stood up against bullying. Of 43 votes 53% have stood up against bullying while being bullied. 30% of the teenagers have stood up against bullying but they have never been bullied. 9% never stood up for themselves. And only 7% have never stood up for anyone. This shows that some of the teenagers know how to stand up for themselves and a few don’t. “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Tim Fields. Basically, just be yourself even though others might judge you. You should not care of how others perceive you as long as you know who you are.

Peer pressure and bullying are the worst types of influence. People get bullied in many different ways and no one sees nor realizes the pain victims go through physically and emotionally. There are many different reasons to why people bully each other. Some bully for attention or because of misunderstanding differences. ‘People want to destroy your dreams and ruin your life, thats how people are, so ignore them and keep doing your thing’ says Alex a 10th grader. Sometimes bullying starts when the victims friends go too far with teasing them especially when the victim doesn’t let the bully know that they’re going too far. Bully's sometimes bully because they are either jealous or hurt themselves so they put all their anger into hurting someone else.

To find out more about how bullying starts the reporter asked a counsellor for more information. Some bullies lack of self-esteem or confidence so they bully other people. The bully could have possibly been bullied in the past so they repeat the same behaviour on others. If people do not stand up against bullies, then the bullies will feel more empowered.

According to Derek, a grade 11 teenager, ‘If you see someone being bullied,help them, if you ignore the bully; The bully will keep bullying them and others. If no one stops the bullies then who will?’
The people who can’t stand up against bullying can't or just don't know how to fight back on their own and others. They need help and support. Everyone should have the right to feel safe from bullying, and not forced to face it alone.

Victims should try to ignore and avoid the bully because if they don't react to the bully then the bully will stop. Victims should have the courage to stand up against bullies even if the bullies are their own friends. Victims should atleast talk to an adult about their problems. According to the i-Safe America survey of students bullying statistics, about 58 percent of kids admit to never telling an adult when they've been the victim of a bullying attack.

What people do not understand is that if you stand up for yourself against the bullies, they will actually stop bothering you. George adds ‘I used to do judo before, I am still good at throwing people down. Use your strength or learn martial arts to fight off the bullies.’ It is really helpful to block or fight the bullies because most of them just stop after getting their own medicine. You can defend yourself and others from being bullied. To find out more about how victims can stop being bullied the reporter asked the counsellor for more information. If the bully is making fun of you just joke about yourself with them. For example if you got a haircut and the bully is making fun of you just tell them something like ‘Ya, don’t go to that hair salon!’. You can also ask your friends to help you walk away from the bully. If the bully continues making fun of you tell them that it isn’t funny anymore. If you have warned them to stop go and tell a trusted adult. The reporter also asked the counsellor how a bystander can help someone being bullied. A bystander can help by stopping the fight and also help the victim walk away from the bully. They can also go get an adult to help.

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” –Winston Churchill
If you do not stand up for yourself then you will never be free. Take your chance for freedom now or be the fool..

Stand Up For Yourself

‘Don’t listen to what other people say, if you want to do something just do it..’ says Matt.

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Tim Fields.. Basically, just be yourself even though others might judge you. You should not care of how others perceive you as long as you know who you are.

Hidden and alone Larry was always at the back of his group of friends. Larry was in a group of five. Larry shared his story of peer pressure. He was always mistreated and misunderstood by his friends. Even though he was always bullied, he endured the pain. He stayed in the group because he was too scared to be alone. It did not help that everyone in his grade hated all five of them.

One day, Larrys friends started cornering him. They threw Larry on to the ground and started kicking him. The bystanders around them did nothing but laugh at Larry. No one left to go get the teacher. He could hear the dark voices in his head going: ‘What a loser!’ ‘He is so weak’. Some people even started thinking that Larry was a bad person. All of the sudden Larry cracked under pressure.

‘Stop!’ yelled Larry. Silence fell in the corridor only raindrops could be heard. One of the bullies spoke ‘Do you really think we will? A loser like you don’t get to speak up to us.’ One mississippi: ‘You are just a parasite.’ the bully continues . Larry stands up. Two mississippi: ‘A parasite who leeches of every-’ Larry stops the bully by punching him in the face. Three mississippi: Silence again…‘What are you doing?’ yells an infuriated teacher. A teacher showed up at the right place but at the wrong time. Once Larry came back to school after his suspension, he was never bullied again instead people treated him with respect. He felt like Rosa Parks; Fighting for what he wanted.

Peer pressure and bullying are the worst types of influence. ‘People want to destroy your dreams and ruin your life, thats how people are, so ignore them and keep doing your thing’ comments Alex. If people do not stand up against bullies then the bullies will feel more empowered. People get bullied in many different ways and no one sees nor realizes the pain victims go through physically and emotionally.

George wanted to share his story with the reporter. George’s classmate would always kick him or slap him at the back of his head. One day George had enough, he threw the bully onto the ground and started kicking him. After that day the bully stopped bothering him.

George adds ‘I used to do judo before, I am still good at throwing people down. Use your strength or learn martial arts to fight off the bullies.’ It is really helpful to block or fight the bullies because most of them just stop after getting their own medicine. You can defend yourself and others from being bullied.

‘If you see someone being bullied,help them, if you ignore the bully; The bully will keep bullying them and others’ says Derek. ‘If no one stops the bullies then who will?’ adds Derek. Victims should have the courage to fight against bullies even if the bullies are their own friends. It is better to be alone than to be suffering by emotional and physical pain. What people do not understand is that if you stand up for yourself against the bullies, they will actually stop bothering you. Its much better to voice your opinion against the bullies especially in anger and the emotions you feel inside. They will then finally understand how they made you feel.

An 8th grader shared her story with the reporter. She had 6 friends who bullied her both physically and emotionally, one day she finally had enough and stood up to ‘the leader’. The 8th grader’s close friends were on the bullies side they never supported the 8th grader. She would always pick fights with them. But, she never separated away from them. When she did, it was because her close friends also started getting bullied by ‘the leader’. ‘I still regret I didn’t leave them earlier..’

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” –Winston Churchill

If you do not stand up for yourself then you will never be free. Take your chance for freedom now or be the fool..

Stay Healthy

‘The coughing of humans is like a virus’ says a doctor.

If you travelled in the MRT you will have most definitely noticed those children and elders coughing right on your shoulder, neck and even sometimes your ear.

Most people on the MRT do not cover their mouths when coughing.

‘They do not do this as they are worried that their hands will get dirty’ said a 9th grade student. What they do not realise is that, when they do not cover their mouth, it causes the germs to move and work faster (meaning infecting others).

She also includes that ‘They should honestly at least use a tissue paper to cover their mouth while coughing. And if they use a tissue paper they will not be dirtying their hands!..’

Where as there are a few people who wear masks. Another 9th grader was asked her opinion on this topic..’They are not protecting others, actually they are protecting themselves. Since, they are wearing the mask the germs can not affect them.’According to a doctor ‘The smart ones use a mask in the MRT. They are actually self-aware..’

Why are viruses and fevers spreading so quickly on the MRT? ’Lots of people go to the hospital and take a MRT home. Basically you will not be able to know if the person right next to you has an illness..’ according to an anonymous source. ‘I think it is dangerous if we allow sick people on to the MRT. It kind of risks other peoples health..’ he adds.

So, in conclusion the MRT is quite dangerous for our health and more people should take this into consideration.