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It Gets Better: Atheists for a Bully-free World

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Atheists for a Bully-free World

Location: USA
Members: 40
Latest Activity: Apr 13

1 member likes this

Welcome to It Gets Better

Bullying and teen suicide are nothing new, but in recent years we have become increasingly aware of the damage bullying does ― to both children and adults alike ― with what seems to be a sudden spike in teen suicides related to being bulled.

The death of a child, particularly at his or her own hands, is never acceptable. It is a blight on human society that schools do not do more to prevent this, that parents can raise their children to be mean and spiteful to others, and that bullied kids don't have a support system on which they can rely when they are faced with feelings of despair and isolation.

The content of this group will undoubtedly be difficult to deal with. It is painful to see children ostracized from their peers, and made to feel as if they don't matter or don't belong. Of course, bullying is not confined to schools, either. Many adults experience bullying at home or in the workplace as well. All these issues will be explored in this group.

ONGOING THREADS
In Memoriam: Remembering the Victims of Bullying
Coping with Bullying: Videos, News, and PSAs

EXTERNAL LINKS
StopBullying.gov
It Gets Better Project
It Gets Better Project - Official YouTube Channel
The Trevor Project
Jared Story.com
Bullying Education.org
Bullycide in America
Respect U
The Price of Hate
Kindness Above Malice
School Bullying Council
Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Bullying

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Comment by Loren Miller on April 21, 2012 at 9:11pm: Regarding the death of Coltyn Mayrand, though I know next to NOTHING about it, let me say this:

Never, never, NEVER underestimate the effect of stress on ANY situation or person. Stress rarely makes situations better and frequently makes them much worse, particularly where the one being stressed is compromised by other stressors at the same time. And make no mistake: bullying is a stress source.

That's all I got.

Comment by Dallas the Phallus on April 21, 2012 at 6:55pm: Canadian Trans Teen’s Sudden Death May Have Been Bullying-Related Suicide

The small town of Chatham, Ontario has been rocked by the sudden death of Coltyn Mayrand, a 16-year-old trans teen who passed away Saturday night.

There is some question, though, as to the cause of Mayrand’s death: He’s believed to have committed suicide, though no official report has been made public. And though family members admit Coltyn was bullied for being trans, they say it wasn’t the root of his problems:

“As much as bullying is a terrible thing, and may have affected Coltyn, we do not believe that bullying played a large part in our loss of Coltyn,” posted Page Elizabeth Mayrand on Facebook. “We appreciate the kind thoughts and words, but we don’t need everyone out there putting blame and criticisms on anyone, for any reasons.”

Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/canadian-trans-teens-sudden-death-may-have-b...

Comment by Steph S. on April 5, 2012 at 10:34am: Great a new video! I agree bullying should not be tolerated. I'm glad to be a member of this group.

Comment by Dallas the Phallus on April 5, 2012 at 8:21am: Agreed. However, no matter how great that video is, human nature being what it is means that at least part of it was simply a vaneer. Many of those kids do, and will continue to, bully or talk trash about other kids. Sad but true. Still, it was a great effort on the part of those kids and that school. That's really stepping up to the plate, imo.

Comment by Loren Miller on April 5, 2012 at 6:14am: That video reflects what it's going to take, DG: an INTEGRATED attitude on the part of the student population, where Bullying Is NOT Tolerated. Culturing such an attitude in some places is going to be a trick, because of cliquishness or indifference. It also means culturing EMPATHY (my pet word these days!) at a far younger age than I've seen it in my lifetime.

Hope it's doable.