"Bully" Is Being Bullied, Oh The Irony

      We've gone to great lengths in previous posts describing the horrors of bullying, it is a real problem within schools, it's a problem that has existed for a long time and has been ignored for a long time. It is interesting how bullying has become a norm, how we just accept it as a fact of life, something that cannot be changed and therefore we rarely address or even attempt to do something about it. If we were to make a list of all the movies that include bullies within them this post would go for quite a while, there have been a ton and only a few talk about change, a movie like "Charlie Bartlett" does cover both the bully and the process of change for a bully, but that is one movie among a list of few that do take it to the next level.

      In the last few years we have seen a shift occur, it is no longer the bullies that rule over society but those that were being bullied, hence the shift in attention towards bullying, this has been a fight that many ignore still, but it is a fight that has been brought to light, raising awareness to this horrid ignored problem. There is hope, there are some out there who are fighting for change, and though it is a tough battle, through the power of technology we can raise awareness, and maybe one day we can end bullying. Recently a team got together to do a documentary on bullying called "Bully", it is directed by the great Lee Hirsch, and depicts the lives of various youth who go through bullying and their struggles, he puts the truth out there right in our faces in order to raise awareness to this problem, in order to do something to try to end this disease.

     But, yes there is a but, the MPAA decided to give this movie an "R" rating, when fought on it they threatened with a "NC17" rating, here is a movie that all teens should watch, a movie that needs to be passed around in order for the problem to be understood, for teens' eyes to be opened, and see what bullying really does and the MPAA decides to bully the movie that is trying to fight bullying, no wonder the world reacted negatively to this. So a fight broke out, it has been a very interesting few week, how countries have stood up against the MPAA, Canada for instance gave it a PG13 rating, Europe the same, and more countries are standing up and defending this movie, the reason is simple, bullying is universal, it is a universal problem, an epidemic that needs to be fought and this movie is one of the few ways by which this can be done.

    For more information on "Bully" you can click on the picture above which will lead you to their site, or click here and you'll be taken there. This is a documentary that we recommend to all, that we feel everyone should watch and learn from, this is a cause we all should be aware of and fight against. We should stand up against those that are trying to hide the problem, and educate the future generations of this epidemic, the dream of a world with less bullying is no illusion, but a reality, in a sense some will always be bullies, but in another sense we can reduce those numbers. Evil can always be fought, though it may always remain present it can be reduced and that is something worth fighting for.

    We hope you have been having a great week, and pray that your week finishes well. For all those that are in Spring Break right now we pray for your safety, have fun, enjoy yourselves but please be safe.

Love from your humble blogger,

What Can I Do?

     This is the question that most have asked after being challenged to change the world. When we are faced with the cruel circumstances surrounding this world and someone calls out to us for help, one can't help but ask oneself "What can I do? I'm just one person!", and thus we block out the calls for help, we block out the issues that are taking place around us, and we go on living our day to day lives. This applies to many different issues, but with keeping with the theme for this week, fighting racism, we've come up with a five step process, where anyone can make a difference. This process applies to a large quantity of issues, and is a way by which you can go out there today and make a difference.

  Open

     As the old Buddhist monks have said "if you're cup is full how can you learn? You must first empty your cup in order to be able to attain wisdom". In this same way we must look into ourselves and realize that we have biases, we have preconceived notions about the world around us, about how people behave, and about what we know about a certain culture. The first step to fighting prejudice is to realize that you in some level are prejudice, everyone is initially, and that before you can go out there making a difference you must first open yourself to the world and attempt to get rid of these notions and prejudices within yourself. Before you go out there to impact the world you must empty yourself of your prejudices, this is the first step.

    Learn

     After you have purged yourself of your prejudices you will be ready to begin to re-educate yourself on those things you previously had a preconceived notion about. This applies to all nationalities, for all people have need to learn about their surrounding nations without the veil of prejudice. So take your time to actually make some friends within a different culture, learn about their culture from them, and defeat your own prejudices that you grew up with. At the same time see how hard it is to be that person, understand the social hardships that person faces, and in understanding you will grow to see the world within a new light. This new light will be able to guide you into the next step, and this experience will help you grow and mature into a person that brings about change, this is the second step.

   Watch

    Now that you are no longer approaching a particular people group with the eyes of prejudice, learning about them, befriending them, now comes a time of understanding what they go through. This is the time you open your eyes to the world, open your eyes to all the issues going around the world and come to an understanding of  how this particular group has been slighted. This is the time where your eyes will be opened to the truth, the truth that prejudice is running rampant within our nation, that this prejudice does not have one face but many faces, meaning that the dream is not to have two people groups accept one another but to have all people groups accept one another. This will be the time where your eyes will be able to perceive the truth for the first time, and for the first time you will get that sick feeling at the pit of your stomach, that same feeling one gets when one witnesses a great injustice. This is the third step.

   Speak

    Once your eyes have been opened to the truth there is no way to close them again, once you have experienced evil there is no forgetting the matter, thus this is the time where you speak out against it. This could be a simple reprimand of someone being prejudice, this could be stopping a group of people from telling racist jokes, or boycotting a TV show for the harm it does to a particular culture, this could be joining a protest union or supporting one, there are many things one can to that make a difference in the long run. The protest point is important, not everyone can go out there and give up everything to join a cause, but on the other hand everyone can donate to a cause in order to help the fight. Of course one must always be wise about donating money, finding a good charity is essential, not all movements are faithful with the donations received, this is a great evil to be discussed at another time. The fourth step is to speak out against those that are prejudice, by speaking you are making a difference.

  Teach

     After you have gone through this whole process and have reached a level of understanding you are now bound to teach what you have learned. What is the point to learning how to be a better human being if you do not share that knowledge with anyone else? There is a huge need for education, for re-education, and without this focus on education a movement will die. This is a simple truth, any idea that is not taught to the next generation will eventually grow obsolete and die, hence the importance of teaching what you know, may it be to your kids, your friends, your parents, a classroom, an audience and so forth. This current generation for the most part was taught well about the evils of racism and prejudice, and thus we must continue to teach future generations about the evils surrounding those words. This is the fifth step, teaching others in order to raise awareness.

     In hope for a better tomorrow we pray that this week's posts have impacted you in some way, be it an encouragement or reenforcing a calling, whichever we hope that we can all band together and fight to bring about a better world, one free of prejudice and racism. Everyone can do something, every little bit counts.

   We hope you have a great weekend, rest well and be safe,

Love from your humble blogger,