Casey Haynes, an Australian boy, stood up to bully Richard Gale who repeatedly teased him for being fat and, as you'll see in the interview, began to physically attack Casey. Casey had enough and fought back to defend himself. Richard responded to Casey's interview in his own, seen here.
Why did Casey have to defend himself like this? His school, teachers, community, and other public institutions failed him. Youth everywhere face bullying both in and outside of school. Bullying is often thought of as a school problem which results in some campaigns within educational systems to raise awareness of it. Yes, in some instances some schools might help the situation; however, in too many schools, parks, busses, trains, rec centres, back yards, and alleys bullying is ignored.
Only recently have anti-bullying campaigns began to reach beyond the confines of schools. In the last couple years here in Canada has Pink Shirt Day become widely supported. The idea is that everyone who is against bullying wears pink on one day. Yes, this is great and it raises awareness. The problem: almost everyone is aware of bullying and knows it should stop. The very very few who might be in denial or not completely understand the situation are ignorant idiots.
What needs to happen, it would seem, are incidents where bullying goes viral and people become enraged to the point of mass public outcries of support. This troubles me. This means that millions, if not billions, of youth are still being bullied, bullying, battling depression, dropping out of school, feeling like shit, and/or committing suicide. I was a victim of bullying growing up. I know how it feels.
To quote a friend in reference to Casey's standing up for himself, "I'm a fat man who was a fat kid bullied in school." It's hard. Being called every horrible hurtful name imaginable. Not being welcomed to any events, tables, groups, or anything. Feeling like you shouldn't even be in school. At times feeling like you shouldn't even be alive. Having your stuff stolen, being pushed into lockers, having your car vandalized. All these things really took a toll on me emotionally. Of course, I wasn't just bullied for being fat, I was bullied for being gay. I didn't even attend my high school graduation ceremony because of it.
What could have been done to help me? Support. Support so that I felt comfortable getting help to stop the bullying--help that would actually help. Teachers, adults, and people in the community who cared would have helped. It felt as though no one cared and that the bullies had all the protections. Every time I stood up for myself I was punished. Every time I complained to a teacher about a bully the bully only got a talking to. I got suspended for standing up for myself.
Elected officials in all levels of government need to respond. The federal government needs to support community programs for public safety both within and outside schools with a focus on the highly vulnerable such as the elderly, youth, women, and disabled. Provincial legislators need to implement educational system reforms which include strict, effective guides for punishing repeat bullies and teaches diversity. Civic governments needs to ensure their community centres, schools, police, business, and citizens will all support the equitable treatment of all. The most significant change will come when each and every individual does their own part to stop bullying.
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