8th grade BF plan suicide

[MoeMoe]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/suicide-pact-minnesota-eighth-graders-haylee-fentress-paige/story?id=13411751


this is just so horribly sad.....something must be done to stop bullying.....

[derricksonb]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/suicide-pact-minnesota-eighth-graders-haylee-fentress-paige/story?id=13411751


this is just so horribly sad.....something must be done to stop bullying.....

What does bullying have to do with this story??? This was a young girl who had self esteem and anger management issues and another who obviously had a follower mentality. Some teenagers commit suicide for a variety of reasons. At least these two didn't go Columbine and endanger their peers.

[Chutney Daftcraft]

http://diaryofmiddleagedmom.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/best_friends_forever.gif

[AAT53]

What does bullying have to do with this story??? This was a young girl who had self esteem and anger management issues and another who obviously had a follower mentality. Some teenagers commit suicide for a variety of reasons. At least these two didn't go Columbine and endanger their peers.

"She was made fun of for being overweight, her red hair," Settle said. "She posted on my [Facebook] wall that she really wanted to come back...that the people were mean and cruel and she didn't fit in."



Even though Haylee wasn't severely overweight, she was so uncomfortable about her size that she rarely ate in public at school, Settle said.

[derricksonb]

"She was made fun of for being overweight, her red hair," Settle said. "She posted on my [Facebook] wall that she really wanted to come back...that the people were mean and cruel and she didn't fit in."



Even though Haylee wasn't severely overweight, she was so uncomfortable about her size that she rarely ate in public at school, Settle said.

So how exactly is her personal hang-ups about her hair color or (as her uncle stated) her "big, round face" equivalent to being bullied? If she was bullied by anyone, it was by herself.

[AAT53]

So how exactly is her personal hang-ups about her hair color or (as her uncle stated) her "big, round face" equivalent to being bullied? If she was bullied by anyone, it was by herself.

In schools, that is bullying. Doesn't matter what you think it is.

I'm sure you will have fun with your "but it's her own fault she felt that way" stuff, but bottom line is there are two young girls dead. There was no reason for anyone to be picking on her because of her hair or weight. Doing so is simply bullying. Some will understand that and some will not.

[Tony]

Certainly there are different degrees of bullying. Part of the social education school is supposed to give you is the ability to fight back. Kids have always been mean to each other.

[MoeMoe]

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/23/seath-tyler-jackson-remembered-in-florida-as-spunky-bright/ this is am even more unreal story.....WTH...

[AAT53]

Certainly there are different degrees of bullying. Part of the social education school is supposed to give you is the ability to fight back. Kids have always been mean to each other.

So? There are some who can say "my family has always hated blacks/northerners/hispanics/whatever"..does that mean each generation should continue to be taught to be mean/hateful?

As parents we should aspire to teach our children better and to teach them how to make it in this world without the need to pick on others to make them feel better about themselves. I want my children to be confident enough in themselves to not have to get power from picking on others. That is weak and I don't want my kids to be weak.

[Tony]

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/23/seath-tyler-jackson-remembered-in-florida-as-spunky-bright/ this is am even more unreal story.....WTH...I saw that one yesterday as well, and another, and then there's the McDonald's beating that's gone viral. But I don't think any of those are quite the same as two bff's hanging themselves to death.

[MoeMoe]

McDonald's beating that's gone viral.

I missed that one....just seems to get worse each day.......

[derricksonb]

In schools, that is bullying. Doesn't matter what you think it is.

So? There are some who can say "my family has always hated blacks/northerners/hispanics/whatever"..does that mean each generation should continue to be taught to be mean/hateful?

As parents we should aspire to teach our children better and to teach them how to make it in this world without the need to pick on others to make them feel better about themselves. I want my children to be confident enough in themselves to not have to get power from picking on others. That is weak and I don't want my kids to be weak.

As parents we should also teach our children to be confident enough to stand up and be able defend themselves from those who would bully them... Oh, wait. The current pussification of our children in public schools has created an environment in which they can't or are afraid to defend themselves. So maybe it is us who is to blame for the death of these girls for letting our elected and civil employees decide how our children should act or be disciplined instead of allowing the parents to or the community in general make those decisions.

[Chutney Daftcraft]

http://kimages.imikimi.com/image/QLeB-105-1.jpg?height=640&scale=max&width=640

[Black Dog]

http://kimages.imikimi.com/image/QLeB-105-1.jpg?height=640&scale=max&width=640
I really can't believe you posted this.

[Chutney Daftcraft]

Um, Yeah. I guess I went over the top.

[AAT53]

As parents we should also teach our children to be confident enough to stand up and be able defend themselves from those who would bully them... Oh, wait. The current pussification of our children in public schools has created an environment in which they can't or are afraid to defend themselves. So maybe it is us who is to blame for the death of these girls for letting our elected and civil employees decide how our children should act or be disciplined instead of allowing the parents to or the community in general make those decisions.

If parents raised their children not to pick on others, then why would anyone have to defend against it?

Your theory works as long as there are ignorant parents who believe that it is okay to have bullies as long as they teach their kid to stand up to bullies.

My theory works as long as there are parents who step up and take the time to parent their children when it comes to being a better person and not needing to feel better about themselves by putting down someone else.

There would be no need to defend against something that didn't exist. However, I realize that laziness in parenting is much easier and so that will be the dominate parenting technique. That being the case, since parents can't seem to parent then unfortunately the schools have to step in and make school a safe place for all children.

[derricksonb]

I wholeheartedly disagree. Good parents realize that not all kids are created equal. Good parents push their kids to excel in all areas, are able to recognize what they are doing well, where they can use some improvement, and can recognize kids that are holding theirs back and/or those who are potentially holding their children back from reaching their full potential. Now I don't believe in putting children down, but sometimes you have to call it like it is, and this particular girl had severe emotional and anger issues. Good parents would have recognized that and the other child's parents should have been parents and kept their kid away.

Again, what this situation showed to me is that there was no bullying except on the part of the one teen against the other who also hung herself. Tragic. Yes. Avoidable. Definitely. I expect the parents will be divorced within a year.

Also, you're never going to control teenagers making fun of others. It's a rite of passage. The only one's who want it controlled are the ones who were to weak to be able to put it back on the bullies in the first place. I was bullied in jr high. However, I was able to flip the script. A future trash man is no match for a future engineer..... It's not wrong to teach your kids about social classes. Chances are it's going to play out that way.

[BigTom]

How about if you parents teach your kids the ability to realize their own self worth? Make it possible for your kids to understand what's good in them no matter what others say or think. Teach them that they're not here to be what others think they should be. Teach them about honesty and morals, teach them how to set their own standards, and how to achieve them. Let them build on a foundation of good core values.
Let others say what they will but a person who is satisfied with himself doesn't let bullies bother him.
Quit blaming this only on the bullies, all kids are bullied and teased at some point get over it. Take some responsibility for your kids and teach them to take some responsibility for themselves. Otherwise you're raising a generation of cry babies who blame their shortcomongs and failures on someone else.

[Chutney Daftcraft]

Quit blaming this only on the bullies, all kids are bullied and teased at some point get over it.

While this is somewhat correct, I think it's the extreme cases that produce the extreme results.

Also, just because something has been going on forever doesn't make it right. The bully deserves their portion of the blame because bullying doesn't exist without them. And how do you teach kids to take responsibility for themselves? Do you mean like it's their fault they're being bullied?

The problem here is that nobody will discuss how to REALLY stop bullying. Take a stand against the bully, SNAP in the most insane fashion possible, and inflict as much bodily injury on them as is possible before the fight gets broken up by some meddling teacher, then keep trying to go after them even after you're restrained. It's better for people to think you have a certifiably imbalanced temper than it is for them to think they can bully you throughout your school experience...