Bullying is a topic that’s been addressed at length, not only in other publications, but on the Being Latino platform. Our writers have shared statistics, stories of 
mean girls, personal stories, and even when we as Latinos say hurtful words to and about our very own. We read these words and feel sympathy for these victims, and yet, though we recognize that there’s a problem we don’t often understand the severity, even when it’s resulted in a death unless we’ve been victims ourselves. Unless we’ve seen a child’s pain with our own eyes. Bully, a documentary on peer-to-peer bullying in schools across the U.S., gives us just that: an inside look. It shows us first-hand that places–school buses, cafeterias, and classrooms– that most children find a fun and normal part of their childhood, were and are still places filled with anguish for some.
Bully may not have the answers, but it shows us a pain that goes beyond the physical. The trailer on its own is difficult to watch, but through that reality, this movie can perhaps be the catalyst of a real conversation about what WE can do about the problem if together we can Stand For the Silent.
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I think all the hoopla over bullying is just another ploy to get more government involvement and controls into our lives. Bullying is bad, I was bullied a lot by Latinos and non Latinos when I was a kid, it’s always been around, and sadly it will always be there in the future. But don’t you think it’s odd that all of a sudden it’s one of the only things one hears about? In a massive scale, as if it was something so new. I don’t think this is a coincidence. Just another social problem so the Federal government can legislate more, throw more tax payer money at, inundate the public with 24/7 media saturation/propaganda and put in place more restrictions upon a once free society. Yes, bullying is a problem, always will be, but eradication of it begins in the home, and through proper upbringing, not in the office of a bureaucrat or federal agency.
if you watch the trailer for this movie you’ll see it has more to do with trying to solve the problem in the home & in the community than trying to push it on to a federal agency.
But that’s where we are headed. I have heard that very nanny state attitude even here on BL. Many here will welcome the state doing a lot for them.
lol weird you didn’t mention corporate or rich at all in that statement about govt control, who do you think control benefits? and frankly i doubt it ,they already beat protestors over the head and they’ve got NDAA , what else do they need?
One of the most effective ways to stop bullying is when that bully hits you, you have to make sure that you hit him back harder and more harsh than he or she did to you. Once that is accomplished, they will bully you no more. This is effective in the playground as it is in world politics with rouge nations like Iran or North Korea. Humans are in the end animals. Animals respect strength and power. Don’t be bullied, fight back!
Easier said than done Mario. Only in your Norman Rockwell type world would it be that simple. Sometimes it’s more than one person targeting an individual. This isn’t the 50s where standing up to a bully will get you respect. All they’ll do is go back, get their friends and beat you senseless, and that’s if your lucky. Where I’m from, they bring weapons into play. God forbid you bring kids into this world and teach them to “fight back”. Besides, fighting fire with fire will never solve anything. Just like you with your right wing tactics to think that by hulking up, you can resolve an issue.
Nelson, I know you will love this one: Peace through superior fire power. Forget Norman Rockwell, this one is universal.
…exactly why this country is in the shape it’s in now. Spend trillions on the biggest guns while our students are reading antiquated text books, senior citizens living in poverty, and our infrastructure is slowly crumbling away. It’s alll good though, as long as we have those big shiny guns, right?!!
Well when the Chinese take us over, will Latinos be running to them with open arms for liberating them from the big bad white men? Then we would be so jodido it won’t be funny and those big shinny guns wouldn’t have been so bad after all.
And what’s wrong with Norman Rockwell?
Maybe with the Chinese, we’ll learn to value education more than our current government does.
Mario, the reason why bullying is being addressed now more than ever is because more kids are coming out and saying something which is a very good thing. It used to be that the kid being bullied would not say anything and either had deal with it or fight back which would make it worse for some. You can’t push issues back in the closet and hope it goes away or have some antiquated way of dealing with it.
I agree that it all begins at home, but this isn’t a “meet you on the playground” issue anymore. Rumors and verbal attacks go viral as young people use Twitter and Facebook all day. We’re hearing about it more now because, as Irma said, more young people are reporting it. Also, there have been several suicides reported that seemed to be direct results of bullying. The South Hadley, MA case is one example. The question is will the bullies see this movie and get the message?
The only reason they are talking about bully now is because they are trying to give especial protection to the LGTB comunity . Political correctnes at is worts.
Mg Mc, That is not the reason the issue of bullying is being focused on more. Where is your head? It doesn’t only have to do with the LGTB community. This starts at a very very young age and guess what!! You don’t have to be LGTB to be a victim. This issue is begin focused on because bullying has become more mainstreamed. Kids have various ways to continue their bullying. They have email, texts, Facebook, YouTube, aside from the ridicule they do in school. Kids are killing themselves because of bullying.
Mg Mc, I’m not sure who the ‘they’ are that you recently referenced in your earlier post, but let me assure you that no especial protection is being asked for LGTB communities, merely just a redress of the discriminatory rules still intact within many states where kids who are identified, or who identify as, members of a minority group face verbal and physical assault, psychological and emotional damage, are shunned and frequently asked to discontinue attending school for fear of disturbing others, frequently meaning the perpetuators or passive by-standers. Unless attitudes change, and laws are established to be upheld by administrators, school officials, and the legal system, it is to easy to be apathetic or be swayed by traditional religious views, which favor some and not others. If the struggle for equality seems a demand for special entitlement (at least in your eyes), consider empathy, an emotional state curiously out of fashion in some parts.
We wonder where kids learn to bully other kids? They learn it from adults. I don’t know why it seems like now we are paying more attention to the issue but I am pretty sure there is no gay agenda or political conspiracy behind it.