Bullying

A teen named Amanda Todd killed herself earlier this week due to bullying. Previously, she had made a popular video on youtube of her telling her story through hand written cards. As the result of the bullying and harassment, Amanda turned to drugs and alcohol and even drinking bleach to comfort her self. She was sent to the hospital numerous times because of overdosing until her death. 

People may see bullying as a social norm. I believe quite the contrary, that bullying should have strictly enforced punishments. Bullying makes people feel insecure and actually makes the bully feel secure about themselves when they put others down. But how far can bullying go? Bullying can range from insults, harassment, etc. It could also quickly turn to violence between the bully and their victim.

There is no way to truly prevent bullying, but there are ways we, as a society, can help. We can not only teach the bullies that what they're doing is wrong, but also teach the victim to stand up for themselves, and to not be ashamed of themselves. Everyone at some point in their life has been bullied one way or another. Whether or not people take it seriously, it's clear that something needs to change. Teenage suicide rates are on the rise in the United States. It's a shame that such a young person would feel the need to want to end it all because of some other person. One day I hope to see a place where bullying has vanished, and I hope Amanda Todd will somehow see that her video helped give publicity to the bullying issue.

http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/kids-family/teen-who-posted-video-on-bullying-found-dead/nSbxf/