As I was checking Facebook this morning, I came across an article that disturbed me greatly. A 12 year old boy in California took his own life because he was bullied for being the only male cheer leader on the squad. He was taunted about being gay and I'm sure a host of other horrific things until he was taken out of the local Jr High and was home schooled. This apparently didn't fix the problem and he still felt that his only option was to take his life. A link to the story can be found here: Story.
It is things like this that make me want to shake the world and wake it up to the reality of suffering. There are people who wake up every day and cry because they have to face the world again. Activities once loved become uninteresting or a burden or, in as in this boys case, the source of his pain.
Lets look at that point for just a second: he loved cheer leading, and yet it was for that same thing that he was being teased. I don't know this boy, his personality, or anything about him; that being said, I can guess that he was experiencing some intense cognitive dissonance. Cognitive Dissonance, according to dictionary.com, is a, "psychological conflict resulting from simultaneously held incongruous beliefs and attitudes (as a fondness for smoking and a belief that it is harmful)." It is likely that he both loved and hated cheering. Which is an absolute tragedy because a 12 year old boy should be allowed to do whatever he is passionate about without the fear of being bullied.
Bullying is never OK. Never. Stand up and stop bullying.
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