Pink Power – Our Malaysian kids should learn a thing or two from this!

September 15, 2007 in Citizen of the World, News Items, Youth & Children's Issues

This is a news story about how a school in Nova Scotia, Canada, whose students rallied together to stand up to homophobic school bullies who had harassed and threatened to beat up a younger boy who wore a pink T-shirt to school.

You can read the full story here.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I’d like to applaud the actions of David Shepherd and Travis Price for doing what they did to get back at the bullies in a non-violent way. Gandhi and Mother Teresa would’ve been proud of them. It’s about time for kids to be brave enough to stand up to bullies and to support and encourage those who are bullied. A person’s childhood should be filled with memorable, fun times, not one filled with fear, brutality and terror! Schools’ too, should be place where children learn in an environment that’s conducive, fun and exciting – not one where bullies reign in terror over the weaker and smaller kids and others standing around, pretending that bullying doesn’t exist, praying hard that others are the ones who get bullied and not them.

Bullying is a big, big issue and its prevalent in every society, in every country. I, myself, used to be bullied in high school for two years until I was brave enough to stand up to them after two scary years. I had been threatened at knife point, I was beaten up, called names and was just harassed most of the time because I looked nerdy, bookish, sissish, retarded and weak. My family doesn’t know about this, though I know if my sister is reading this, she’ll be very shocked.

Anyways, what I am saying is that if I had friends like David and Travis when I was in school, I could’ve been spared two years of hell in school. If I had friends who were brave enough to support me, help me to stand up to these bullies, I could’ve been spared the misery and the feelings of despair, helplessness and loneliness that I had felt in those two years in school.

And I am absolutely sure that there are many kids – boys and girls – in our schools today who are facing the same problems as I did when I was in school. They are out there – silent, fear and a sense of helplessness dogged them each they as they stepped into their school, always having to strategise ways to avoid the bullies. But no matter how good they are at hiding and avoiding them, the bullies would eventually get them. Really, how many places in school can you run and hide to and how can you hide when the bullies are in the same classes as you?

I urge everyone who has kids to let them know what a difference they could be when they learn to make a stand for a good cause. I hate to keep hearing some parents say “It’s not your business, don’t interfere!” to their kids when their kids share their friends’ problems with their parents. It’s no wonder kids like these would grow up to become less civic-minded and wouldn’t even lend a hand to help someone in need.

It’s time that parents be concerned and do everything they can to help their kids to help their friends who are in trouble! It’s time we shed this “I don’t care” attitude from our mindset! It’s time to CARE! It’s time that we mould and shape our kids to be like the David and Travis in this Canadian school! It’s time we send a message to bullies that enough is enough, their reign of terror must come to an end!

It’s time, my friends, to put an end to bullying in schools!