When I was a freshman in high school, I remember a day when the entire band was gathering in the hallway to go outside for marching practice when a senior came up to me and handed me an empty 7-Up can. He asked if I would hold it while he tied his shoe, but after I took it he simply walked away and stood on the other side of the room.
This was harmless, but you could say it was a form of bullying. He had duped me into taking the damn thing, and everyone saw it happen. It was enough of an embarrassment for them to laugh at me still holding it like an idiot and being confused as to what happened.
But I was lucky and arguably changed how that student saw me for the next year. I took the can and threw it at his turned back. Not hard, but enough for him to know I’d done it. Everyone saw that too, and he said, “Okay, I like you,” before turning to my friend and jokingly saying, “You’re next.”
I was a target, however briefly, and it’s something most kids know throughout their entire childhood lives. Yet some kids are more targeted than others and are unable to cope. When that happens, it can lead to tragedy.
Such is the focus of “Bully,” a documentary that earned a lot of buzz because of its unfortunate debacle with the MPAA Ratings Board. Harvey Weinstein lobbied intensely for Lee Hirsch’s film to be seen by kids and teenagers so they could see students just like them going through similar hardships. But much as the film demands change, it struggles to find an answer outside of letting kids know this is happening. Continue reading “Bully”