Why Bullying Will Never Stop (And How We Are to Blame)

Hello there peeps, thanks again for taking time out of your day to read this. This post will touch upon two of today's most persistent turmoils that never seem to cease: bullying and homophobia. Note: if you are a homophobe and/or will not tolerate my point of view on this, I advise you to stop reading or at least read at your own discretion. Without further ado, here's today's topic.

Are any of you familiar with this face here?

This is the once-happy face of Ronin Shimizu, a 12 year old NoCal boy who was bullied to the point of suicide for being a cheerleader in his school on 3 December. His friends and family were, of course, deeply distraught and anguished at the news, and the school he attended is in somewhat of a crosshair, as it turns out Ronin had complained to the officials that he was being bullied, only to receive no significant aid other than "school protocol." 

First off, I will honestly say that, no matter how tragic this loss is, I still have a bone to pick with the fact that Ronin, like many other victims of bullying or any emotional distress, took the easy way out and chose the permanent solution to the temporary problem by taking his own life. Yes I know, bullying is very tough to cope with and one does not simply brush it off, especially at Ronin's young age. But I've seen people go through so much worse, yet they somehow manage to break through the walls and live their lives happily. But, Ronin made his choice, and so have many others who have chosen suicide as the solution. To each his/her own. Now, I'm not in any way defending the bullies. They are disgusting creatures that represent everything wrong in this world, and they should be ashamed of themselves and should be dealt with properly. How do you live with yourselves? How do you feel when you push a kid over the edge and find out that he took his own life because of your insecure, shameless actions? Does that not bother you at all? Round of applause to your parents, they must be really proud to have raised such a great contribution to society. I'm sure you must be proud of yourself.

Obviously, homosexuality is a very sensitive topic, so I will be careful with my words while still staying true to my opinion on all of this. We all know that gays are looked down upon by most today, and this causes some radical homophobes to express themselves through violence and petty bullying. But do you know why this will never end? Do you know why bullying and any other sort of discrimination such as racial profiling will continue in this never-ending wheel? It's because we label ourselves this way. We like to label everything, and our fervent cries to express who we are is what leads to the bullies, the racists, and the cowards to retaliate with violence. Now, just so there's no confusion, I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be gay, bi, or whatever you are. I believe in equality for all and I am perfectly fine with people doing what makes them happy. What I'm saying is, if you're gay, then just be gay. If you're lesbian, just be lesbian. If you're bi, then just be bi. Just be what you are, do what you do, but don't make such a big show out of it. Recently we've been seeing more and more famous faces come out and reveal to the world their sexual orientation, even in "manly" environments such as football and wrestling. We've also seen more public displays of their coming out, such as that wedding that occurred in the Rose Parade almost one year ago between two males. It was a good thing for the couple, and I'm happy that they got to rejoice in their bliss, but c'mon, was all of that really necessary? Why make such a big show and be so indiscreet? Same goes to us Latinos and blacks. We are so proud, perhaps a little too proud, that we like to basically tell the world, "Oh look at me I'm a Latino/Black/Asian and I'm proud, hurrah!" Yes, I am guilty of this myself. We like to label and call attention to ourselves, and this is what attracts the bullies. This is what causes youngsters like Ronin to be picked on to the point where they feel there's no way out. This is what causes the "protectors of society," the police, to pick on minorities and spark major public unrest like what we're seeing in Ferguson.

To put things into a much simpler perspective, take a look at this video.

                                   

Morgan Freeman, in all his awesomeness, flawlessly sums up everything I'm trying to say. Why make a big deal out of being a minority? Why celebrate this only once a year? We're all human, and we're all equal. You wanna be gay? Be gay, we're both human. You wanna be lesbian? Be lesbian, we're both human. Are you black? That's great, I'm brown, let's be human together. This trend of labeling and calling attention to ourselves is what spawns ridiculous reactions like bullying or a "Black History Month." I can't say this needs to stop, because I know for a fact people will keep this up. It's great that they want the world to know who they truly are, but it's also important to know why bullying will never cease because of that very same reason. Just be who you are, be true to yourself, but don't get the rest of the world involved.

So there's my mini-sermon, peeps. I don't like to get preachy, but events like these really send my mind flying into all sorts of crazy tangents that I just have to get it all out for my readers to see. Forgive me if any of my words offended any of you or if I came on too strong on such a sensitive topic. As I said before, I have nothing against the LGBT community--quite the contrary actually, as two of my best friends are Bi. Keep doing your thing and be happy, but just be discrete, is what I suggest. Of course I can't tell you all what to do, but I just wanna point out that indiscretion leads to bullying, and bullying (sometimes) leads to tragic occurrences like what happened to Ronin. As always, thanks for reading peeps. Share, stay up to date, stay safe, and have a good one. :)

I close this post with an okay music video to a pretty decent song by a decent band. Enjoy.