So I was on YouTube watching Frank Ocean’s ‘swim good’ video and somehow I came across the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ channel and decided to check it out because I enjoy watching the diverse talents some people showcase on the show and also because of Simon Cowell (how can I not love his rude remarks and disengaged facial expressions?) and there was this performance of a song ‘Hopeful’ based on the lyrics and music of Twista’s 2005 song ‘Hope’ by British hip hop/R’n’B duo Bars and Melody that brought me so close to tears, being bullied inspired the song.
Apparently, the younger boy and also the rapper of the duo Leondre Devries ‘Bars’ was bullied in school and it really affected him and living with his single mom didn’t help much because he didn’t want to burden her with his school troubles. So sweet. Unable to speak to anyone about being bullied, he learnt to pen down his feelings and finally decided to rap about it on the BGT show after he met Charlie Lenehan ‘Melody’, everyone loved it and they emerged third overall. Yay!
Now this is just one example of a bullied child out of two billion out there not forgetting teens/adults who are also victims of bullying leaving them too scared to speak to anyone, with low self-esteem and poor social skills. Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others; Teasing isn’t any better because it becomes bullying when it is repetitive or when there is a conscious intent to hurt another person. It doesn’t necessarily have to be physical bullying, it can be verbal (threats, name calling) and both are very rampant as ‘jokes’ or part of a child’s upbringing when parents say very hurtful things to them.
As individuals, we need to put our sixth sense on alert. Notice the behavior change in the children, teenagers or even adults around us because it might just be another case of bullying. Learning to work on our attitudes towards children or other people and giving them a few minutes to ask about their well-being is a baby step towards the anti-bullying movement. The last time I checked being nice or saying positive things doesn’t hurt.
It’s about time to put a stop to bullying, this is the 21st century and it needs to go so if you notice bullying of any sort or you know a child/person being bullied, stand against it. Don’t wait till it happens to someone you care for or your precious child, worst case scenario: what if your bullied child becomes the bully?
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