Tell me that you've opened your eyes.

[kaia]

The next three hours are going to be torture. I don't have any tutoring appointments until later into my shift, so it will at least start picking up then. It is getting to that point that will bore me close to tears. I can't exactly tell them I can't stay because there is a video game that came out today I have to get home to play. That would go over well, I'm sure. I shouldn't complain though, I'm currently being paid to sit here and post on LJ. LIfe could be worse.

In my Social Problems class this morning we watched a movie on bullying and it was quite moving. It was what one would expect from such a movie, so I won't go into the details, but I was so amazed at the school officials.Rather than do the job they were paid to do they pretty much turned a blind eye as this little boy was continually harassed and beaten. The people that were supposed to protect him said to him and his parents "Boys will be boys." Really? That just makes it all okay? To top it all off, the principal denied remembering an times that the boy came to her for help on the stand. People amaze me, they really do.

My next class had a pretty jaw-dropping moment as well. People are well aware that more and more people are obese, but never before had I seen it shown in such a way. Margot nabbed the Power point from Yale and it showed just how much it has gone up from 1985 to 2009, and just wow. We went from a few states having over a 10% rate to every state having at least 14% and most had a much higher rate than that. It wasn't overweight people, it was obese. If there was any motivation for me to keep eating good foods and moving, that was it. She then told us a story one of her students has shared with her once -- the student was a paramedic and they told her about a 20 year old that weighted 800 pounds and died in the basement of his parents house. They needed a team of firefighters to get the body out.

Comments

[tigersinacage.livejournal.com]

I wish people would take bullying more seriously. It can really ruin kids' lives, as demonstrated by the rush of gay suicides in the fall :/

Wow, I can't even believe that obesity has gone up so much! That story is really disturbing.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

Exactly. The one on the documentary ended up becoming a speaker on behalf of the kids that aren't able to speak for themselves, but so many times the ending is not so happy.

Yeah, I'll see if I can grab that Power point and actually post it. It was so eye-opening.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check that out. I wasn't aware of just how bad it was getting until today, and just wow.

[napalmbright.livejournal.com]

I always have a hard time understanding why there are so many obese people. I understand compulsion and addiction and cravings.. but.. still.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

I know! I remember watching a show on A&E called Heavy and one of the people on there saying when they went to Wendy's they ordered something like 4 Bacon Cheeseburgers, a few orders of fries, and some chicken nuggets. My jaw just dropped. How can anyone eat so much food at once?

[softy5310.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's scry how obese America's gotten. I don't want to become like that either.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

It is scary.

[candacetrauma.livejournal.com]

I wish you could tell them you had to leave cause of a video game. Most awesome reason ever, pretty much.

It's pathetic how people turn a blind eye to bullying. It makes me frown. I took a Women in Media class last year and we watched a great film called Tough Guise that was along this "boys will be boys" bullshit. Less about bullying, more about men in general. But still fascinating.

Holy shit that's scary. It's insane to see stats laid out like that - really puts things in perspective.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

Haha, it certainly is. ;D

Tough Guise was great, one of my favorites. I can't stand the "Boys will be boys." excuse, as if somehow that justifies any of the behavior. The only thing it does is make them think that bullying is okay.

It really it.

[tempus-viator.livejournal.com]

I hate that there's so little being done about bullying in school and in life in general. It's really frustrating how people are all supportive of it on like one day of the year and then after that, they don't think about it any more till it swings by next year.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Or how they'll say they will do something about it, but just keep letting it occur. It isn't an easy situation to deal with, but you would think they would at least do something.

[tartlert.livejournal.com]

I hate bullies. They just made themselves look like dumb asses. It's funny how they try to make fun of someone when really, they're the ones who are the big joke.

Obese, ugh! It has got to stop somewhere. It has only become a problem fairly recently because people no longer do things for themselves. Back in the day, people had to work.

[duskyn.livejournal.com]

They are. In the end, it just comes down to their own insecurities. They pick who they think will be the easiest target for their frustration, and that is sad.

That is so true. I don't doubt the convenience of fast foods is another huge culprit too. I used to love going to McDonalds when I was little, now I can't even stomach the vast majority of the food there.