Unfortunately bullying nowadays is no longer confined to the classroom.
Cyberbullying has emerged and it is much more devastating than traditional bullying as it takes place online or through the use of digital technology. This creates an incident that is never ending. Rather than a lunchroom confrontation that can last ten seconds and is seen by a few dozen people, cyberbullying can, and is, viewed over and over and the reach is infinite. It gets passed around digitally to the entire school and beyond.
This is one girl’s story of how she overcame the devastating effects that cyberbullying has, by making a stand.
Her name is Lynelle Cantwell. 17-years-old and a victim of cyberbullying at Holy Trinity High School. She decided to get on social media and share her thoughts about what her classmates did to her, and cyberbullying in general.
This is not an easy thing to do. The knee-jerk reaction is to want to forget about it and just move on. Lynelle wasn’t running anywhere though. She took a stand and it is paying off. Here’s what she had to say:
“To the person that made the “ugliest girls in grade 12 at hth” ask.FM straw poll. I’m sorry that your life is so miserable that you have to try to bring others down. To the 12 people that voted for me to bring me to 4th place. I’m sorry for you too. I’m sorry that you don’t get to know me as a person. I know that i’m not the prettiest thing to look at. I know i have a double chin and i fit in XL clothes. I know i don’t have the perfect smile or the perfect face. But i’m sorry for you. Not myself.
I’m sorry that you get amusement out of making people feel like [crap]. I’m sorry that you’ll never get the chance to know the kind of person i am. I may not look okay on the outside.. But i’m funny, nice, kind, down to earth, not judgemental, accepting, helpful, and i’m super easy to talk to. Thats the same for every other girl on that list that you all put down. Just because we don’t look perfect on the outside does not mean we are ugly. If thats your idea of ugly then i feel sorry for you. Like seriously? Get a life.”
So far her post has been shared 7,000 times and it continues to get viewed more and more. Lynelle is being admired for taking a stand and putting the cyber bullies in their place. She made a follow up post stating the following:
“I want everyone to know i appreciate all of the gifts and the attention i have received. However, what we are fighting fighting for is to give everyone a voice when it comes to bullying and to take the power back from the bully. Hopefully the attention i have received worldwide will help us to achieve this goal. I don’t want anyone to feel left out or powerless. Together we are all fighting for this same goal. Lets put a stop to bullying here and now.”
She made another follow up on Today.com where she says the following:
“Cyber bullying happens in every school. I was taught to take the high road. I think we teens need to encourage and complement each other more than be mean to each other. It’s also important for teens to think about those who are doing the bullying. They’re obviously not happy with something in their own lives and have to take it out on others.”
This goes to show that while cyberbullying takes place so often, in so many schools, that it really takes only one person to make a stand, and in turn, make a difference worldwide.
Please share Lynette’s efforts with all your friends and family.
