'Sticks and Stones'

  
    "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." My grandmother taught this nursery rhyme to me at an early age. These words supposedly help a child ignore the insults targeted at them by others. However, taunts do hurt, and a retort in the form of verse is unlikely to suppress the pain caused by cruel gibes. 

    Bullying is not just about mocking remarks, though, is it? Young adults especially suffer from bullying in many other forms:

• The surreptitious threats, in class.
• Deliberate exclusion from a group they thought of as friends.
• The silent, anonymous calls they answer on their cell.
• The abusive content they receive by text, or via a social networking site.
• The stealing of their identity and the use of it via a social networking site in a malicious manner.

    Unfortunately, the list goes on, and I haven't even touched on the bullying that some experience from those a little closer to home.

    Without a doubt, campaigns such as ‘National Bullying Prevention Month’ organized by Pacer, taking place in the USA this month and Bullying UK, who campaign regularly in the UK, are of great importance to these victims.Their websites offer wonderful guidance for victims, parents, and schools. Although it's not just about websites either, it's the continuous awareness programmes, that they also organize. Keeping the public interested is the hard part.

    Bullying is not a new problem, but the means we now have to communicate with each other can help tackle it on a worldwide basis. An example of how organizations can reach out to those who are affected are the author-based videos made by Open Road Media. Where the authors discuss their own experiences with bullies and bullying. By talking about this problem openly, those suffering may realize that there is no need to suffer in silence, and being victimized is nothing to be ashamed of.

    Importantly, these campaigns may even educate tormentors, that bullying is wrong.