I am writing this in support of the recent Michigan Daily article by Jeremy Levy, (Change Anti-Bullying Attitudes, 10/25/11). There has been much legislation in recent years in an attempt to put an end to bullying. Yet, this legislation does not seem to make the powerful impact we are looking for. In his article, Levy takes the time to logically question the reasons why many anti-bullying initiatives are not effective.
With an issue like this, it is easy to assume that, because the goal is to get rid of bullying, there is nothing that can be changed and revised in order to make it more effective. But Levy lists in his article five main arguments against anti-bullying tactics used today. He refutes the effectiveness of the “zero-tolerance theory,” avoiding social media, using celebrity figures to address bullying, punishing children like adults and forgetting how prevalent bullying is in the adult world.
In alliance with what Levy says about the ineffectiveness of the “zero-tolerance theory,” bullying is not something that can easily take on a black-and-white definition. Of course, it is often quite obvious if bullying is occurring or not. Yet, we must remember how frequently bullying is seen in the adult world (politics, sports, etc.) to which we expose children to incessantly and often encourage them to look up to. Also, the way in which celebrities are employed to help prevent bullying is not beneficial to the cause. Instead of using non-expert celebrity figures we should be using experts who actually have an educated background on this issue.
Anti-bullying legislation is a huge progress for our society. But if something is obviously not working we must take the time to sit down and analyze why. Let’s start pushing for quality anti-bullying legislation. Bullying is something that no one should ever have to suffer through, especially when we have the power to put an end to it, as we do now.
Leela Denver
LSA freshman