Imagine a gym filled with 500 middle students. They come from different backgrounds but they all have something in common. They all go to the same school and experience bullying and their sick of it.
We talk with them about differences and similarities. I tell them the story of my childhood and how mixed up I was and what finally gave me the courage to say: "no more."
I talk with them about my job as a newscaster and all the judgment I experienced. I share with them the stories of running for public office and the treatment I was given. We talk of labeling and putting people in boxes.
At this point the students are open and listening and no one is talking out of turn. Then, we ask the kids questions. We ask them what it looks like to be bullied. We ask them why people bully others.
One student gets up, takes the mic, looks at his classmates and asks them to stop calling him gay, homo and fag. He says to them "Why can't we stop doing this to each other."
This is a true story. It happened last week at a speech I gave to students at a Eugene area school. I received a call from the principal the following day. He told me he had never experienced anything like that before.
A week later students are still talking about the speech and signing petitions to stop labeling and bullying each other.
This is part of what I do and if this program sounds like something you could use at your school or your office (adults bully too we’re just better at hiding it and calling it by a different name) get in touch with me.
Rick
