Occasionally we receive letters and emails from people we have worked with in the past thanking Bully free Zone for the work we have done to help them. We'd like to share them with you every so often so lets begin today with this one from a Girl we worked with a few years ago.
Dear BFZ,
I suffered from severe bullying consistently throughout high school. This started small with petty name calling, and pushing, but as it continued got worse and worse with each year. By the time I was in year 10 a group of girls had made a malicious website about me which was both racist and crude. This was passed around to everyone in my High School. Despite this the teachers didn`t manage to put an end to the abuse, and by year 11 a large group of pupils planned to follow me home and attack me. Although the incident happened just over four years ago, I still remember it as if it were yesterday. I was faced with the bullies alone, and had no choice but to fight back.
That experience was one of the most frightening ones of my life, to know that you one are almost against the entire school and that even your friends were too frightened to stand up for you. In defending myself one of the bullies ended up worse off than myself and took the matter to court. I hoped that this would be the end of the bullying and that the courts would see just how frightened I was but unfortunately I was wrongly convicted as they stated that I had defended myself “too much”. The bullying didn`t stop there either. When I returned to school I had to get escorted from lesson to lesson, eat my lunch alone, and even leave 10 minutes earlier to prevent them from attacking me again. One of the bullies stated that now I had a conviction I could never go on to college or be a lawyer like I had always dreamed of being.
I am telling you this story, as it was during this time that I was given a 3 months probation sentence and was working with a member of your team, Pete. I worked with Pete over a number of months and engaged in a number of different activities which allowed me time and space to be able to express myself, in the end I produced a poem called “I know” which has featured on the BFZ website.
Producing that piece of writing was very therapeutic for me and helped me to deal with my feelings. I will never forget how difficult those years of my life were, and how much BFZ helped me.
I am now studying Creative and Professional Writing in London and am about to go into my final year. I will never forget what you have done for me!
Yours Sincerely,
D
25 July 2009
17 July 2009
Girl bullied to death for being "too pretty"
A 15-year-old girl jumped off a bridge to her death after suffering years of "extreme" bullying at school because of her good looks, her mother claimed.
Simone Grice leapt 40ft off a bridge to her death after suffering years of bullying, despite the pleas of two passers-by.
The teenager had recently been removed from school to be home tutored after suffering at the hands of a group of girls who were, according to Simones mother Linda, 45, "jealous of her good looks".
Read more here
Help prevent more deaths like Simones by supporting the work of Bully Free Zone, Make a donation today. DONATE
Simone Grice leapt 40ft off a bridge to her death after suffering years of bullying, despite the pleas of two passers-by.
The teenager had recently been removed from school to be home tutored after suffering at the hands of a group of girls who were, according to Simones mother Linda, 45, "jealous of her good looks".
Read more here
Help prevent more deaths like Simones by supporting the work of Bully Free Zone, Make a donation today. DONATE
14 July 2009
Can you help young people to 'Follow the Heard'?
As part of Bully free Zone's Follow the Heard campaign we are looking for short stories, poems, case studies, play scripts etc that can provide inspiration to the thousands of young people who are bullied on a daily basis.We are looking for original, inspirational stories/poems etc that can show why it is good to talk to someone if you are being bullied. The stories will then be included on the Follow the Heard website (when its built), be used as inspiration during a residential for vulnerable young people and some may even be brought to life using audio equipment and form part of a Schools resource pack.
Anyone who can help should contact Kev Walsh at office@bullyfreezone.co.uk ASAP.
09 July 2009
ASCII FTW!
Take a look at this awesome ASCII logo that was created for us by @yamerias, a friend of Bully free Zone on Twitter. He has created several for other charities as well such as @bullyinguk. I urge you to follow him and see what other delights he will come up with.Thanks @yamerias
Video Game Violence: Where's the Harm?
First posted by Kev Walsh at www.britsknowbest.co.uk. February 2008
It seems hardly a day goes by nowadays without a report of some kid shooting up his school ‘because he played Counter-Strike’ or of how young minds are being corrupted by ‘triple x pornography in games marketed to teenagers’. It was only yesterday that the infamous Jack Thompson put the blame for the recent NIU tragedy where a 27 year old gunned down students supposedly because he played Counter-Strike 4 years previously (and had absolutely sod-all to do with the fact he had stopped taking his medication for mental illness).
Like it or not, violence in videogames is big news at the moment. Be it school shootings in the US or links to kids and knife culture here in the UK. Forums everywhere from xbox.com to IGN and CVG are full of gamers up in arms that their beloved pastime is being brought into disrepute. However, is there more to this than gamers realise?
The fact is that violent game, as well as violent books; films; images, cartoons or websites can, and will, have some form of effect on the individual engaging with them. The effect it has however is entirely down to the suggestibility of the individual concerned.
During the 19th century Antonin Artaud created the Theatre of Cruelty. This is a type of stage theatre that was designed to be so visually shocking and sickening in its use of violent imagery that it was meant to have a cathartic effect on the audience, cleansing them of their anger, aggression and fear. By witnessing others engaging in acts that a person is meant to subconsciously desire allows them to purge themselves of pent up emotions and thus lead a better and more fulfilling life. If we look at the popularity of public executions in previous times, and even to the present day in many countries across the globe, we can see how this may well be true.
People have an innate desire to witness suffering. It somehow makes ourselves feel better. We love watching Comic Relief and Children in Need with all their stories of third world suffering and we gain some warped satisfaction from viewing images of war on TV. We KNOW that what we are viewing is horrible; that what we are witnessing is distressing and sickening; but we still watch it. Why? Because deep down the only way we can feel better is by reminding ourselves of what we are capable of, and feel more powerful knowing that we have the restraint not to carry out the acts we see.
The same theory applies to videogames, horror films and almost all other forms of ‘unengaged violence’. We sit down with our 360 pads and tap the B button to unleash chainsaw hell on our unsuspecting foe and a grin spreads across our faces. We let stream profanity after profanity when we get our arse handed to us due to a lucky plasma grenade…and we LOVE IT. Not just because it’s entertaining but because we are fulfilling those subconscious fantasies we so desire everyday but that our consciousness, and society, forbid to us to engage in.
However, what would happen if your consciousness was affected in some way?
It is well known and documented by psychologists, doctors and psychiatrists that certain things can affect how a person’s conscious and subconscious mind interact.
• Age – as you grow older the border between the conscious and subconscious mind becomes more prominent and thus much easier for us to avoid acting on impulse. This is largely down to learning the ways of the world and the laws of the society in which we live. Children therefore are more prone to act on subconscious impulse than adults.
• Testosterone – the greater the level of testosterone in your body the more prone to act on aggressive impulses you will be. It becomes much more difficult for a person to restrict the extent to which they express their aggressive impulses.
• Drugs/Alcohol – the more under the influence of drugs and alcohol you become the more the border between conscious and subconscious blurs. The easier it becomes to act on subconscious impulse.
• Mental Health – if you are already suffering from mental health problems then the higher the risk of you acting on subconscious impulse.
Obviously these things alone would not necessarily mean that you are going to go out and shoot down a few pedestrians but if these things are combined with other catalysts such as bullying, peer-pressure or exposure to violent images etc then the likelihood of engaging in a violent act is increased.
Therefore a child who is being bulled at school, going through puberty, witnesses’ domestic violence at home and plays Halo for 13 hours a day is more likely to commit an act of violence than a 28 year old that has had three pints of Golden Boot and has spent 4hours playing Gears of War.
The fact is that videogames DO affect the people that play them. Are they the reason why Stephen Kazmierczak decided to walk into his old University on Thursday 14th February 2008 and shoot as many people as he could before turning the gun on himself? Of course they aren’t but there is the possibility that, due to his mental health issues, playing violent videogames could have increased the probability of him committing a violent act.
It seems hardly a day goes by nowadays without a report of some kid shooting up his school ‘because he played Counter-Strike’ or of how young minds are being corrupted by ‘triple x pornography in games marketed to teenagers’. It was only yesterday that the infamous Jack Thompson put the blame for the recent NIU tragedy where a 27 year old gunned down students supposedly because he played Counter-Strike 4 years previously (and had absolutely sod-all to do with the fact he had stopped taking his medication for mental illness).
Like it or not, violence in videogames is big news at the moment. Be it school shootings in the US or links to kids and knife culture here in the UK. Forums everywhere from xbox.com to IGN and CVG are full of gamers up in arms that their beloved pastime is being brought into disrepute. However, is there more to this than gamers realise?
The fact is that violent game, as well as violent books; films; images, cartoons or websites can, and will, have some form of effect on the individual engaging with them. The effect it has however is entirely down to the suggestibility of the individual concerned.
During the 19th century Antonin Artaud created the Theatre of Cruelty. This is a type of stage theatre that was designed to be so visually shocking and sickening in its use of violent imagery that it was meant to have a cathartic effect on the audience, cleansing them of their anger, aggression and fear. By witnessing others engaging in acts that a person is meant to subconsciously desire allows them to purge themselves of pent up emotions and thus lead a better and more fulfilling life. If we look at the popularity of public executions in previous times, and even to the present day in many countries across the globe, we can see how this may well be true.
People have an innate desire to witness suffering. It somehow makes ourselves feel better. We love watching Comic Relief and Children in Need with all their stories of third world suffering and we gain some warped satisfaction from viewing images of war on TV. We KNOW that what we are viewing is horrible; that what we are witnessing is distressing and sickening; but we still watch it. Why? Because deep down the only way we can feel better is by reminding ourselves of what we are capable of, and feel more powerful knowing that we have the restraint not to carry out the acts we see.
The same theory applies to videogames, horror films and almost all other forms of ‘unengaged violence’. We sit down with our 360 pads and tap the B button to unleash chainsaw hell on our unsuspecting foe and a grin spreads across our faces. We let stream profanity after profanity when we get our arse handed to us due to a lucky plasma grenade…and we LOVE IT. Not just because it’s entertaining but because we are fulfilling those subconscious fantasies we so desire everyday but that our consciousness, and society, forbid to us to engage in.
However, what would happen if your consciousness was affected in some way?
It is well known and documented by psychologists, doctors and psychiatrists that certain things can affect how a person’s conscious and subconscious mind interact.
• Age – as you grow older the border between the conscious and subconscious mind becomes more prominent and thus much easier for us to avoid acting on impulse. This is largely down to learning the ways of the world and the laws of the society in which we live. Children therefore are more prone to act on subconscious impulse than adults.
• Testosterone – the greater the level of testosterone in your body the more prone to act on aggressive impulses you will be. It becomes much more difficult for a person to restrict the extent to which they express their aggressive impulses.
• Drugs/Alcohol – the more under the influence of drugs and alcohol you become the more the border between conscious and subconscious blurs. The easier it becomes to act on subconscious impulse.
• Mental Health – if you are already suffering from mental health problems then the higher the risk of you acting on subconscious impulse.
Obviously these things alone would not necessarily mean that you are going to go out and shoot down a few pedestrians but if these things are combined with other catalysts such as bullying, peer-pressure or exposure to violent images etc then the likelihood of engaging in a violent act is increased.
Therefore a child who is being bulled at school, going through puberty, witnesses’ domestic violence at home and plays Halo for 13 hours a day is more likely to commit an act of violence than a 28 year old that has had three pints of Golden Boot and has spent 4hours playing Gears of War.
The fact is that videogames DO affect the people that play them. Are they the reason why Stephen Kazmierczak decided to walk into his old University on Thursday 14th February 2008 and shoot as many people as he could before turning the gun on himself? Of course they aren’t but there is the possibility that, due to his mental health issues, playing violent videogames could have increased the probability of him committing a violent act.
How? and why?
This is a picture of Kev's shoes as he is sat in the office at 1:30pm. A full 5 hours after putting them on. How do you not notice you are wearing odd shoes to work?Which leads me to ask what daft things have you done recently? Tell us in the comments section below or over on twitter by sending a tweet to @bfzonline. stick the tag #sillyme at the end so we can serch them easier.
Pictures welcome :D
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