The suspected suicide of bullying victim Amanda Todd has captured the hearts and minds of most.
But it’s not enough to show your support of anti-bullying laws, or disgust for her tormentors.
It’s not enough to post online about how sick we are of this type of behaviour, how beautiful and talented the young girl was and how something needs to be done.
Don’t get me wrong, showing support via cyber space is good for discussion purposes, but we need to do more than just talk.
Or, even more lame, studying the damn thing to death.
The NDP is calling for a report, designed to create a national anti-bullying strategy, the Liberals have a private member bill that looks to add cyber bullying to the Criminal Code and the House has now been turned into a school-yard, filled with overpaid, superfluous, politicians.
Kids don’t need a panel to come up with a bulleted study on how to end bullying. Todd was not going to be saved by the inclusion of cyber bullying in the Criminal Code.
It’s not going to work.
What we need is good people – pretty darn simple.
And it starts with us. We need to raise our little ones with dignity, strength, a strong sense of right and wrong, the ability to stand up, rise above and feel good about it.
See something wrong? Do something about it. It’s not just teenagers who can be cruel – cruel teenagers can turn into cruel adults.
See some a-hole spouting off at the arena? Tell them no one thinks he’s funny.
Witness a snot-bag pointing out another’s less-than-stellar outfit? Ensure she knows it’s not OK.
And be sure your child sees that.
Bullies feed off fear, power and other bullies. So don’t feed them.
Instead choose to nourish our children with respect for one another, with love, compassion and acceptance. Show them how to treat others.
No panel, study or politician is ever going to be able to do that.
