When The Push Comes To Shove

"160,000 kids will stay home instead of going to school
because of the bullying they would have to face."

Throughout the week my fellow classmates and I have been focused on a most peculiar book: Lord of the Flies. A large portion of the class has been lured into the book by the wonders that Golding presents. Though, there is one fact that I can't seem to get by: the bullying tendencies the young boys share. These unforgiving blows and snide comments cause the boys to view each other as anathemas, and forget the circumstances of which fate as given them. These blinded ambitions may cause those struggles and conflicts in the near future, but they must also solve their differences instead of forcing ignominy upon their allies.

The reasons for bullying are perpetual. Many infer that this heresy is typically because of an unhealthy home life, a lack of self-confidence, or the bullying of the bully themselves. Whatever the cause, there need not be an effect. These extraneous actions cause damage to the victim -and the predator- later in their lives. Just as poor Kristina Calco had been coerced into her own death when she committed suicide in December of 2006. According to WWMT.com,  every day more than 160,000 kids will stay home instead of go to school because of the bullying they would have to face. Kristina Calco's mom has been inspired to share her story on bullying and share her daughter's story with the world. Sharing our thoughts may help to create rules to limit these behaviors, but with every rule comes a rule-breaker. These assaults will never cease, even if rules are attempted. So even though Kristina Calco's mother is quite an inspiring and strong woman, I doubt her attempt for her daughter will ever fully accomplish its noble purposes.

Bullying can blind. It can get to the point to where the attacker becomes blind at the height of punishment they are bestowing upon their victim. Bullies may feel tough and mean, but they are merely hurting young souls, looking to find themselves in this wide world we thrive in. I am not saying you must love towards your bully (or any other distant combatants), but you must understand their point of view on the matter. Many antagonists believe that by making another being hurt as they have previous, it will somehow heal them in the process. Though this method only maddens the assailant to a level of dissatisfaction. They go into a state of madness; panicking for their prey to hurt as they have; craving to find themselves once again.

"He garners so much emotion
in such a young age."

My brother has suffered under these merciless conditions. He never gets a break. My greatest fear in this life is that he will never experience the true allegiance of a best friend. He may be big for his age and a little young-minded compared to his peers, but he is the most compassionate soul I have ever been blessed to come in contact with. He garners so much emotion in such a young age. My poor brother was involved in an impacting car accident a few years back and fate granted him a few scars to add to his bullying burden. These marks of tragedy plus his perfectly imperfect smile make him the ideal victim for bullies. He puts what is right before what is the reasonable course of action.

I love my adolescent brother with all of my heart and would never wish this treatment upon any other being. Bullying wears on the soul and builds up over time. Luckily, my sibling is merely to the point where it rolls right off his shoulders and does not begrudge him as I fear. Though I have been there to experience his hurt on the days he realizes how careless these bullies treat him.

Bullying is a crime within itself. No one should have to experience this pitiless form of punishment. Then again, most of us aren't given a choice.

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."

Harvey Fierstein

A Colored Confrontation

For years and years our world has been separated. We've been separated by water, language, and culture. Most of these obstacles we have over-come by our new technologies, communications, and curiosities. But there seems to be one object that won't seem to budge: Racism. Racism is an ever-growing issue across the globe. In the days of Martin Luther King Jr. and President Abraham Lincoln, there were signs and restrictions that aided this separation, but today this issue is only shown in the reactions of everyday people in our supposed "equal" world.

The positive side of this ongoing confrontation is that most individuals in today's world have changed perspectives, and no longer take part in the colored confrontation. We can always look upon this positive note and feel good about ourselves, but we must eventually realize the fact that the other percentage of the world is stuck in a severely racist mindset. This point of view that people have is not only wrong, but can also become very hurtfull. In the following link, a columnist shares his first colored confrontation of racism: http://www.cm-life.com/2011/09/09/the-root-of-racism/

You may see in the attatched article that poor Chaldean was not a part of the most common contrasting form of racism: Black and White. Chaldean was, in fact, was from the Middle East, although he was affected in the same way any black person would be treated after news on television about some sort of gang fight. These jaundiced opinions made by 11-year-old John struck young Chaldean harsh with fear. We are lucky enough today to have people that stand-up for others enough to protect the confidences crushed by the temerarious nature of racism.

There may be few proofs of hurt feelings due to racism, but they still exist. But the more barefaced proof of racism's effects is the physical evidence. Throughout the years we have had many examples of  the commonly gruesome side of the clash. For example, the next race to be offended would be the residents of the Middle East, due to the upcoming remembrance of 9/11. Many of those participants in the somewhat-racist population of our world will hold spite against the Americans who share similar ethnicity to our adversary: Osama bin Laden. Poor Chaldean is one of these people, and will suffer just as much as the rest of his relatives.

For those of us who view racism as a heresy, we wonder: what is going on inside the heads of the antagonists? Well, this answer we do not know for sure, but may have varied assumptions for. These people may have been raised in such conditions and beliefs, or may be mentally troubled. We must not judge these anathemas, and simply allow them to vent as we avoid their somewhat abetting arguments.



The contrast of colors should not be seen as a repulsive affair, but as a ravishing coexistence. We are nothing without each other. The kidnapped slaves from Africa put more blood, sweat, and tears into building the Americas then we -as Americans- did. Each world brings in new ideas, features, and technologies to the world. The sooner we accept our differences, the sooner we will expand our knowledge and build a better vitality. Any extraneous activities we can do as a country to reach out to alien lands is certainly worth the effort.

Racism hurts physically and emotionally. It can hurt the people who become victims, but it can also wound the bystanders. Contrasting colors are found in nature as a piece of beauty. Why can't we also look past our differences and see the true beauty within our neighbors?

"Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum hatred for a minimum of reason."

~Abraham J. Heschel (Jewish Theologian & philosopher, 1907-1972)