Bully Project: Not In Our School Launched in the Philippines

They call themselves “a community of ex-bystanders in the Philippines who have made the decision to take a stand.” This month, they launched a combined Bully Project and Not in Our School campaign to raise awareness about the issue of bullying in the Philippines. By joining the campaign, each individual makes a promise: “I will not be a bully, I will help the bullied, and I will speak up about bullying.” They have over 537 likes on Facebook so far! You can check out their Facebook fan page here [1]. 

Ad Council Launches a Bullying Prevention Campaign to Empower Parents

We Are Not Allowed to Yell “Fire” in a Movie Theater, So Why Should Anyone be Allowed to Spread Hate?

Not only was Amanda Todd’s death tragic, but there is now a debate about freedom of speech for "trolls" who publicize underage girls' photos. The New Yorker refutes this [3] and further defines the First Amendment, saying that “freedom of speech is not the same as freedom to abuse—and posting ‘creepshots’ or sharing explicit photographs without the subjects’ permission is abuse.” Amanda Todd’s story shows that online abuse has serious consequences and can permeate into every aspect of one’s life. We hope that others will learn from her tragedy and think twice before posting something potentially harmful online.

“Break Bullying” on TV Network HLN

Our PSA, “Break Bullying,” which we released at the beginning of this month has received a lot of positive attention over the past few weeks and now has over 55,000 view on YouTube! “Break Bullying” has even garnered the attention of HLN, an affiliate network of CNN. Last week, HLN featured an interview with the film’s creator Mike Nelson along with a few short clips of the PSA.

You can watch an excerpt of the interview here:
[4]
 

Special Olympian Stands Up to Use of the “R-word” as an Insult

When Ann Coulter posted a tweet calling the President the “R-word,” special Olympian John Franklin Stephens wrote a poignant open letter to her, asking her to reconsider using that word in such a derogatory fashion. In the letter, he writes: “Ms. Coulter, you and society need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.” We commend Mr. Stephens for having the courage to stand up to such a high-profile figure so eloquently. Read the entire letter here. [5]