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"Glee": The Care In Bullying

Christine Weitbrecht |
November 9, 2010 | 10:48 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

Glee (Fox)
Glee (Fox)
Last night’s "Glee" episode certainly fit the current Zeitgeist in its (homosexual) bullying theme.

Although Kurt being bullied by the football team due to his sexual orientation certainly wasn’t a new occurrence, we ultimately got to see much strength and courage it takes to be a target of harassment every day.

Granted, everybody generally knows that it is anything but easy to be in the position Kurt is in, maybe even because we were in a similar situation at one point in our lives, or still are.

However, on top of generally being aware that becoming a victim of bullying is "not nice," it is important that we frequently remind ourselves that there are thousands of people all around us who become targets for harassment every single day and for a multitude of reasons.

Their inner strength can help them, but it can only take them so far. The best protection and support they can receive are that from other people, their outspoken stance against bullying, and even their physical intervention - by stepping in between a bully and his target, or merely physically aligning oneself with them (i.e. NOT physical in the "hitting back" sense, getting beat up hasn’t really helped anyone so far).

As Kurt said, the worst aspect of bullying is that no one else seems to care.

In a world where we had to witness several teenage suicides as a result of peer bullying, peer support has become more important than ever.

In order to put a stop to not only such senseless deaths but also to senseless psychological scarring, it is up to us to take action and speak out.

Even if we might not like or agree with those who are targets of bullying – for example homosexuals – there is simply no excuse for us to stand by and watch as they are abused by others.

We pride ourselves to live in a democratic and socially just country; an image that we like to project around the world.

However, these fundamental values have not just come into existence when they were ingrained in our Constitution and our laws; they were demanded and brought about by the people of America, and it is up to us to keep perpetuating them on a daily basis.

Yes, we do have our personal disparities, and we do have our differences in opinion.

But I am sure that we can all agree that we can put all of these distinctions aside when it comes to the protection of the individual members of our society, and to caring about their well-being.

Last night’s "Glee" did not offer any new approaches or solutions to bullying. But it certainly called into each of our memories what it is like to be the target, and what a difference it can make if others care.

Reach Christine here.
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