“Search for civility grows in Washington after midterms,” a recent U.S.A. Today headline reads. On the surface, the article appropriately details the polarized, hostile, and personally-attacking nature of today’s D.C. politics. But having testified four times to Congress on school safety, and getting a closer view of the behind-the-scenes nature of American politics, I particularly […]
Blog Archives
Gay Teen Suicide Coverage May Spark Contagion, Experts Say
Suicide experts are criticizing assertions that recent teen suicides are being directly attributed to bullying. A Harvard psychology professor and researcher is criticizing the media for sensationalizing the media coverage of the deaths of bullied teens. The experts also believe the media coverage is contributing to a suicide contagion: A condition where the glamorized or […]
What a Victim’s Father & a Former Bully Can Teach Us about Suicide
Andy Lehman was an honor student, scholarship semifinalist, musician, and math whiz. Andy was repeatedly harassed, pushed, called names, and not allowed to sit down on his high school bus. In September of 2006, he took his life. The student who bullied Andy, Kirk Zajac, now teams up with Andy’s father, Nicholas, to talk at schools about stopping […]
Bullying & Teen Suicide Requires a Closer Look at Mental Health
The recent public frenzy about bullying, along with multiple teen suicides, creates understandable grief and stress for everyone. The word “bullycide” and claims of kids being “bullied to death” have filled the media airwaves and newspapers, blogs, and Twitter in recent weeks. Bullying has been increasingly politicized by special interest groups and all the way up to the White […]
Bullying Label Understates Crimes, Suicides, & Deeper Issues
A 13-year-old is assaulted and his arms are broken because he wants to be a cheerleader. Numerous teens commit suicide. What are these incidents called? Today, the media, special interest advocates, and others call them “bullying.” A few years ago, when kids were assaulted and had their arms broken, it was called “assault.” And when […]
Bullying: Rarely the only cause of a young person’s suicide
The media, educational, and political craze around “bullying” focuses on the symptom, not the underlying problem, in teen suicide cases. In today’s opinion section of Cleveland’s Plain Dealer newspaper, I responded to a recent story on teen suicides in a neighboring county in a letter to the editor entitled, “Bullying: Rarely is it the only […]
Why Florida Father of Bus Bullying Victim Was Wrong
The frustrated father whose daughter was bullied on a Florida school bus was justifiably upset, but wrong in how he approached the issue. Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right James Willie Jones made national news this past week when a school bus video captured him yelling at students and the bus driver, and gesturing in anger […]
How the Media is Contributing to the Bullying Fad Craze
A father is labeled a school bus bully to fight for his child who is being harassed. Five teen suicides focus questions on bullying. A state legislator plans for more legislation on bullying while Congress has introduced its own federal anti-bullying laws. “We talk about bullying every week now,” one local news anchor said in […]
Why Teen Mental Health, Not Bullying, Must Be Suicide Focus
The headline, “5 teen suicides put focus on bullying issue in Mentor,” should have read, “5 teen suicides put focus on youth mental health issues.” This Monday Plain Dealer article in Cleveland, Ohio, is the latest in a number of national news stories linking bullying with incidents of teen suicide. I first addressed this last […]
Bullycide: Death by Bullying or Deeper Mental Health Issues?
Does bullying cause suicide? You would think so if you read and hear some of the headlines, comments, and advocacy by anti-bullying law special interests following several suicides completed by youth who were reported victims of chronic bullying at school. I certainly do not question whether these kids were bullied. I do not question whether the bullying added significant […]