Spirit Day

Happy National Spirit Day. A day dedicated to the stopping of bullying irl.

To me, this holiday has a special place in my heart. I have fallen victim to bullying before in my life for being original and displaying my creativity, which I was I tend to never express my creativity IRL because of the constant fear of being bullied in my life. I was bullied immensely, and my administrators and principals did nothing but just say "make up", and when I defended myself from a bully, I was the one who got in trouble.

This is an open AMA as well about my experiences being bullied, how you take a stand, and generic FAQs about bullying and school

EDIT: While I know this is more aimed toward LGBTQ Bullying, it can be applied toward normal torment and harassment and bullying...

This is a commendable thread.

Thank you. My goal in this thread is to help teens and people that have been bullied be unafraid to share their stories and to learn that they were never in the wrong, as most adults in the day told me, I was in the wrong for being too sensitive 

Everyday should be this day, same with mother's day etc.

The key to ending bullying lies in making it clear that the truly humiliating thing to be, is a bully. This reverses their weapon (humiliation) against them. Once people are more terrified of being seen as a bully than as a weirdo, the world be a much better place.

👏👏👏

Well said

Thank you for this thread. I too have been a victim of bullying and it nearly cost me my life. That said, I think this is a good placed to post the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 

+1

The helpline is better for the one actually being bullied, not a friend of the bullied person.

Still...

They do the same thing for the person that wants too. 

Not really, a helpline will only help the one calling. A psychiatrist will actively get help involved if they think the person's life and wellbeing are at risk. You meant psychiatrist most likely, because a psychologist and/or therapist are less likely to be able to justify the breaking of privilege over something like that, whereas the psychiatrist has a hippocratic oath that applies not only to their patients but to all human beings (and in the case of a veterinarian, to all animal beings).

That's what I meant. I never claim they were ineffective, but I do think they do not recognize urgency and to state it before the procedures occur, is somewhat...disheartening

But if you're the suicidal one, a helpline is as confidental and free in the countries that provide it (almost any country that isn't a right-wing 'pay or get no help' mentality nation will provide it but China is an exception, as is North Korea, because they won't let you do it confidentially). It's usually paid for with Charity money but in truly social democracies it's state-funded partially.

Fair enough