Mouth Sewn Shut

Unless you have been living under a rock then no doubt you would have heard or read about the Charlotte Dawson Saga.

Some people are saying she brought it on herself, that she should have just ignored the trolls.  But should she really have?  

All of the 'bully chats' when I was at school told us to ignore the bully. They just want attention. They just want a reaction from you.  It will be better if you ignore it.  Is it really?  None of my recollection of being taunted from school is that ignoring them is good.  I'm a stewer, I sit on things until I explode.  Clearly ignoring it doesn't work.  

It's really kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.  It all depends on your inner workings.  If you can turn something off and not think about it again, then go with the ignoring option. If not, then do what works for you.

I'm kind of a blow it all out in the open kind of person.  If someone has the 'balls' to say something nasty then I call them on it.  If they act one way in private and completely different way in public, then I call them on it.  I try to stand by the thought of 'If you wouldn't say it to their face then don't say it online.'  If you are so 'proactive' in letting someone know what you think about them, then why the need for secrecy.  

This week my brother was suspended.  One of the reasons given was that he kept having outbursts at other students when the were saying stuff to him on the sly.  So in short, he got suspended for sticking up for himself.  My mum brought this up with the teacher....apparently what he is doing is worse.  So again, in short standing up for yourself against bullies is worse than the bullying itself.  No wonder the rate of teen suicide is so high.

If you or someone you know is being bullied and doesn't know what to do please contact either Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36