Bully, The Movie

Bully Opens in Theaters April 27, 2012

When Bully's original rating made it impossible for children to view it, I, along with so many other concerned parents, grandparents, and educators, couldn't believe the ridiculous rating. As of March 26, 2012, however, The Weinstein Company announced that Bully would be released unrated. 

To that I say BRAVO, Weinstein Company. BRAVO! Bullies are everywhere and the problem has been getting worse and worse. You often hear people say, "Somebody should do something about that." Well, in the case of putting an end to bullying, somebody has – The Weinstein Company. 

According to the movie, 13 million kids will be bullied in the U.S. this year. But maybe, just maybe, if kids watch this movie – if parents, grandparents, school administrators, and bus drivers step up and put an end to the bullying they see at home, at school, and on the bus – just maybe we can lower that number substantially.

Bullying isn't just about somebody beating up a classmate. Bullying happens in the home too, and the sooner we realize how prominent a role bullying has taken in our society, the sooner we admit we have become a nation filled with bullies. WE MUST END this devastating problem. And we have to STOP IGNORING IT!

Sometimes bullying happens in the home because parents believe that bullying and beating their kids is a God-given right. After watching their parents or perhaps taking a cue from some of the violent movies they watch, children are now whacking their brothers and sisters in the head, because their parents slam them into walls or beat them. Kids scream at their siblings and abuse them; the abused ones feel ashamed to be alive.

The ones who get bullied retreat, and they can think of no solution to ending the abuse other than by responding with a decision that will truly end the abuse: KIDS ARE KILLING THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY ARE BEING BULLIED! 

How many more reasons do we need before we end this type of abuse!

Stupid question, right? Because the question means we have to supply a number, and the answer should be NONE! Abusing siblings is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Abusing classmates is NOT ACCEPTABLE. How did, "kids will be kids" and "boys will be boys" come to mean that bullying was just a part of growing up?

I am disgusted by the proliferation of bullying. Something is seriously wrong with a mind that thinks that kicking, beating, intimidating, and emotionally torturing another human being is acceptable behavior. Do these kids really think that others will view them as being worthy of respect because they belittle and humiliate another human being? Has our society become that sick? How do kids who bully other kids justify their behavior? 

Perhaps they can't. Their warped thinking won't allow them to consider why they torture and abuse kids. They are so filled with rage and the need to dominate another human being, they pick on the people they perceive to be weaker than they are. They would never choose somebody they perceived to be stronger. And then when they use the power of peer pressure to drag others into the mix, peer mentality kicks in, and the child who is being tortured feels that nobody likes him and that nothing will change his circumstances; he has no reason to live. 

Is it too late? Do we just watch bullying progress to the point where bullies take over the schools and then the nation? The movie, Bully, will hopefully impact bullies in such a way that whatever leadership tendencies they have transforms from destructive tendencies to productive abilities. Hopefully they will feel compassion for treating their fellow human beings with disdain and hatred. Hopefully Bully will be taken seriously. 

If you would like to see the trailer for the movie, Bully, please click Bully Official Trailer #1 - Weinstein Company Movie (2012) HD

And if you see a kid torturing another child, if your own children think that slapping, hitting, kicking, or emotionally abusing their sibling is OK, step up and make a difference in your child's life. As one child said in the Bully movie, "All it takes is for one person to stand up." All it takes is for one person to speak up and make a difference.

Will you be the person who makes a difference?

Bully appears in theaters April 27, 2012.

For more articles on bullying, please read:

Socializing, Peer Pressure, and Bullying: At Lunch, on the Bus, During Recess: Raising Confident Children and Managing Bullies

Bullying and Accidental Death by a Sibling: When Sibling Rivalry Escalates to Sibling Abuse