Put an end to the glorification of drama!

Bullying vs. Drama

I can think of three girls that I went to school with who were mean girls.  They created endless amounts of drama, and do you know what made it worse?  Their mothers.  Ever time the victims of these means girls' attacks would try to call the girl out they would run to their moms and twist the story.  And that is the fundamental problem with combating bullying...stories can get twisted.  The truth is difficult to discern when two sides of a story don't match up.  I think this problem is why bullying shouldn't be called bullying.  If there are two sides of a story, then there is wrong on both ends.  Similar to Boyd's argument, there needs to be inequality.  Often when two sides get twisted it's because friends turned against each other.  Having recently left high school last year, the "drama" is all too fresh in my mind.

Drama, Drama, Drama

How do we fight against drama?  Stop glorifying it.  It is simple.  Stop rewarding bad behavior with attention, status, and money.  What is the quickest way for a celebrity to get a front page story in the magazines?  Behave badly.  That is the behavior that is modeled for teens and so that is what they act like.  It's looked at as cool to be mean.  In reality niceness will get you much farther in life. 

Punishment adds to the "drama" because that just makes the people lash out at something else.  The person who was previously directing their bad behavior at peers will now direct it at authority figures. I agree that bullies are often dealing with deeper emotional issues and should be assigned a councilor or therapy session.  Situations like the one Amanda Todd went through should never happen.  However, look at how much attention it bullies are given, but look at the price they pay.  I think that more emphasis should be put on the prices that people pay for the fame they receive rather than the fame itself.  Think of how powerful a story would be if a girl overcame all of her adversity and made something positive out of it.  Share the story and promote awareness rather than guilt. I can only hope that this online world can become a safer place for all who use it.  No one should feel that they are helpless.