Bullying And Harassment - National School Boards Association: Fill & Download for Free

A for-profit corporation better be real sure of their right to the moral high ground before lecturing anyone on how men should behave.Why so many decent people hate the Gillette ad has nothing to do with the overt messaging, which can be summed up “men need to hold other men accountable” and “the boys of today are the men of the future”. These are truisms and irrefutable. One is just a blatant fact — every man was at one point a boy.No one honestly even disagrees that bullying and sexual aggression are bad. Who would? Honestly, why does anyone pat themselves on the back for saying “I stand against sexual harassment”?Congratulations. Now head to the back of the line behind everyone else who came to that conclusion first, but didn’t expect a trophy for having basic human decency.It isn’t even the invocation of the extremely politicized and questionable nature of “toxic masculinity”. Even very conservative writers such as myself have written on the existence of toxic masculinity, though we disagree very much with what that means compared to the creators of this ad.So it is hard to simply say, “I disagree with what Gillette is saying,” but…But it is extremely easy to disagree with the way they said it.As they say, the devil is in the details. The Gillette ad is a goldmine of devilish details that tell a very, very different story than they intended, and one which will cost them long, long into the future.Open to a black man looking woefully in the mirror. Shot transitions to other men with equal looks of sadness, grief, and concern. Narration dictates the words, “Bullying, the #metoo movement against sexual harassment, toxic masculinity”, stressing the word masculinity.Here, the viewer is shown that there is a problem, a serious problem, because the music says so. They are then explicitly told what it is. Toxic masculinity. Not only toxic masculinity, but bullying and sexual harassment. Now the three independent problems have been conflated and grouped into a single category for the viewer. Psychology is pretty easy to hack. You’ll discover that’s a theme of this commercial.Reviewing the intro, you notice the “toxic” portion is hushed, leaving many to not only conflate bullying, sexual harassment, and toxic masculinity, but that they are all a byproduct of masculinity itself. This is the actual frame the ad builds, priming its viewers to look at masculinity as the source of problems, later buttressed by the emotionally charged images to follow.The next shot, focusing on Gillette’s classic Super Bowl ad campaign “The Best a Man Can Get”, first to ensure that viewers know who paid for this message, and second to set up the dilemma, that we don’t live in a good world anymore.They achieve the second element by having the classic ad literally and symbolically ripped away, as a boy flees in terror from a gang of all white adolescent youth. Judging by the look of psychopathic glee on the faces of the gang, it is implied the motivation is related to nothing else than the joy of visiting harm upon the weak. Following the implied message of the intro, this is a property of masculinity, rather than a lack of it.Here, the creators also use the psychological trigger of terror to encourage viewers to listen. The demented glee in the pursuers’ eyes remind of us the sadistic joy visited upon the innocent one would only recognize in something like The Clockwork Orange. Given what the rest of the ad says about the nature of men, that’s part of the reason why so many are alienated by it.In the next moment, a generic online message shows up, attacking some random victim.The frame has already been set for viewers. This is an ad depicting bullying as related to the male tendency to victimize others. The problem here is that to make this point they used online bullying. Boys are neither the primary targets nor the main victimizers of online bullying. By far, it is the domain of girls.Working as a middle school teacher, I can say that in three years, I never saw a case involving boys. Nor has my wife, who teaches 5th grade and has taught for six years. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. I’m saying it almost always is related to girls. This is not obscure knowledge, so attributing it to a negative consequence of masculine culture is both dishonest, and manipulative.There’s also a great body of study that shows how little effort is made to educate the public on the nature on girls who bully, and how. Ironically, they are even more likely to form groups to single out and harass others at random than boys, throwing into question the masculine reality of the random violence street gang, as well. [1]Scene shifts to a mother, holding her obviously tortured son as she deals with the trauma of helplessness to combat a force beyond her ability to make better. Here, a long zoom in focuses on the intended market of the ad. It’s not men, but women.83% of everything sold in the non business to business setting is done or influenced by women[2]and women have made a majority of economic decisions since well before the current era.[3] Gillette is owned by Procter and Gamble, a company which dominates household goods and who has made more than a few questionable ad campaigns targeting specifically women, specifically progressive women of upper middle class means, and specifically millennials to push their products. Forbes also highlighted the struggles of Gillette, suffering from stiff competition to new competitors offering higher quality products at lower prices, such as Dollar Shave Club and Harry's, not to mention the new competition from Schick. Suffering a market share drop of from 70% to 50%, it had to cut its prices by 15% in only a few years.So instead of appealing more to men to sell its razors and shaving cream, Gillette makes a very manipulative emotional appeal to women because they are the people who actually buy the products in a majority of American homes.Their home is literally ripped apart by the bullying, mixing imagery both of the violent gang chasing down the helpless boy and of the online harassment. Yet again, the problem of bullying is depicted as a “male problem” rather than a human universal problem where girls are just as likely, if not more so, to be both the victims and perpetrator of the type of bullying depicted.Again visiting the questionable depictions of male centric bullying, this shot reinforces a victimhood narrative in those beginning to identify with the characters of the very brief story.According to the new book The Rise of Victimhood Culture by professors Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning, based around the The Atlantic Piece of the same name, victimhood culture is where some politically motivated group attempts to solve its grievances with others not through direct confrontation but through third party appeals. They gain that third party support by attempting to make themselves appear to be victims to elicit sympathy and pity from their patrons. In so doing, a victimhood complex is when one may have experienced some meaningful grievance, but will take that experience and exaggerate it for the purpose of gaining support or even power. The book even documents the predictable occurrence of making up crimes against themselves whole-cloth. [4]In this case, Gillette, a for profit company wishing to ingratiate themselves with a largely female market, plays on female victimhood by conflating bullying and the love of an innocent child, and creating a oppressor/oppressed relationship with “the other” of male masculinity. In so doing, they also ignore bullying that is attributable to girls and women, which would never have gained the kind of emotion appeal they are looking for.The next scene viewers are presented is of a mock 1970’s era sitcom, where the white male father dressed in work clothes casually molests the black female maid while showing it to his three sons. This is ingested by three modern boys soaking up the intended message that rape and sexual harassment (as well as racism) are not only acceptable, but elements of masculinity encouraged by Hollywood culture.This is one of the most difficult moments of the ad to swallow. To make my point, I’ll ask anyone to name a single sitcom that has ever been this blatantly overt in its depiction of male treatment of women. Home Improvement and Family Matters were two of the most popular sitcoms of my childhood, but even shows like Married With Children never came close to this level of human indecency. In fact, when something like this happened in the shows of my childhood, it was when the laughter stopped, and a very serious moral was being presented about how wrong such behavior was. Going back to earlier era sitcoms, the closest I can imagine was “Bam. Zoom. Straight to the moon!” and “One of these days, Alice!” the threat given by the husband of the Honeymooners towards his wife. As bad as that was, for Gillette’s implication to be true, that everywhere our children are being casually programmed by this suggestive messaging, such media representations must be everywhere for it to have any affect. If you’re under 40 and reading this, I think there might only be a 10% who’ve ever even seen the Honeymooners.The ad doesn’t depict reality. Instead, it depicts the completely fictitious scenario one arrives upon when asked, “what is the worst possible show that could be presented to progressive society?”The contrived answer is a famous white man terrorizing a young working black woman……to an obnoxious audience of all white and mostly male viewers, eagerly cheering along to the shows signature punchline, “Who’s the daddy?”Again, I ask you to name a single show that provides the source material for this scene. What show so perfectly characterizes the progressive stereotypes of white male patriarchy like Gillette’s “Who’s The Daddy?”That’s not defending Hollywood. No, I agree that they are a pit of toxic and manipulative people who have as little morals as they have the right to tell the rest of us how to live our lives, but given how openly they like to signal their progressive virtues regardless of how they act behind closed doors, when was the last time they produced something like this? This question must be answered if the suggestion that programs like this greatly affect the psyche of America. If they have such a toxic and widespread effect, what are the shows so that we can take them off the air?Again, this is an appeal to victimhood as the implication of this bit exaggerates some vague inappropriate behavior at some point in television history into a defining characteristic of how we socialize young men.Now, that’s not to say that Hollywood doesn’t use suggestive stereotypes to portray people in hateful manners. No, that’s all too common, indeed. If Gillette’s suggestion that to do so can affect the way we think about people and act towards them, what does that say for the very real examples of Netflix and Orange is the New Black with their extraordinary bigoted depiction rural white Christians, or as some have called them, the last species where bigotry is acceptable to progressives?Following Gillette’s own implied message from literally two seconds ago, and in a world where readers would fail to produce anything that actually looks like “Who’s The Daddy?”, I think it is pretty damning of people not to hold companies like Netflix and the creators of OITNB accountable of outright and open bigotry of millions of very decent people. If the point of “Who’s The Daddy?” was to say that the media warps our minds with hateful messaging, what does it say about the millions of young people that cheered on shows like Orange is the New Black, specifically that portion of its audience priding itself on openness and tolerance.Next scene, a sleezebag, slicked back corporate executive touches without consent the single woman in a board room filled with, again, white men, where upon he “mansplains” her answer away, then shifting to her look of disbelief and defeat.Here, for the third time in 30 seconds, we see how women are the victims of toxic masculinity, this time invoking the common leftist talking point that women have no chance in a male dominated corporate world, with imagery of bullying in the work-space. Yet again, the issue of bullying glosses over its universal human nature, and yet again, both bullying and sexual harassment are conflated with masculinity, as if the three are inseparable.Finally, we see a scene where two boys are fighting as a group of fathers barbecuing dismiss the violence as “boys will be boys.” This mantra is repeated, as if religious dogma, by all three men. Then in a display of how our culture programs its young boys with the violent and mind killing tendencies of masculinity, the mantra is chanted by an infinite row of (white) men behind their identical grills.This moment was where the ad went from, as one answer eloquently puts it “Leftist malarkey” to actually alienating its own customer base.Here, while saying that all men are essentially unthinking drones, the ad very clearly lays the blame on all men for why bullying and sexual harassment happen because men have created a special set of rules allowing young boys to become monsters because “boys will be boys”.If having a conversation is the intention of this ad, then perhaps we should take the time to do that by having a conversation about the nature and state of boys in America.“Boys will be boys” isn’t a free-for-all excuse for young boys to get away with all things violent, sexual, or misbehaved, and it isn’t encouraging the kinds of hateful and evil depictions thus far presented in the Gillette ad, most notably the psychopathic violence of the gang at the start of the ad, which is being alluded to in the two young boys playing.What “boys will be boys” means is that raising boys is different than raising girls. With a 95% predictable certainty of the time, boys will be more active, more rambunctious, and more difficult to control than their sisters. What’s more, the axiom is a societal acknowledgment that such rough play is not only normal, but necessary, that for boys to be healthy, they need to engage in rough and tumble play, wrestling, and even play fighting[5].There are many social benefits to rough and tumble play. Children discern the give-and-take of appropriate social interactions and learn to read and understand the body language of other children. The social skills of signaling and detecting signals developed through play will be used throughout their lives. They also learn to change roles in their play as at times they are chasing others and then being chased themselves.[6]But to most women, this is less common to how they are socialized. For women, play fighting, wrestling, getting dirty, and getting hurt are less normal to how they are raised, but for boys, it is necessary for them to develop healthy relationships. Through play, they learn what force is necessary and appropriate and how to temper their natural strength compounded with their naturally occurring aggression producing hormones. The rough play helps them develop their relationships and communication skills, as well as self control, not only with other boys, but with girls as well, as with them, control is paramount.Men understand this, but to many women who are socialized differently than boys, it simply looks like violence. Physical violence being much more dangerous to women, in all its forms it must strictly be banned.We’re starting to see the unintended consequences of a society that tells boys that “boys can’t be boys”, however. At a proportional rate of rough play being discouraged, we see a rise in problems dealing with young boys developing anti-social behavior. This includes the growing problem of boys failing in schools at an alarming rate relative to their girl counterparts. This has been documented even by hard left outlets like the Huffington Post[7] and The Washington Post[8]. Along with failing grades, we see a rise in the mostly boy children being proscribed powerful medications to “keep them still”[9] in the classroom. This isn’t harping on teachers. The boys do have a harder time keeping still today then in the past and an inability to focus in the classroom. I’m just saying, it isn’t men say that boys will be boys that this problem happened. Perhaps most alarming, the inability of boys to express themselves and learn through rough social interaction, or even to confront bullying they face in traditional “man-to-man” confrontations, may even have a hand in only now are so many mostly young white males growing up to become school shooters. Again, I’m not saying that “boys will be boys” would have changed all that, but as we punish the behavior, other behaviors very negative to the life of boys and detrimental to a healthy society are taking its place.For more on this subject, I suggest the book, The Boy Crisis by Dr. Warren Farrell and Dr. John Gray.No, what the Gillette ad depicted was that a toxic force of our culture was endemic to men. What’s worse was that it showed where fathers condone violence among their boys. Note, these are fathers active in their children’s lives when absentees fathers are a far greater problem to society. But these dads, are in fact, a leading cause of the hatefulness of our culture. This was a deeply alienating suggestion to make from a company that has fully lost touch with its customer base in the hopes of enticing young millennial progressives with its new found wokeness.That Gillette is now suggesting, and the next point will make that clear, that this rough play and the way that good fathers raise their boys differently than their daughters, is the cause of bullying and sexual harassment, is to many men, unforgivable for a for profit company that sells razors to say.Next scene, a young, pretty, somewhat ethnically ambiguous news anchor woman recounts yet another disappointing sexual assault allegation as images depicting the American flag wave behind her.For a number of reasons, this was the moment I had to stop watching my first attempt review the ad.By this point, the audience is now fully framed on the suggestion that men and masculinity, are the cause of all forms of bullying, sexual harassment, and assault. Viewers have been primed with the emotional triggers of :terror of young male psychotic rage and sexual devianceempathy through the suffering and victimization of innocent children and mothersoutrage at the callousness of mindless men allowing and encouraging it all to happenThey’ve also been led to believe that this problem of the conflated toxic masculinity is due to the way society indoctrinates boys both subliminally though media, or in how men pass on hateful attitudes to their boys via the rites of masculinity.After the audience has been sufficiently bought in, this young woman lays out a final crime, sexual assault, which is obviously not the crime a single individual man, but of all men.Let me tell you the real reason why I couldn’t stomach the ad at this point. It isn’t what the woman is saying. It’s who she is.Anahit Misak "Ana" Kasparian is most known for her role as a producer and host of hard left progressive online news network, The Young Turks. What The Young Turks themselves are most known for, other than popularizing the f-word in so called journalism, is that in the age of rampant liberal media bias, its creator Cenk Uygur, runs his own political action committee, “the Wolf Pac”, dedicated to using private funds to influence government decisions with the soul aim of ensuring that conservatives aren’t allowed to use private funds to influence government decisions. You can’t make this stuff up.Worse yet, The Young Turks were named after the original Young Turks, a progressive Turkish regime which took over the nation following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and conducted the first widespread genocide of the 20th century. Over the course of a decade, the Young Turks conducted wave after wave of purges and forced removal of the native Christian Armenian population in what was later called the Armenian Genocide. Millions of Armenians were killed in this genocide and the Christian population of Turkey was reduced from around 20% near the start of the 20th century, to less than 1% twenty years later. Why this is relevant, other than that The Young Turks literally took their name from the group which conducted the genocide, but that they denied the holocaust ever happened for years. Ana, an ethnic Armenian herself, was complicit in this, going along with the denial until the entire network was finally forced to acknowledge the Young Turk’s atrocities.To make this completely clear, it would be like a Polish Jew working for a news company who literally named themselves, “The Nazis”, and who spent years denying the Jewish Holocaust. Now Gillette is making this the face of, how some have called it, decency?But there’s more. Specific to Kasparian, was her behavior towards women following election night 2016.I have no respect for women who voted for Trump. Okay? I think so poorly of them, and the reason why is because… Look, I don’t think you’re a single issue voter. I just think you’re dumb. Okay? I think you’re f***ing dumb for voting for a man who… [Blah, blah, orange man bad] … You’re an idiot. Yeah, you’re an idiot. You’re just… you’re voting against your best interests.That was literally said on the show — “SHAME On Women Who Voted For Trump | Election Day Coverage 2016” — A woman telling other women they’re dumb, they’re f***ing dumb, because they didn’t vote the way she wanted them to. Now Gillette is also making this the voice of women in a video created to shame men, to teach them not to bully and belittle others?To quote Kasparian, “Yeah, you’re an idiot.”Now, if Gillette wanted to pick someone who progressives who happened to be millennial would love — score, but if you are part of the 95% of America who don’t identify that way, this is one of the most alienating celebrities a corporation could have picked to carry their banner.But moving on…The focus on Kasparian shifts, as she is joined by a host of other news broadcasts. All echo vaguely in the distance the singular message of how big the problem is — men — bullying, and sexual violence and harassment.This shot is one people should think about. It is used in movies to quickly deliver the backstory on plot events that have significance in the setting of that fictitious world. That’s where you’re used to it — fiction movies where they don’t have time to give you all the backstory. But when used in real life, it takes on a slightly different meaning.The “everyone is talking about it” shot is a psychological pull to convince viewers of the gravity of a situation and more. By showing numerous broadcasts supporting notion that the world is focused on a singular issue, it suggests that anyone not involved is part of the out group. If you don’t agree with those who are very, very concerned by this, you’re not part of “the tribe” of good people. This is a very powerful mental trick because it triggers very primal desires to be part of a community, as being rejected as a member of an out group has traditionally brought to our species nothing but suffering and death. We’re evolved to want to be part of the popular kids.But there is something interesting about the news programs presented. Who are these people? While it’s debatable whether anyone objective would call The Young Turks “news”, who are the rest of these people? Literally, who are they?They’re actors. They don’t represent real news casts. Seriously. Look at the bottom corner. What major network simply calls themselves “News News”?They’re fake actors, in fake studios, presenting fake headlines. It is literally… fake news — along with The Young Turks, not to be redundant.In the age of Trump, I can’t believe Gillette would use a barrage shot of literal fake news they created. Not only this, but they put this much work into faking news for the intent of swaying people with psychological tricks no different than school yard peer-pressure (everyone’s doing it) to shame them to believe as they want them to.And what was that again?That bad things happen, mostly to women and little kids, that those bad things happen because men will be men, and that normal behaviors to masculine culture are the cause of them. The only solution, men need to change, and the only good men are the men who do the changing of everyone else.I want to admit, this was the point that I had to stop watching the first time I tried. I was completely disgusted at seeing Ana “you’re f***ing dumb” Kasparian representing the voice of women in a message intended to shame men for things that the institution of men is not responsible for. But, I wanted to talk on this, because there is just so much wrong, that I had to finish.At this point we actually run into the moment where the campaign’s “We Believe” name is invoked directly in the ad. “We Believe”, in case anyone still doesn’t know, is a phrase which has become synonymous with women’s rights groups (another obvious call to the intended market of the ad), short for “we believe women”. #Believewomen deals with women coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. Often, even in cases of legitemate sexual assault, women don’t come forward in a timely manner and little to no evidence is available. This brought on the demand in cases of rape and sexual assault to believe the woman without evidence, or to put another way, without the due process of law.While I sympathize with those who believed this to be necessary for those women needing justice, the practice has resulted in many cases of men being expelled from college, fired from work, and as no one will soon forget, led to the baseless accusations surrounding the Kavenaugh hearings. Because many have used the movement to manipulate power, to men’s rights groups, it has become an implicitly anti-male movement in stark contradiction to basic premise of our justice system — innocent until proven guilty.Yet, Gillette invoked that movement, even as they said, “We believe in the best in men.”Frankly, I doubt that. I don’t think that the creators see any good in men at all. I think they are obsessed with what they view as bad men. Why do I have that opinion? Take all of this that I’ve shared and know that it is only in the latest of a portfolio of misandry that is the work by the director, Kim Gehrig. Here’s her “exploration of the shifting aspects of Australian masculinity” titled, again, you can’t make this up… You Think You’re a Man.Wow.I wonder what that says about Terry Crews…I want to be honest, given everything up to this point, about 1 minute of commercial, I don’t support what Gillette seems to think a good man is. They have lied, they have conflated evil with good, they have used hateful people as their chosen representatives, and they have intentionally alienated their target audience with politically biased rhetoric.After going back and finishing it, I have to say, had they started the ad immediately after this point, there would have been little wrong.The Terry Crews plug, while a bit exploitative, was a very good message. He has a very good story about how individual men can be monsters and how men should hold other men accountable. There’s nothing wrong with saying that. It’s what I’ve been saying for years. Nor was it wrong to post the other lifted videos of men, such as the man stopping a gang fight or the one one uplifting his daughter, though those seemed oddly targeted for ethnic reasons, as well. But there is nothing wrong with that message, either.It was when you layer in the other messaging; the subtle, suggestive, and subliminal — that normal male culture creates these barbaric impulses in young men, that the context of what Crews said changes. Review the messages in this ad:the psychopathic and sadistic rage of the opening;online bullying, which isn’t even the domain of boys;that bullying itself is a male trait, ignore the fact that bullying in various forms is a human constant;that sexually abusive tendencies are programmed into men mindlessly through media messaging;that rough play and other normal and healthy boyhood activity is synonymous with violence;that the entire institution of manhood are mindlessly complicitand that all of these are reinforced and encouraged by the positive culture of menOnce all of these are accounted for, it radically changes the context of what Terry Crews said, when he said, “We have to hold men accountable.”It no longer meant, “We have to hold men who are bad accountable for what they do.” The new frame of his message was, “We have to hold Men accountable because Men are bad.”This, the many layered message behind what the commercial overtly saying, that is what I disagree with.Men are not bad. Men do not have a problem in society. Men have built society. It was men who have served and died in protection of this country throughout it’s history and continue to do so today. It was also men who have served and died in the most dangerous jobs society needed to maintain itself and continue to do so today. It isn’t the traits and behaviors that made us do that that makes the culture and institution of manhood something that it toxic.It’s what makes real masculinity great.And real masculinity isn’t just defined as “standing up for women.” It isn’t only that. It’s learning how to do what is hard, to suck it up when times are hard, and be the source of strength for others in times of uncertainty. It’s stoically doing things you don’t want to do because it helps others who matter to you more than you do. This is what is called “toxic masculinity” today, but nothing could be further from the truth.And that isn’t bashing women. Women were and still are a crucial part of that story. But it is saying that we are different, and that that difference is precious. We are both unique and important and we as a people are better when we acknowledge our differences and complementary natures. When men acknowledge the greatness, beauty, and value of women, protecting and cherishing it, and when women acknowledge the greatness, self-sacrifice, and value of men, supporting and honoring it, that is when we are at our absolute best as a people. That is not a toxic belief to hold.You want to talk about toxic masculinity? Fine. Why not listen to what good men say about it — That a society is wrong that tells women to treat their bodies like disposable commodities, because that only rewards men who don’t value them. Truly toxic men love a world like that, one where they are free to discard them like dulled, dirty, and disgusting razor carriages after serving its purpose.Instead of targeting good dads watching their children playing in normal manhood activities or engaging in fellowship with other men, why not target the wolves and predators who prey on women at bars, clubs, and exploit them for the benefits their sexual beauty gives them?Why did Gillette not make ads about those men?But by all means, yes, Gillette, let’s hold those men accountable. But while we’re at it… maybe you need a good come to Jesus meeting, too.Gillette, you sexualized women to sell your razors. You branded your name across the butts of beautiful women dolled up and wrapped in catsuits. You did that to satiate and salivate the baser natures of men, so that they would associate your brand with getting laid, the same men you now use to signal your own virtue. Not only are you not owning that, but instead, claiming you somehow still have the right to some moral high ground to lecture the rest of us on being horrible men.You do not have that right.You are a company that sells razors, and as the political wind shifts, you shifted from “empowering women who want to use their body however they wish,” to lecturing men about how our culture does exactly that. You overstepped your limits to try to brand yourselves to a toxic and hateful ideology, one which has made yourselves abundantly clear that you hate your target market.You’ve failed to sell and compete in a market where the new winners actually listen and respect their target market. You’ve become disconnected and don’t deserve to be patroned by me anymore.Yeah, I’ve been a customer for years. But I’ve got two more cans of your cream left, after which, I’m thinking of going back to Barbasol. That’s what they gave us in Marine boot camp. When I use it, gosh it just makes me feel like a man.And a new friend just taught me about how much cheaper safety razors are compared to the money I’ve been dumping buying your cartridges. They’re pretty classy, too. I might just buy one and save myself a good hundred bucks this year.What can I say? I Mary Kondo’d you, and you just don’t spark joy anymore.So yeah, Gillette, here’s to holding men accountable, or whoever is still in charge over there. I’m curious if they will still be around long after the next quarterly earnings statement to tell us if it was worth it. To everyone else, just remember an old axiom they teach in Intro to Marketing:A happy customer tells three people. An angry one tells a thousand.Relaxed. Researched. Respectful. - War ElephantFootnotes[1] How Girls Bully Differently From Boys[2] Women Influence 83% Of All Consumer Spending In U.S.[3] The Female Economy[4] Microaggressions and the Rise of Victimhood Culture[5] Do Boys Need Rough and Tumble Play?[6] http://www.ccie.com/library/5018870.pdf[7] Why Boys Are Failing In An Educational System Stacked Against Them[8] Page on washingtonpost.com[9] Stop Penalizing Boys for Not Being Able to Sit Still at School

This answer may contain sensitive images. Click on an image to unblur it.Indirectly its a small percentage of children maimed or killed each year compared to those who commit suicide due to being bullied.Bullying is a form of child abuse regardless of the age of the aggressor. Its long term affects can and do cause some victim’s of bullying to commit ‘bullicide’“Bullying is the systematic abuse of power and is defined as aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing by peers that is carried out repeatedly and involves an imbalance of power, either actual or perceived, between the victim and the bully.1 Bullying can take the form of direct bullying, which includes physical and verbal acts of aggression such as hitting, stealing or name calling, or indirect bullying, which is characterized by social exclusion. (e.g., you cannot play with us, you are not invited, etc.) and rumor spreading”Below is a long list of just some of the children who took their lives due to being bullied.If you don't think bullies can ‘kill’ their victims then just read the list below.List of suicides[edit]William Arthur Gibbs (1865–1877) was a boarder at Christ's Hospital school in Sussex who committed suicide by hanging on 4 May 1877 at age 12 after being bullied and beaten. This caused an outcry and the government subsequently held an official inquiry.[1][2][3]Kelly Yeomans (1984–1997), age 13, an English schoolgirl from the Derby suburb of Allenton, became widespread news when the cause was blamed on bullying to which she had been subjected by other local children. She was reported to be the victim of repeated harassment and taunting, particularly about her weight. Matters came to a head in September 1997, when a group of youths reportedly gathered at Yeomans's home on several consecutive nights, on each occasion throwing food at the house[4] and shouting taunts aimed at Yeomans. This prompted Yeomans to tell her family, "I have had enough and I'm going to take an overdose."[5] Five youths between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were convicted of intentionally harassing Yeomans in the months leading up to her death.[6]Jared High (1985–1998), age 13, was a middle school student who committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a gun because of being bullied. He died on September 29, 1998, six days after his thirteenth birthday.[7]April Himes (1986-2000), age 13, was an eighth grade student at Carmichael Middle School who committed suicide by hanging herself in the closet on Valentine's Day 2000 because of bullying. Students at school would go around and called her "fat" because of her weight.[8]Hamed Nastoh (1985–2000), age 14, Afghan-Canadian high school student who committed suicide by jumping off the Pattullo Bridge due to bullying.[9][10] Nastoh was a Grade 9 student at Enver Creek Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia. He left a note for his family about all the bullying he had suffered. In the note it mentions that he was teased by his mates, classmates and even his friends would laugh at him. They would always call him "four-eyes", "big-nose", and "geek", because his average marks were above 90 percent.[9] At 5:00 pm, Nastoh's mother, father, and younger brother, David, went outside to hang out with a neighbour. Hamed and his older brother, Abdullah, were home during the night. One hour later, Abdullah took a shower. Hamed put on his new Tommy Hilfiger jacket, slipped out, and made his way, probably by bus, to the Pattullo. When Nastoh arrived at the Pattullo Bridge, he jumped.[11]Dawn-Marie Wesley (1986–2000), age 14, Canadian high school student who committed suicide by hanging due to bullying.[12] She was a student who committed suicide, after allegedly experiencing a cycle of bullying by psychological abuse and verbal threats from three female bullies at her high school.[13] She left behind a note to her family that referred to the bullying to which she had been subjected: "If I try to get help, it will get worse. They are always looking for a new person to beat up and these are the toughest girls. If I ratted, they would get expelled from school and there would be no stopping them. I love you all so much." She committed suicide by hanging herself with her dog's leash in her bedroom.[13]Nicola Ann Raphael (1985–2001), age 15, Lenzie Academy high school student who died by suicide via an overdose of co-proxamol due to bullying.[14]Ryan Halligan (1989–2003), age 13, was an American student from Essex Junction, Vermont, who died by suicide at the age of 13 after allegedly being bullied by his classmates in person and online. According to the Associated Press, Halligan was allegedly repeatedly sent homophobic instant messages, and was "threatened, taunted and insulted incessantly".[15] Halligan's case has been cited by legislators in various states proposing legislation to curb cyber-bullying.[15] In Vermont, laws were subsequently enacted to address the cyberbullying problem and the risk of teen suicides, in response.[16] In 2008, his suicide and its causes were examined in a segment of the PBS Frontline television program entitled "Growing Up Online." His suicide has also been referenced in many other news stories on bullying.Jeff Weise (1988–2005), age 16, was an American high school student who committed the Red Lake shootings and then died by suicide after years of bullying, gunshot.[17]Desire Dreyer (1989-2006), age 16, was a junior at Glen Este High School who committed suicide by hanging in her bedroom after being bullied by a group of girls at school.[18]Megan Meier (1992–2006), age 13, was an American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, who died of suicide by hanging three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. A year later, Meier's parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the social networking website Myspace. Allegedly, individuals intended to use Meier's messages to get information about her and later humiliate her.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]Brodie Panlock (1987–2006), age 19, was an Australian waitress from Melbourne who died after jumping from a multilevel carpark in Hawthorn. Her suicide was attributed to serious workplace bullying at the café where she worked. Her parents successfully lobbied the Victorian Government to amend the Crimes Act 1958 to include serious bullying as a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment.[26]Jessica Logan (1990-2008), age 18, committed suicide by hanging in her bedroom after being badly bullied at school by students over a nude picture. When she and her ex-boyfriend broke up, the boyfriend forwarded her picture to hundreds of other high school girls, many of whom allegedly harassed Logan at school, calling her a "slut" and "whore." [27]Sladjana Vidovic (1992–2008), age 16, from Mentor, Ohio, hanged herself in October 2008 by jumping from a window with a sheet around her neck. She and her family were from Croatia. Because of her accent and her name, other students called her names like "Slutty Jana" and "Slut-Jana-Vagina".[28][29][30]Jaheem Herrera (1997–2009), age 11, was a fifth grade student in Atlanta, DeKalb County, Georgia, who committed suicide by hanging in the closet with a belt after being bullied by his classmates.[31]Hope Witsell (1996–2009), age 13, was a middle school student who committed suicide due to bullying. The bullying began when Hope "sexted" a photo of her breasts to her boyfriend. The photo went viral after it was posted online, causing all the other kids at school to start bullying Hope. When the school officials discovered the photo, they kicked her out of school. Hope struggled to handle the pain, later deciding she couldn't take it anymore. Her mother found her hanged from her bed canvas with a pink scarf.[32]Tyler Long (1992–2009), age 17, was a homosexual student with Asperger syndrome. Because of his homosexuality and disability, students would steal from him, spit in his cafeteria food, and call him names like "gay" and "faggot". When his mother Tina Long went to the school to complain about the bullying, the school responded to them saying that "boys will be boys" or "he just took it the wrong way." On October 17, 2009, two months into his junior year of high school, Tyler Long changed his pajamas into his favorite T-shirt and jeans. He strapped a belt around his neck and hanged himself from the top shelf of his bedroom closet. The story of his suicide was later told in the 2011 documentary Bully.[33]Ty Smalley (1998–2010), age 11, was bullied because he was small for his age. Bullies would cram him into lockers and shove him into trash cans. They would also call him names like "Shrimp" and "Tiny Ty". On May 13, 2010, Ty was cornered in the school gymnasium and a bully started a fight by pushing him. Normally, Ty would just walk away when a situation like this occurred, but on this occasion, he stood up for himself and pushed back. He and the bully were both sent to the school office. Ty served a three-day suspension, but the bully only served one day of his victim's suspension. After school that day, Ty committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his father's .22 caliber pistol.[34] His story was also told in the 2011 documentary Bully.[35][36]Phoebe Prince (1994–2010), age 15, an American high school student who died by hanging herself, following school bullying and cyberbullying.[37] Her death led to the criminal prosecution of six teenagers for charges including civil rights violations,[38] as well as to the enactment of stricter anti-bullying legislation by the Massachusetts state legislature.[39] Prince had moved from Ireland to South Hadley, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.[40] Her suicide, after suffering months of bullying from school classmates, brought international attention to the problem of bullying in US schools. In March 2010, a state anti-bullying task force was set up as a result of her death. The Massachusetts legislation was signed into law on May 3, 2010.[39] The trial for those accused in the case occurred in 2011.[41][42] Sentences of probation and community service were handed down after guilty pleas on May 5, 2011.[43]Tyler Clementi (1991–2010), age 18, a student at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge on September 22, 2010. On September 19, Dharun Ravi, his roommate, and a fellow hallmate allegedly used a webcam to view, without Clementi's knowledge, Clementi kissing another man.[44] On September 21, the day prior to the suicide, the roommate allegedly urged friends and Twitter followers to watch via his webcam a second tryst between Clementi and his friend.[45][46] Clementi's death brought national and international attention to the issue of cyberbullying and the struggles facing LGBT youth.[47]Jamie Hubley (1995–2011), age 15, died by suicide on October 14, 2011. The Ottawa teen was subjected to anti-gay bullying. Hubley's death was the impetus for the Accepting Schools Act, 2012, an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario which mandated school boards across the province to develop tougher anti-bullying programs with tougher penalties for infractions, and offered legal protections for gay-straight alliances in the province's schools.[48] On June 3, 2013, Allan Hubley (the father of Jamie) and Laureen Harper announced a new federal anti-bullying strategy, which will see approximately 2,400 teenagers across Canada trained in delivering peer education workshops and presentations against bullying for their fellow students.[49]Jamey Rodemeyer (1997–2011), age 14, was a gay[50] teenager, known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of homophobic bullying. He ended his life by hanging himself, allegedly as a result of constant bullying.[51]Ashlynn Conner (2000–2011), age 10, was an elementary school student who committed suicide by hanging herself in the closet on November 11, 2011 because of bullying. According to her mother, she had tried to get help from teachers, but they told her to "sit down and stop tattling". Kids would go around in school calling her "fat", "ugly", and a "slut". When she asked her mother to be homeschooled, she refused. As a result, she took her own life. Her body was discovered by her sister.[52]Audrie Pott (1997–2012), age 15, a student attending Saratoga High School, California. She died of suicide by hanging on September 12, 2012. She had been allegedly sexually assaulted by three teenage boys at a party eight days earlier and pictures of the assault were posted online with accompanying bullying.[citation needed] Pott's suicide and the circumstances surrounding it have been compared to the suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons, a young woman in Canada, appearing to show highly similar characteristics. New laws are being considered as a result of these events.[53][54]Amanda Todd (1996–2012), age 15, a Canadian high school student who died of suicide by hanging due to school bullying and cyberbullying.[55] She died by suicide at the age of 15 at her home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to her death, Todd had posted a video on YouTube in which she used a series of flash cards to tell her experience of allegedly being blackmailed into exposing her breasts via webcam;[56] bullied; and physically assaulted. The video went viral after her death,[57] resulting in international media attention. The video has had more than 20 million views as of 2019.[56] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and British Columbia Coroners Service launched investigations into the suicide. At the time of her death, Todd was a grade 10 student[58] at CABE Secondary in Coquitlam,[59] a school that caters to students who have experienced social and behavior issues in previous educational settings.[60] In response to the death, Christy Clark, the premier of British Columbia, made an online statement of condolence and suggested a national discussion on criminalizing cyberbullying.[61][62] Also, a motion was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons to propose a study of the scope of bullying in Canada, and for more funding and support for anti-bullying organizations. Todd's mother Carol established the Amanda Todd Trust, receiving donations to support anti-bullying awareness education and programs for young people with mental health problems.Kenneth Weishuhn (1997–2012), age 14, was a teen who is known for his suicide which raised the national profile on gay bullying and LGBT youth suicides. Weishuhn, then 14 years old, was allegedly bullied in person, death threats were sent to his mobile phone, and he was the subject of a Facebook hate group. He was targeted for being gay, having come out one month before his suicide. Weishuhn told his mother Jeannie Chambers "Mom, you don't know how it feels to be hated". The bullying was characterized as "aggressive",[63] "merciless"[64] and "overwhelming".[65] In response to the bullying, Weishuhn took his own life in April 2012.[66] He hanged himself in the family's garage.[67][68]Jadin Bell (1997–2013), age 15, was an Oregon youth known for his suicide which raised the national profile on youth bullying and gay victimization in bullying. Bell, a 15-year-old gay youth, was allegedly intensely bullied both in person and on the Internet because he was gay. He was a member of the La Grande High School cheerleading team in La Grande, Oregon, where he was a sophomore. On January 14, 2013, Bell went to a local elementary school and hanged himself from the play structure. He did not immediately die from the strangulation and was rushed to the emergency room, where he was kept on life support.[69] The Associated Press reported that a spokesman for the Oregon Health and Science University's Portland hospital announced that after being taken off life support Bell died on February 3, 2013.[70] Bell's death was largely reported in the media, starting discussions about bullying, the effect it has on youth, and gay bullying. The Huffington Post,[71] Salon,[72] Oregon Public Broadcasting,[73] Raw Story,[74] GLAAD,[75] PQ Monthly,[76] PinkNews[77] and many other media outlets reported on Bell's death. The media reported his suicide stemmed from being bullied for being gay, which Bell's father fully believed, stating "He was hurting so bad. Just the bullying at school. Yeah there were other issues, but ultimately it was all due to the bullying, for not being accepted for being gay."[78]Rehtaeh Parsons (1995–2013), age 17, a former Cole Harbour District High School who died by suicide from hanging. [79] on April 4, 2013, at her home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, leading to a coma and the decision to switch her life support machine off at Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre on April 7, 2013.[80] Her death has been attributed to online distribution of photos of an alleged gang rape that occurred 17 months prior to her suicide attempt, in November 2011.[80][81] On a Facebook page set up in tribute to her daughter, Parsons' mother blamed the four boys who allegedly raped and released images of her, the subsequent constant "bullying and messaging and harassment," and the failure of the Canadian justice system, for her daughter's decision to attempt suicide.[82]Rebecca Ann Sedwick (2000–2013), age 12, American middle school student who committed suicide by jumping due to bullying. Sedwick was a seventh grader at Crystal Lake Middle School in Lakeland, Florida. Sedwick was cyberbullied and bullied in person for one and a half years. Two girls, ages 14 and 12, encouraged others to fight Sedwick, and sent her electronic messages encouraging her to kill herself.[83] In November 2012, her mother Tricia said that "she came home near tears every day".[84] Rebecca committed suicide by jumping from a concrete silo tower to her death.[85]Matthew Burdette (1999–2013), age 14, was a ninth grade student at University City High School in California. He took his own life after two weeks of bullying at school over an embarrassing video. He left a suicide note saying, "I can't handle school anymore and I have no friends. I didn't want to kill myself, but I can't do this anymore." According to Matthew's friends, who spoke up, a classmate went to the bathroom hearing Matthew's moans, peered over the bathroom stall and secretly recorded Matthew while he was in the bathroom. He then posted the video on social media sites including Snapchat and Vine, claiming he caught Matthew "jacking off". According to the Burdette's attorney Allison Warden, a teacher sent Matthew out of class for eating sunflower seeds, but gave him no direction to go, so he went to the bathroom. The boy who took the video confessed and was arrested by the San Diego Police Department.[86]Alyssa Morgan (2002–2015), age 12, was a seventh grade student who was bullied, some part because she was bisexual, kids went around calling her worthless, stupid, and called her racial slurs. On April 6, 2015, Alyssa hung herself in her room.After 3 days in the hospital, Alyssa died on April 9.[87]Ash Haffner (1998–2015), age 16, was a North Carolina student who died by suicide in 2015 at age 16, after being bullied for years because they identified as LGBTQ.Izabel Laxamana (2002–2015), age 13, Filipino-American student attended Giaudrone Middle School in Tacoma, Washington as a 7th grader. She was bullied by family and peers. However, her father, Jeff, had cut her hair short due to having put on a sports bra and leggings to send to her boyfriend. The employees called Laxamana's parents for a parent-teacher conference on the 4th while the haircut happened 24 days later. Izzy was even forced to drop out as student body president, even if it meant more bullying from other students. She cried all day, and the bullies failed to give up as she ignored them. On Friday, May 29, 2015, she jumped off a bridge after an encounter with her grandparents. She died roughly 24 hours afterward in a Seattle hospital.[88]Kennedy LeRoy (1998–2015), age 16, was a high school student with Asperger's Syndrome who committed suicide after being bullied at school.[89]Cassidy Trevan (2000–2015), age 15, was an Australian high school student who committed suicide two years after being gang-raped by a group of older boys from her school in Melbourne. The gang-rape had been orchestrated by two female classmates who pretended to offer her their friendship after bullying her incessantly. The girls and another boy acted as lookouts while the assault took place. The five teenagers involved were named to the police but were never interviewed.[90]Felix Alexander (1999–2016), age 17, was a high school student who took his own life, throwing himself in front of a train after seven years of bullying.[91]Daniel Fitzpatrick (2002–2016), age 13, ended his life by hanging himself from the attic with a belt after years of relentless bullying while a student at Holy Angels Catholic Academy. He wrote a letter about his former friends (who didn't like him for no reason) how they were bullying and blaming him, and his teachers weren't doing anything to help him. He ended his life on August 11, 2016, two weeks before his fourteenth birthday.[92]Tyrone Unsworth (2003–2016), age 13, was an eighth grade student in Brisbane, Australia who committed suicide on November 22, 2016 after years of bullying motivated by his homosexuality.[93] His grandfather had planned that he would be at school on this day, but he remained at his grandfather's farm. His grandfather returned to the farm from work at about 1 p.m. When he did not find Unsworth in the house, he "walked out the back" and found him dead.Brandy Vela (1998–2016), age 18, was a high school senior who committed suicide in November 2016 after years of bullying in person and online by her peers about her weight. According to Brandy's sister Jacqueline, the bullies creating dating websites to harass Brandy. They would lie about her age, use her picture, and use her phone number to tell people she's giving herself up for sex for free to call her. Brandy shot herself in the chest with a firearm and died at the hospital the following day. After Brandy's death, a couple of teenagers were arrested for bullying her.[94]Katelyn Davis (2004–2016), age 12, was sexually abused by her stepfather,phiscallly abused by her mother, and bullied online. On December 30 2016,Katelyn hung herself in her backyard over her treehouse.[95]Gabriel Taye (2008–2017), age 8, was a third grade student who committed suicide after being bullied. According to documents, school video footage shows students in the boys bathroom knocking Gabriel down, he was unconscious by the time the school faculty came to pick him up and send him to the clinic. When Gabriel returned to school two days later, the bullying continued. He later committed suicide by hanging himself from his bunk bed with a neck tie.[96]Jessica Scatterson (2004–2017), age 12, was a student from England who committed suicide by hanging in the closet due to bullying at school and online. One of Jessica's friends said that she came home from school with scratches on her face and a swollen eye from a fight with another girl. Her body was found at 3:45 a.m. on April 22, 2017, two days before her thirteenth birthday.[97]Mallory Grossman (2005–2017), age 12, was a sixth-grade student at Copeland Middle School who committed suicide after nine months of relentless bullying at school and online. Her parents complained to the school officials about the bullying, but their concerns were dismissed. Her mother, Dianne, said that the bullies still haven't been punished. The method in which she ended her life has not been revealed. After her death, she was cremated. According to the Mallory's Army Facebook page, Mallory was born on Earth Day of 2005.[98]Toni Rivers (2006–2017), age 11, was a sixth grade student in South Carolina who committed suicide by shooting herself with a gun after being bullied. Before her death, she told her friends that she couldn't take the bullying anymore. She was taken to the hospital, where she received treatment for 72 hours before dying.[99]August Ames (1994–2017) (born Mercedes Grabowski) was a Canadian pornographic actress and model. On December 5, 2017, Ames was found dead at her home in Camarillo, California at the age of 23.[100] Her death was ruled a suicide by the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office.[101] Media outlets have insinuated Ames committed suicide following successive comments on Twitter in which she defended her refusal to perform in a pornographic movie with a man who had previously worked in gay pornography and sparking an "online firestorm".[102] Ames wrote that the decision was out of concern for her health. Some members of the gay community suggested her comments were homophobic and ill-informed about STI testing in the adult industry. Friends said she suffered from depression,[103] and Ames had previously discussed struggles with bipolar and "multiple personality" disorder.[104]Rosalie Avila (2004–2017), age 13, was an seventh grade student at Mesa View Middle School who committed suicide after two years of bullying. Her mother found her body, hanging in the closet. Before she took her own life, she left some suicide notes on her bed including, "Sorry, Mom and Dad, I love you.", "Sorry, Mom, you're gonna find me like this. And "Please don't show my picture at my funeral" Her father later discovered what she had written in her journal. It is said the kids were bullying her at school about her braces: "They told me I was ugly today. They're making fun of me about my teeth." In late December of 2017, she was buried.[105]Ashawnty Davis (2007–2017), age 10, was a fifth grade student in Colorado who committed suicide by hanging after being bullied at school and online. According to her parents, Ashawnty was bullied after a video of a fight she was in at her school in Aurora in October was posted on an app. Ashawnty confronted a girl who had already been bullying her and the fight was recorded on a cellphone and posted to an app called TikTok - Make Your Day. When Ashwanty found out about the video, she was devastated. Two weeks after the video was taken, she took her own life.[106] About a week after Davis' death, an eight year old girl from New Jersey named Imani Mccray saw news reports of the suicide of Ashwanty Davis on the computer before taking her own life. Her parents discovered McCray unconscious in her room that afternoon not long after they reportedly sent her to her room for a timeout. She was pronounced dead 40 minutes after arriving to the University Hospital.[107]Gabriella Green (2005–2018), age 12, was a middle school student in Florida who committed suicide after being bullied at school and on social media. According to police, the two bullies, who were also 12, confessed to bullying and stalking Gabriella. When Gabriella told one of the bullies she tried to hang herself, the bully responded, "If you're going to do it, just do it!" Gabriella's cousin told the police that she slipped a dog leash around her neck and hanged herself in the closet. The bullies were arrested.[108]Andrew Leach (2005–2018), age 12, was a sixth grade student at Southheaven Middle School who committed suicide by hanging himself in the garage on March 6, 2018. Andrew was bullied in school after revealing he might be bisexual. The kids at school would go around calling him "fat", "ugly" and "worthless." One day, his classmates followed him to the bathroom and told him, "We're gonna put hands on you. You're not going to make it out of this bathroom." After his death, he was buried.[109]Stephanie Johnson (2005-2018), age 12, was a sixth grade middle school student who committed suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom after being bullied. Before her death, her classmates told her to go to the bathroom and "kill herself." She died in the hospital four days later.[110]Jamel Myles (2009–2018), age 9, was a fourth grade student from Denver, Colorado who committed suicide after his classmates bullied him for being gay.[111]Du Yuwei (1999–2018) was a Chinese singer and ex-member of GNZ48. On October 16, 2018, Du Yuwei committed suicide at the age of 19 via charcoal-burning, after being bullied for her affair with Huang Jiawei.[112]McKenzie Adams (2009–2018), age 9, was a fourth grade student in Alabama who committed suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom after months of relentless bullying from her classmates.[113]Seven Bridges (2008–2019), age 10, was a fifth grade student at Kerrick Elementary School in Louisville, who committed suicide by hanging in the closet with a belt after his classmates teased him over his colostomy bag.[114]Hailie Masson (2005–2019), age 13, was a middle school student who committed suicide by hanging after being bullied. Before her death, she had a TikTok account and later became a famous TikTok star. She was cremated after her death.[115]Kevin Reese, Jr. (2008–2019), age 10, was a fifth grade student in Robinson Elementary School who committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied by his classmates. According to his mother, his classmates wrote on his tablet 'kill yourself' and 'You don't belong here'. His sister later found his body, hanging in the closet.[116]Ashley Lovelace (2002–2019), age 16, was a high school sophomore known as misslovelace on Instagram. On January 21, 2019, Ashley Lovelace committed suicide due to cyberbullying and depression. [117]Hailey Nailor (2002–2019), age 16, was a high school student who committed suicide by jumping off a mall parking garage roof after being bullied at school and online.[118]Niegel Shelby (2004–2019), age 15, was a ninth grade student from Hunterville, Alabama,He was a homosexual teenager who commited suicde because his classates and friends bullied him because of his sexuality. On April 18, Nigel hung himself in his bedroom, his mother later discovered his body.[119]These children are gone but will never be forgotten.

For those who are into more audiovisual ways of understanding an answer, this YouTube video does a pretty good job …But for those looking for a Quorish-type of answer, to get this part out of the way, my qualifications for presuming to address this question:1 - For about 36 consecutive years, over half my life, I have been both a trainer, facilitator, and educator in Japan. I DO make a distinction between the three, and if you would like to know why, Wiki is a great place to start. Most of that time has been teaching in colleges and universities including Waseda, Tokyo Geijitsu Daigakku, Nichidai, Komozawa, Musashi, and the list goes on. I have turned down a part-time job offer from Keio University. Those of you familiar with Japanese Universities will recognize a few Japanese ‘Ivy League’ names on my short list.2 - I had been a full-time, tenured Professor at Jissen Women's Educational Institute, having reached the rank of ‘Associate Professor', when I chose to resign under protest from what I considered racist policies on the part of my ‘colleagues’ and administration. At the very least, they were guilty of harassment as a breach of Japanese Labor Law, and though looking to put this behind me and hoping to pursue my career elsewhere, my lawyer has told me that I will most likely win a court case should I choose that path.But the Japanese legal system often involves a lengthy process weighted to the advantage of institutions at the cost of individual human rights, and any such victory on my part, will largely be but a symbolic Pyrrhic victory, with little damage to the institution, and little compensation for myself. I am just about to turned 63, and have been unemployed for more than 4 years until recently, and in a country whose government claims a drastic need to upgrade English skills for the tourist industry in general, and the upcoming Olympics specifically. I am still looking for work, but I appear to be black-listed by universities (other than as an anonymous foreigner hired through outsourcing companies) — as Japanese companies have done for burakumin What is Buraku Discrimination ? or other ‘undesirables’.3 - I have also taught classes, as a volunteer, from private kindergartens たまだいらようちえん to corporate in-house technical high schools Hino Motors which are not under the auspices of highly centralized MEXT (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) also known as Mombukagakkusho.4 - I have taught at public high schools sakushin-gakuin-high-schoolに関するnabinnoのはてなブックマーク and have given presentations as a volunteer at various public elementary schools and Jr. High Schools in the Hino City area. I am currently serving as A.E.T. (Assistant English Teacher) one day a week at Sunagawa High School, Tachikawa, serving the needs of at-risk kids.5 - I have a Master’s Degree in Education, T.E.S.O.L. and matriculated into, though did not finish, a Doctoral program in Education at Temple University Japan where I also taught in the Intensive English Language Program, and liberal arts, biology labs, and speaking / writing skills in the undergraduate program for over 15 years — Temple University, Japan Campus.6 - I have published original research regarding Education in Japan (though mostly in in-house academic journals that are not peer-reviewed), and have given several academic presentations in Japan, Korea, and the U.S. regarding that research, one of which was an award winning poster session. The research was geared around student-centered, event-driven curriculums … using a department-wide TEDx type of student-presentation event at the end of the semester to drive a criterion referenced curriculum.7 - All textbooks used in Japanese public schools (elementary through High Schools) must pass through a MEXT textbook committee associated with each subject. As far as I know, only Japanese citizens have been allowed on the history textbook committee, despite the fact that the Japanese government has unsuccessfully tried to pressure American textbook publishers to reflect Japanese views … Japanese Government Pressures American Publisher to Delete Textbook Treatment of Wartime Sexual Slavery: An Interview with Herbert Ziegler .As I am neither Japanese nor a history expert, I have not been on the history textbook committee. But I do know a little about the process. From 2006 until 2011, I was one of maybe 3 native speakers of English in Japan on the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology English Textbook committee. I resigned only because I became too busy and stressed-out with the duties associated with a tenured position in a dysfunctional college.8 - Even though I resigned from the MEXT textbook committee, I am on the mailing list of P.A.L.E. (Professionalism and Administration in Language Education), a special interest group within J.A.L.T. (Japan Association of Language Teachers). Though mostly merely a lurker, it is through the weekly newsletters that I am somewhat familiar with the diminishing status of non-native Japanese language instructors, and the gradual shift of Jr. High and High School English language textbooks from cross cultural contexts to a more Japanese ethnocentric marketing of Japanese cultural exceptionalism to potential tourists ... a cornerstone of Abenomics.9 - Beyond institutionally sanctioned curriculums, I have taken active participation in community outreach activities, both as a role model for students and as therapy for myself. Among those activities is working as supporting member of Soup No Kai, an award winning NPO which is a roving soup kitchen supporting the homeless (see Steve Martin (Steven Martin)'s answer to Is it true that in Japan there are no beggars?), ‘Be Smile’ — a loose coalition of local community members supporting the severely handicapped, went to rural Cambodia four times as teacher and teacher trainer along with college students and friends, was on the board of directors of the Hino Kokusai Koryu Kyokai … an NPO funded by the city government tasked with helping foreigners integrate with the local community, and I have refused money from college students asking me to judge All Japan English Speech Contests … telling them to double the judge’s fee and donated it to an NPO or worthy cause of their choice. Among those speech contests, I have been asked twice by students at Tokyo University, the highest ranked university in Japan.Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, my answer:I generally agree with with Michael Tan's answer, and I applaud the thorough text book research by User as valuable information regarding this question. But with all due respect, beyond what is written in the textbooks, there are other confounding variables implied in the question. I am in particular agreement with Robert Rister that regardless of what is written in the textbook, the more un-patriotic aspects of 'The Pacific War' (as it is usually referred to in Japan), as TAUGHT, are indeed usually glossed over and often not taught at all due to time constraints of a tight curriculum based on standardized testing. Public school teachers and students are obliged to follow mandates from MEXT and the pressures of the market, so they are more concerned with another 'war' ...the Juken Senso.These highly competitive standardized 'testing wars' are common to both the Chinese and Korean education systems as well, 24 photos of China's insanely stressful college entrance exam process, and a lot of malfeasance hits the newspapers every year because such tests are 'high stakes' tests — often the single greatest determining factor determining one's professional and financial success for the rest of their lives. Today's NHK news (Nov. 12, 2015) announced that the Korean Government banned all commercial flights over Korean air-space for an hour or so today, so that the students taking the English listening section of their college entrance exams would not be distracted. Try to imagine THAT happening in the U.S. One of many unintended results of such an educational system is, more often than not, seen as a redefining of education as 'teaching for the test' rather than teaching to raise responsible citizens with marketable skills ... the negative effects of the washback effect. I prefer to just call a spade a spade ... a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.Despite the ideals of many schools' founders, the curricula gradually goes through a process of mission creep towards the negative aspects of the washback effect. It is so grim, so as to make Bush's 'No Child Left Behind Act' look rather tame by comparison, but with the carrot of federal government funds dangling before the business interests of school administrators (and aside from football/basketball coaches and The Princeton Review, the only ones making any money out of the scheme), the U.S. is headed in the same direction. One of the negative aspects of this washback effect is that those subjects which do not easily lend themselves to quantifiable, fill-in-the-blank, multiple-guess formats of standardized tests, tend to get dropped from the curriculum … such as the fine arts, humanities, public speaking, and critical thinking skills. History is a gray area with 'undisputed facts' as published in the textbooks easy to remember and regurgitate, while a critical, multi-facted view of history does not lend itself well to standardized testing. It tends to boil down to the lowest common denominator … brute memorization skills aimed at weeding the chaff from the wheat, and consigning the majority of the population to the life of a compliant, minimal wage, workforce.The editorials referred to by Robert were more than likely addressing the controversial "2006 complete revision of the Fundamental Law of Education, that includes among its objectives the cultivation of patriotism, the high evaluation of Japanese tradition and culture, and the promotion of general knowledge regarding religion in public schools." Shin Buddhism, Authority, and the Fundamental Law of EducationThis has been more than problematic because this government-initiated mandate often finds itself contradicting claims of academic freedom, or the potential for fostering critical thinking skills and a liberal arts education necessary for next year's 18 year-olds to responsibly exercise their right to vote. This 2006 law can, and is currently being used, to undermine the very definition of democracy and individual human rights.To further elaborate on the above, at least twice now, the Japan High Court has ruled against local City School officials who claim to be enforcing the 2006 law. The Japanese national anthem, 'Kimigayo', as well as the flag, 'Hino Maru', are regarded by some Japanese educators as remnants of an unrepentant government's responsibility for The Pacific War. Such teachers refuse to stand and sing the national anthem at the nyugakkushiki (freshmen welcoming address) or sotsugyoshiki (graduation) ceremonies held in every school in Japan ... and the Japanese DO adhere to ceremonial traditions — to a pathological degree, I would argue. The response of the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, as well as other municipalities under obligation to follow MEXT's sometimes contradictory mandates, was punishment of those teachers — which contradicts Japanese Labor Law, as well as Japan's signing on to the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The High Court of Japan, to their credit, ruled against the Tokyo Board of Education. But rulings here in Japan against institutions, appear to carry little weight of enforcement. The Tokyo Board of Education's response is that the ruling is 'regrettable' and the Tokyo Board will continue to punish any teacher that does not obey school administrators. Epoch-making ruling!: Appeal court dismissed anthem punishment for iconic activist teacherAs an aside to strengthen my argument about Japan's lax enactment or enforcement of laws protecting human rights — last year, the greatest single cause of mortality among Japanese males between the ages of 20 and 44, was not cancer, stroke, or car accidents. It was suicide. The national government, perhaps mostly in self-interested recognition that the problem of suicide in the work force may have some effect on the efficiency of Japan's competitive business edge, enacted a new labor law as of 2015. The law stipulates that every company employing 500 or more personnel must provide mental health care resources along with the annual physical medical check ups. Sounds good, right? The problem is, the law does not require that mental health care be assessed or administered by mental health care professionals. Acupuncture anyone? (As an aside, I have done some volunteer work with mental health care outpatients through the auspices of the Hino City Government).Similarly, although Japan has signed onto the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Japan has yet to enact, much less enforce, a law prohibiting racial discrimination under the pretext that 'Japan does not have a problem with racial discrimination'. Ha. Anyone interested, please verify this by checking out debito.org and check out his latest book, 'Embedded Racism: Japan's Visible Minorities and Racial Discrimination (by Dr. Debito ARUDOU), or Ivan Hall's earlier, but still relevant book Cartels of the Mind: Japan's Intellectual Closed Shop about the ethnically closed doors of Japanese institutional decision making processes here.But back to the main question about how WWI and WWII are taught in Japan. Apart from local school boards/administrators trying to enforce the 2006 revision of the education law, teachers have quite a bit of autonomy behind the closed doors of the classroom — and from my experience, even a part-time, Japanese lecturer has more institutional authority and social currency than a tenured non-Japanese faculty member. There are certainly some conscientious educators who are both willing and able to address a link between the yearly mass media blitz of nuclear victimization and the atrocities of Japanese Imperialistic ventures. But the recent collectivist trends of the ruling LDP are making life more difficult for sincere and serious educators.The more important question is ‘How, or IF, recent history will be taught at all in Japan?Despite the 2006 ruling requiring public schools to nurture a more patriotic and ethnocentric mind-set, and the impending 18 year old's suffrage rights in 2016, MEXT is trying to eliminate the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law from the college curriculum - Japan Dumbs Down Its Universities. Here is a link to an article from the Dean of Shiga University expressing the same fears of gutting humanities from the college curricula ... http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/08/23/commentary/japan-commentary/humanities-attack/#.VkLa9Xu_fv3I am afraid that next year's empowerment of 18 year old's with the right to vote is merely a ploy that will have to be paid in full, a few years down the road, with an obligation to serve in a resurgent, newly empowered, 'pro-active defense force’ — an oxymoron if I ever heard one.Although high schools are prohibited from allowing classroom discussions regarding real social problems (such as re-starting the nuclear reactors) in the name of 'political neutrality', the students will be allowed to exercise the right to political activity, off campus. Duhhh. There's not much of a slippery slope to imagining allowing students a critical, liberal arts education — as long as it is off campus ... which then begs the question, what exactly, is the purpose of school?The current administration's apparent answer is to create a technologically literate, but passively compliant, workforce. And the oligarchs scratch their heads in wonder at why they can't foster a creative-entrepreneurial spirit in their compliant workforce. Double Duh. The self-entitled can not have it both ways ... creative AND compliant. That explains why you will not see the Japanese equivalent of a Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, or John Oliver in public media. The ruling elite have long since chosen their priority ... the passive compliance of shiji machi ningen — an obedient work force waiting for orders.As to why this right-wing, collectivist trend is accelerating, the answer is clear enough. Napoleon's warning to 'beware the sleeping giant when it awakens' is now upon us. Most Japanese and most of the ASEAN countries agree that the U.S. is a couple of years too late in sending warships to the Spratly's. American and Japanese Big Business interests are most likely betting less on Chinese business collaboration and more on China's one-party system of government to implode from domestic issues of trying to hold together a country that is both larger and arguably more diverse than America.As for Japan, other than an increasing dependence on tourist trade, the oligarchy still desperately clings to the delusion of trying to profit from international panache while maintaining a mono-ethnic social order. When I first wrote this answer (about 2015), only 11 out of about 5,000 foreign applicants were accepted as political refugees — Japan’s Closed-Door Refugee Policy . 'Yokoso Japan'.But to be fair, as Chris Simms pointed out in his comments under Michael's answer, my own country (the U.S.) is at least as guilty, if not worse, at whitewashing, covering-up, and manipulating 'history'. I am about 1/2 into William Blum's (an ex-CIA analyst) Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II, and it is one thoroughly depressing indictment of American foreign policy and intervention since WW II — and part of my wake-up call to not trust any institution larger than Dunbar's number, and many institutions smaller — even small groups can be led by a bully.But with Japan's current education policies, (including shifting English texts to packaging and marketing Japan's cultural exceptionalism at at the cost of cross cultural understanding) as well as a new and highly controversial State's Secrets Law (abaracadabra - poof! no more Lockheed bribery scandals), such books similar to Blum's, but critiquing Japanese government policies, will likely never be found on the bookshelves over here. Rather, it is in the government's best interest to market and package 'cool Japan' through its sports heroes, anime, manga, 'Hello Kitty' mascots, or exquisite cuisine — one of the oldest tricks of the trade, Bread and circuses. And if that fails, the ruling elite can always follow America's lead in whittling away at human rights by playing the War (on terror) Card. China, exercising its own versions of America's 'Manifest Destiny' and 'The Monroe Doctrine', makes as good a boogey-man as any for marginalizing the individual in the name of collective 'strength' ... thank you Eric Hoffer.If it were not for the 'me-first' Ayn Randers, this would be enough to almost put me in the Libertarian camp. Almost. But I am a Bonobo at heart (thank you Frans de Waal for that). I guess I’ll just have to keep trying to find/make my own small communities to identify with. Thank you Quora, for that.NOTE ... Nov. 21, 2015 Update ... For those interested in pedagogy, I was just invited to 'teach' a group of 18 young employees of the Hino City Government, a suburb of downtown Tokyo. Just a couple of nights ago, I had my first teaching gig in 2 years and it was fantastic. Simply describing the classroom experience, I have a lot to say about education and Japan that builds on the above mini-essay, but am not sure if I should create a separate question and use my observations as one answer.Update, July 14, 2016Japan’s freedom of information ranking has now dropped to 72, between Tanzania and Lesotho Japan : Don’t mess with “state secrets” | Reporters without borders.From last year’s flood of corporate scandals Season of Scandal Hits Japan With Company Confession Flurry, ongoing political scandals … particularly with the upcoming Tokyo Olympics Masuzoe resigns over expenses scandal; Sakurai vows not to enter forthcoming gubernatorial race | The Japan Times, as well as my own personal experience, I’m afraid a ranking of 72 is somewhat charitable.