Addressing the bullying in our schools, or anywhere for that matter, is a huge passion of mine. In my post The Gospel According to Lady Gaga I wrote about the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old who committed suicide because of bullying. Thinking about kids like Jamey I wrote:
This is what I think. I think every Christ-following church should start talking to their youth groups, saying unambiguously: We want you to be a wall of protection for kids like Jamey. Seek out and protect--emotionally and socially--every weird, weak, nerdy, lonely, queer kid at your school. We don't care if they are a goth, or a druggy, or a queer. Doesn't matter. Protect these kids. Churches should train their youth groups to be angels of protection, teaching them to find these kids and say, "Hey, I love you. Jesus loves you. So no one's going to bully you. Not on my watch. Come sit with me at lunch." That's what I think. I think every Christ-following church should start Guardian Angel programs like this, teaching their kids to stick up for kids like Jamey. Not with violence. But with welcome and solidarity. Because it's hard to bully a group. So let's welcome these kids into a halo of protection and friendship.For those interested in this issue, friend of the blog Josh Barkey wanted to get the word out about a Kickstarter campaign for the short film LOCKER 212. LOCKER 212 is "a movie that tells the story of a high school bully who's in for a surprising revelation when he gets his wallflower-victim caught up in a conflict with school authority. It's an exploration of how making real, human connections with our most lost and hurting kids can help us alleviate the bullying and violence that have plagued our schools."
Thanks for posting this, Dr. Beck. It's hard, sometimes, to see the point of throwing art at problems... so I appreciate the vote of confidence from a reasonable chap such as yourself :)
I am an 8th grade public school teacher. The one thing that we will no longer seem to tolerate is bullying, and for good reason. It mostly goes on in the shadows and is not always easy to detect. Thanks for bringing this to light and sharing this resource.
A friend of mine, Scott, has started a ministry in his community called "Project: Haven" (http://www.thehavenonline.net/wordpress/?page_id=164). One of the things that I've seen come out of Scott's work has been calling the students he works with to be encouragers, blessers, etc., of their school mates, no matter who they are... It seems that this is the best way to help students... getting other students to stand in the gap... isn't that what "incarnation" is about? becoming "the other" to be able to minister to "the other" and bring redemption?
Sometimes church youth groups are where the worst bullying goes on. They can't even protect the weak in their midst, let alone become angels of protection for others.
The kickstarter ends in just a few days. We need to donate NOW so that this film can be made.