School Bullying Council

Every day thousands of Americans working for the U.S. government spend all their waking hours keeping their fellow citizens safe. The vast majority of them work quietly — and anonymously — as they track our enemies, aid our allies, and seek out any and all threats to our country. And most of the men and women don’t give a damn about the absurd posturing and contrived drama generated by America’s political process. As I learned first-hand in 2003, there are times when the politicians bring the posturing and drama to you.

I served my country, loyally and well, as a covert CIA operations officer focused on stopping nuclear weapon proliferation until the Bush administration decided to betray my secret identity as payback for my husband questioning the White House’s justification for the Iraq War. The lesson was simple: If you offer the public a true story that is at odds with what the government wants you to know, they will stop at nothing to destroy you, your reputation, and the reputations of the people around you.

In the past few weeks, we have heard riveting stories of heroism and valor from one of the U.S. soldiers who participated in the combat mission that killed Osama bin Laden. His book, written under a pseudonym (his true identity was subsequently made public by Fox News), is by most accounts devoid of any classified information. In fact, most of what is in the book had been already leaked by top officials of the U.S. government themselves. I am dismayed to read the steady stream of criticism flowing from the U.S. government aimed at the book and its author. The Defense Department and administration officials have called the author’s decision to publish the book the “height of irresponsibility.” Former CIA Director and current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has even gone so far as to say, “I think we have to take steps to make clear to him and to the American people that we’re not going to accept this kind of behavior.”

At the same time that they threaten the author and try to “make clear” they’re not going to accept an honest account of what happened in Abbottabad, Americans have also recently learned that the CIA and other U.S. government agencies have been cooperating with Hollywood figures on a movie about the same topic. In fact, according to CIA emails released recently, one writer was given a “deep dive” inside the Agency as they wrote a screenplay on the bin Laden raid. Are U.S. government officials angry that the author wrote a book, or that his book came out before their movie? This, of course, comes after the U.S. government officials have participated in and been sources for newspaper articles, magazine features and even movies — like Act of Valor.

It is time for the public to make clear to our government that we will no longer accept their unsubstantiated or spoon-fed version as the only one of significant historical events. I don’t believe that cooperating with an author or a screenwriter or even a movie producer on an authentic account of what happened in war is necessarily a bad thing, as long as no classified information is jeopardized. In fact, it has happened throughout American history and inspired many Americans to serve our country in their careers — myself included. However, next time you hear an American government official attacking the author of No Easy Day — stop and ask yourself why they are trying to bully an American hero. I just wish the officials making these threats would do the same. Our government has survived as long as it has because there are those prepared to hold it to account for its words and deeds. It’s the essence of our democracy.

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The truth, as writer Oscar Wilde famously put it, is rarely pure and never simple.

The sad, messy story of Kenneth James Weishuhn, Jr., the 14-year-old Primghar, Iowa, boy who took his own life, is a clear illustration. It’s a stark reminder that no amount of wishing for a simpler, purer explanation will help us escape the reality that the truth is elusive, never quite aligning with the black-and-white distinctions many of us seek.

But that doesn’t mean we should shy away from tackling the uncomfortable realities that drove a young boy to suicide. And it certainly doesn’t absolve any of us of our responsibility to do our best to keep it from happening again.

As columnist Tim Gallagher writes in today’s Journal, four months have passed since Weishuhn’s story made national news. He committed suicide on April 14. Kenneth, or KJ as his family called him, had recently told friends and classmates he was gay. Bullying, both in school and online, ensued. In the devastating aftermath of his loss, Kenneth’s sister told local and national media that Kenneth was the victim of anti-gay bullying.

Kenneth’s heart-breaking story emerged at the same time the documentary “Bully,” chronicling disturbing instances of bullying in Sioux City public schools, debuted in Sioux City. The confluence of events served as a wake-up call for many in our community.

The Journal ran a full-page, front-page editorial. We urged our community to stand up to bullying in all the forms it takes. “We must stop bullying,” we wrote. “It starts here. It starts now.”

We still believe in those words. We stand behind our editorial, and our news coverage of Kenneth’s death. But as time offered perspective and some semblance of salve for the family, a more complex story emerged – one that is not unusual for bullying victims, but one that is again worth noting.

Kenneth’s smile, his kind-hearted approach to friends and classmates and his fun-loving personality were masking something deeper and darker inside. According to a police report obtained by the Journal, there was reason to believe he may have been suffering from mental illness. To make matters worse, his family had a troubled past.

His mother, Jeannie Chambers, spent a significant portion of Kenneth’s childhood behind bars, serving a federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. She continues to take part in a rehabilitation program she hopes will help her become a better mother. She returned home from prison just months before Kenneth’s tragic end.

In the weeks and months since the story first consumed us, the community of Primghar and the South O’Brien School District have found themselves at the center of an intense storm. The unwanted attention turned nasty at times. We’ve heard stories of threats and more. It’s deeply unfortunate.

We are sympathetic to the good, well-meaning and decent people who work every day in South O’Brien schools and local law enforcement brought in to investigate. They did their best to deal with an unthinkable situation.

Still, we caution them about the emergence of a disturbing undercurrent.

Because they seem to point blame for the Weishuhn tragedy at the victims – Kenneth and his family – some elements of the police report prepared as the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Department concluded its investigation are disconcerting and some responses we’ve heard from those who live and work in Primghar and the surrounding area are discouraging.

In our April editorial we wrote that we are all to blame for our community’s tacit acceptance of bullying. That line is as true today as it was then.

No, Kenneth didn’t grow up in an ideal family situation. Yes, he probably had other problems. He lived a short, but incredibly difficult life. But we must not wash our hands of him.

The factors that led to his decision to take his own life, it appears, were many. But those factors were clearly exacerbated by his first, troubled experiences as a gay young man. That impure, complicated truth is inescapable, and it underscores why it is so critical for our community to tackle the challenge of bullying in a real, meaningful way.

We don’t know what may be lurking in any child’s background. We don’t know what action might trigger a tragic decision like the one that ended Kenneth’s life. But we know, over and over again, that bullying can be one of those triggers. It has to stop.

The good news, however, is that we know it can. We see evidence already that a concerted, community effort can make a difference.

We are heartened by the actions of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who will convene a statewide bullying prevention summit in November. More important, we are impressed by and proud of those in Siouxland who are standing up to make a difference, like the men and women who have formed Sioux City’s Bullying Prevention Coalition and those behind “Be Buddies not Bullies” in Primghar.

We must stay focused, and we must recognize the path forward won’t always be clear. But as we wrote in April, we strongly believe that by staying united we can put a stop to bullying.

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/our-opinion-we-must-not-wash-our-hands-of-bullying/article_636d864a-5cdf-5ab5-95de-01910252d9a5.html

DVD Excerpt: Jeanne Blake: I’m Jeanne Blake. Sometimes bullying is dismissed as teasing or joking rather than the cruel behavior it really is. Now we understand that bullying can leave emotional scars that last a lifetime. It can even make young people feel as though they don’t want to live anymore. Bullying is cruel and happens all too often. That’s why more people are determined to prevent and stop bullying. Bullying can be verbal, physical, and carried out through technology, or cyberbullying

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A local student who has been the victim of bullying attacks because of his physical disabilities met the president Thursday to advocate for change.

Homer High School sophomore Ian Forster, 16, has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and paralysis on his right side that makes it difficult to walk.

Parents Tadd and Melissa Porter said their son had been putting up with the verbal abuse since he was in middle school, but the bullying took an especially dangerous turn in December.

Two students tripped him, pinned him to the ground and stepped on his shunt, a delicate tube that helps drain excess fluid from his brain, the family alleges.

“It could have killed me,” Forster said.

That was when he and his parents said enough was enough.

The Porters’ fight for their son’s rights has led them all the way to the White House.

The nonprofit Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service sent him to Washington, D.C., this week and has advocated for his fair treatment in school along with The National Organization on Disability.

Forster and others met President Barack Obama Thursday to advocate for changes that will prevent bullying in schools and online.

About one in three middle and high school students report being bullied, according to this week’s White House Conference on Preventing Bullying.

Obama shared his own stories of being bullied as a child for having big ears and an odd name.

Forster also met U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg and briefly with U.S. Sen. Carl Levin on Wednesday.

Schools are sometimes ill-equipped to handle true bullying issues, Tadd Porter said. They often lack the funding and know-how to swiftly deal with it.

Homer Community Schools has made strides to prevent bullying, Superintendent Rob Ridgeway said.

Last fall the district hosted Kimber Bishop-Yanke, a bullying expert, to talk to students and staff about how to recognize bullying and what victims and bystanders should do, he said. To help prevent cyber bullying, students are not allowed to use cell phones during school hours.

“I believe education is the key to preventing bullying,” Ridgeway said.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110311/NEWS01/103110311