Bully Response paragraph

In the powerful documentary Bully by Lee Hirsch, the continual affliction of bullied children is exemplified through the lives of Alex, Ja’ Meya, and Tyler as they all respond to their situations in different ways. Being picked on, physically abused, and teased can affect a person so much, it can cause them to turn into somebody else entirely. Children who are constantly treated as useless will eventually begin to harden their hearts and believe it. For example, one of the kids  who Hirsch interviewed was a 12 year-old boy named Alex. For his whole life, the only people who ever accepted him and loved him were his family. Throughout elementary, middle school, and high school, Alex was seen as “different” and was treated as such. Kids punched him, threatened him, called him names, and abused him to the point where he was emotionless. Being interviewed about his circumstances, Alex responded, “I’m starting to think I don’t feel anything anymore.” Years of never-ending desecration without the support of one real friend had taken away parts of his humanity. “They push me so far that I want to become the bully.”- Alex. Those words are similar to the very reaction of a 14 year-old girl named Ja’ Meya. She became so tired of being threatened by boys on the bus that she stole her mother’s gun and brought it with her the next time she rode it. Some boys tackled her before she could fire, and she was sent to juvenile hall. Nobody was hurt in this case, but a 17 year-old boy named Tyler was not so lucky. After being terrorized for over 10 years because he was nonathletic, Tyler eventually took his own life. You see, these experiences are so damaging that they will cause a child to lose their innocence and react in a way that they never normally would. “I’m different- not normal. I belong somewhere else.” These are words that should never come out of the mouth of anyone, much less children. Yet they are said, along with much more, by many. To conclude, bullying will bring out parts of people that should be left unprovoked, and it not only damages their emotions, but it also damages the heart.

Bully Summary Paragraph

In the inspirational narrative Bully, Lee Hirsch makes it clear that bullying is a very evident problem that needs to be addressed, because the lives of countless kids could be at stake. The director uses real kids’ experiences to show all who are watching of the emotions, struggles, and everyday feelings that those who are bullied go through. By detailing the importance of hope, Hirsch battles prejudice, discrimination, and hatred in a story sure to bring awareness to the issue. He emphasizes the roles that family, friends, and faculty play in the life of every threatened child. Throughout the film, a common theme is knowledge. Most of the adult figures never know enough. The parents of the children typically assume that their son or daughter endures a little teasing at school, maybe a few fights. When they finally learn of the harmful things that are really going on, most of their responses are “I didn't know it was that bad.” When the parents know of the situation and are ready to do something about it, another problem arises; the faculty. A common place for bullying to occur is at school. Principals, superintendents, and teachers typically know that bullying does occur, but are in a quandary of how to stop it. This example leads to one of the main points of the movie; stopping bullying. How do we end it? Hirsch thinks the answer is up to us. As the figures of society, we have to stand up for kids that are bullied, so that they will feel supported enough to stand up for themselves. So that the bullies will be shown the destructiveness of their actions. So that this endless chain of events will finally come to an end. The bullied become the bully, and target another person. Another life is taken. Another community destroyed around the death. This is what Hirsch outlines in his film. Bullying needs to stop, and it’s up to us to stop it.