I’ll be the first to admit, when I first saw this picture I
was thinking a few things that weren’t exactly positive:
Who is this?? An advocate for an organization that helps
feed the Starving Children of Africa? A survivor of domestic abuse?
Answer: None of the above. This is Lizzie Velasquez. As I learned, she is just like every single one of us, but she was born with an unnamed syndrome that doesn’t allow her to gain any weight. Ever. She can eat Twinkies all night and be the same sixty-five pounds that she was the morning before. It sounds like heaven, right? Well, there you’d be wrong again. Lizzie has been the victim of bullying her entire life. It is her response to this bullying that has gained her attention.
Answer: None of the above. This is Lizzie Velasquez. As I learned, she is just like every single one of us, but she was born with an unnamed syndrome that doesn’t allow her to gain any weight. Ever. She can eat Twinkies all night and be the same sixty-five pounds that she was the morning before. It sounds like heaven, right? Well, there you’d be wrong again. Lizzie has been the victim of bullying her entire life. It is her response to this bullying that has gained her attention.
Lizzie lived a very normal childhood. When doctors told her
parents their daughter was born with this syndrome that left her with the
inability to have the normal layer of fat that most humans do, they said they
wanted to see her, to take her home, and to love her. And so they did. Before
kindergarten, Lizzie had no idea that she was different in any way because of
how naturally her family treated her. Upon entering kindergarten, however,
Lizzie soon realized that she was different. She recalls other students looking
at her like she was some sort of monster. The rest of her years were full of
the same reactions: stares and hatred. At one point, some classmates of hers posted
an eight-second video of Lizzie on YouTube, characterizing Lizzie as the
“World’s Ugliest Woman.” Lizzie had much the same reaction as any teenage girl:
she cried her eyes out. However, instead of killing herself like some of her
peers had requested, Lizzie decided to turn the situation around. She continued
to live life, set goals, and achieve success.
After reading the two articles above, listening to her
TedX Talk, and visiting her personal website (http://www.aboutlizzie.com) my
opinions quickly changed. Lizzie is an awesome woman, and I hope many of you
will agree. Not only did she defeat the bullying that, at one point, seemed to
consume her life, she now works as a motivational speaker. She inspires those
who think negatively about their bodies and those who are dealing with their
fair share of bullying.
Bullying. Remind me again why this is a problem. Why do we
feel it necessary to taunt and tease others to the point of depression and
suicide? Bullying is against the law in 49 states (Montana is the only state
that does not have an anti-bullying law), and still there are news stories of
middle and high schoolers taking their own lives because of harsh comments
whispered under another’s breath or criticism online or judgmental text messages.
Just last week there was an eleven-year-old boy in Raleigh who tried to hang
himself from the bunk beds in his room because he was teased at school and
after school care for liking “My Little Pony.”
Someone’s always going to blame the government. (All these
snow days and the school we’re going to be making up when the weather is nice?
That’s Obama’s fault.) Citizens are calling for stricter anti-bullying laws to
cover ALL the types of bullying and permissions to make punishments more
severe. Others say that free speech, no matter how hurtful, is one of our first
amendment rights that can’t be tampered with. These people see the fact that
many of these children are the center of their parent’s world, and they have
difficulty dealing with any situation that does not go their way. The children
who are being bulled need to “man up,” and deal with it. So far, no federal anti-bullying
laws exist, though some cases of bullying overlap with discriminatory harassment,
which people are protected against by law. Most state laws define bullying as
teasing, social exclusion, threat, intimidation, stalking, physical violence,
theft, harassment, humiliation, or destruction of property. Cyberbullying is
doing any of the above by use of any electronic communicator. (Source: http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/key-components/index.html)
However, only a few states have measures to punish bullying done by juveniles.
Someone’s always going to blame the government, but in this
case, I think it’s the parent’s fault.
Children are amazing creatures. They easily learn from
examples, and they can pick up on feelings and emotions of those around them.
Those two traits combine to make a recipe for disaster. When a mom at a
supermarket is less than friendly toward the old classmate she runs into, her
daughter is watching and listening and learning. When Mom thought she was
picking out PopTarts, she was actually learning a lesson about hate, one that
will follow her back into the classroom. And when that young daughter grows up
and runs into an old classmate at the supermarket…you see where I’m going.
The lesson here is love. The lack of love as seen in the form of bullying is not something that the government can fix simply. Rather, the love the world needs is a lesson we can learn from Lizzie Velasquez. People are not defined by their outward appearances or their interests in different aspects of culture, but by their goals, successes, and accomplishments. We all have the choice to let the people who speak negatively about us affect us in the ways they intended or to ignore them and live our lives, but we also have a responsibility not to become the person who tears down.
The lesson here is love. The lack of love as seen in the form of bullying is not something that the government can fix simply. Rather, the love the world needs is a lesson we can learn from Lizzie Velasquez. People are not defined by their outward appearances or their interests in different aspects of culture, but by their goals, successes, and accomplishments. We all have the choice to let the people who speak negatively about us affect us in the ways they intended or to ignore them and live our lives, but we also have a responsibility not to become the person who tears down.
“Brave starts here.”
Free speech is only okay as long as it isn't libel or slanderous or defaming. This form of bullying is defaming and slanderous. She isn't the world's ugliest woman because the person who said that is. Their heart is so full of ugliness and disgust and hatred of themselves, they feel the need to take it out on someone else. This is ridiculous. No one is trampling on your "free speech". I have the right to pursue happiness. I cant do that if someone is going around defaming my character. There really should be harsher punishments for people who do this. Honestly. She is an inspiring person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Braxton, the world is full of people that are just full of hatred and put people down to make themselves feel better. Lizzie may not be the prettiest girl but she has a good intentions and a good heart and could be a good role model to many children experiencing bullying. I agree that the government should do more to regulate bullying but there is only so much they can do. We can't punish every single person who calls someone a derogatory term or makes fun of somebody. I also agree with you where you say that some of the responsibility lies in the hands of the parents. If parents raised their kids with morals and distinguished right from wrong to them there would definitely be less bullying.
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