Bullying

Most of us have a story about being bullied back in school. Thankfully, most of us did not go through the childhood that William Rivers Pitt endured. This bestselling author faced years of torment by classmates. Switching schools only made things worse. Teachers and administrators either looked the other way or took ineffectual action.

Medical and social service groups have generally retired the phrase mental retardation. Today, they use terms like mental disability, cognitive disability or developmental delay. But retarded still has life in the English language as an insult. And therein hangs a tale.

The United States Justice Department recently struck a blow against bullying behavior. Officials there reversed a decade-old policy and asked to intervene in a harassment suit brought by a gay youth.

The 2001 novel The Misfits by James Howe focuses on four friends trying to survive seventh grade. After running a gauntlet of teenage taunts and insults, this small group sets out to create a “No Name Day” at school.

A couple years ago, Chuck—my partner of 22 years—and I were invited to speak to a health class at a local high school. We were participating in a program that sends LGBT folks into middle and high school classrooms to promote tolerance by telling their stories of what it was like growing up.

November 19, 2009, was “Kick a Jew Day” at Naples (Fla.) Middle School. School officials found out about the event only after a child informed an administrator that she had been assaulted. Despite its name, not all of the teenagers attacked that day were Jewish. But ten students were subsequently suspended for their involvement.

Mix It Up at Lunch Day is just around the corner. Most students report that the Mix It Up experience – taking one lunch hour to sit somewhere new and make friends – is a positive experience that helps reduce tension across social boundaries. Sometimes, though, students are reluctant to participate.