A tragedy in the village...

Capt Lightning

Capt Lightning

Well-known Member
Location
Historic Buchan, Scotland
A few weeks ago, I posted about the unusual police activity in the village, accompanied by the arrival of the air ambulance..
I have just learned that a 12 year old girl committed suicide apparently the result of bullying at school. I think the family must have been fairly new to this area
as it's a small rural community where most people know each other. Whatever, this is a truly awful event and seems so out of keeping with this area.
 

Capt Lightning said:
A few weeks ago, I posted about the unusual police activity in the village, accompanied by the arrival of the air ambulance..
I have just learned that a 12 year old girl committed suicide apparently the result of bullying at school. I think the family must have been fairly new to this area
as it's a small rural community where most people know each other. Whatever, this is a truly awful event and seems so out of keeping with this area.
Click to expand...
...all too common these days sadly.

When we were at school we might have been bulied but it only happened at school... today the kids get bullied in school, then out of school on social media.. it's relentless....
 
Last edited:
I'm so glad to have not grown up as a child in today's environment. Things like bullying have always taken place, but you were generally safe from school bullies in your own home. Not any more. We can suggest these people simply shouldn't use Social Media, or stay off the net, but we have to remember that for our generation, using the internet is a choice - but young folk it's their way of life.

There is currently an ongoing law suit against OpenAI by a couple who say that ChatGPT encouraged their son to commit suicide, or at least that it did nothing to prevent it despite having evidence of self harm (Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI).

There was another story from 2023: 'Failure to act' on suicide website linked to 50 UK deaths

All meaning, the internet can be a dangerous place if your mind is somehow unbalanced. We've seen radicalization becoming more common, extremist ideals being propagated, and illicit acts being glorified for entertainment. This isn't the world we grew up in.
 
astralcat said:
When you are a child (and 12 years of age is a child), all they want is to be accepted and when bullied for whatever reason, it's probably beyond their thinking to understand this too shall pass.
Click to expand...
Absolutely true. That's why I said it's even more difficult for children and teens.

Starting in high school, I've known a number of people who've committed suicide. Most of them had problems that were situational and would have been temporary, but the pain caused them to seek a permanent solution. :cry:
 
@Capt Lightning, it's very sad to hear what happened in your community. It shouldn't happen any where, but it does.

I remember in elementary school we had a couple of bullies (boys & a girl) who kept it up until they went up to the wrong the kid & they had a "come to Jesus" moment. Those bullies found out they made a bad decision. The kids didn't back down & pushed the bully to the point they either had to act physically or back down ... the result I seen was backing down & loosing face with everyone looking on.

Sadly, kids today have been taught it isn't okay to stick up for themselves or others. The bullies have been taught they can do what they want & fact to having no repercussions. It doesn't have to result in violence, but just show they aren't going to take any disrespect.

IMO, school officials aren't doing anything to stop it ... they just give lip service to the problem in most cases. If they do react, they punish the kid who is being bullied & not the bully. This happened daughter's middle school when a well-known bully picked on the wrong boy one day. The kid told the bully to back off which resulted in the bully put his hands on the kid shoving him down to the floor. That resulted in the bully being punched in the stomach which ended the confrontation. At first the bully was let go & the kid who was assaulted was facing suspension until his parents filed a police report.
 
Last edited:
We had one suicide in my school too... he was 14 years old... hung himself...

We'd just been to his party the night before...no-one could believe the headlines in the morning paper....

he wasn't being bullied but apparently he'd got some bad grades...

...sadly it's nothing new today among children, who feel for some reason they can't see light at the end of their tunnel
 
That’s just sad. It happens here in the U.S too frequently. I feel bad for the parents. If the school was aware of the bullying and did nothing, I hope the administrators are held accountable.

Most states here in the U.S. now have laws for bullying if using social media. Cyber bullying is a serious crime finally.
 
During senior high school a male student of my class was put into a garbage container by classmates and the lid closed.

After a minute he started to cry. I was watching this ... and did nothing to help him. Instead I also laughed as my classmates did.

This moment is haunting me till today, five decades later. I am still ashamed and disgusted of my behavior at that time.

Fortunately this was a single episode and he didn't commit suicide.

But a 16 or 17 year old male classmate committed suicide. I guess because of bad grades.
 
oldman said:
That’s just sad. It happens here in the U.S too frequently. I feel bad for the parents. If the school was aware of the bullying and did nothing, I hope the administrators are held accountable.

Most states here in the U.S. now have laws for bullying if using social media. Cyber bullying is a serious crime finally.
Click to expand...
they have laws against it here too... but it's like rounding up wild cats.... ..only when a child gets killed or takes their own life, are voices raised in protest... promises of ''lessons will be learned''.. but in reality they're not ..
 
George1959 said:
During senior high school a male student of my class was put into a garbage container by classmates and the lid closed.

After a minute he started to cry. I was watching this ... and did nothing to help him. Instead I also laughed as my classmates did.

This moment is haunting me till today, five decades later. I am still ashamed and disgusted of my behavior at that time.

Fortunately this was a single episode and he didn't commit suicide.

But a 16 or 17 year old male classmate committed suicide. I guess because of bad grades.
Click to expand...
You're not the only one. I went to Junior High with a girl with epilepsy. We had those desks that were chairs with table tops attached. We would be in class and her desk would just fall over when she had an epileptic seizure. Many of the students would make fun of her. After school, some would chase her and call her names. I didn't participate, but I never discouraged it. I also feel guilty to this day and wonder if she was finally able to live a happy life.

At least she was able to go home and get away from it. Today's kids, who are always on social media, don't have that option. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the incidence of suicide among today's LGBTQ youth.

"Research shows that lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) teens are at increased risk of suicide and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. One of the most startling statistics: LGBTQ+ teens consider suicide and make suicide attempts at about four times the national rate for all adolescents."
 
hollydolly said:
they have laws against it here too... but it's like rounding up wild cats.... ..only when a child gets killed or takes their own life, are voices raised in protest... promises of ''lessons will be learned''.. but in reality they're not ..
Click to expand...
Holly, sadly, you are right. Too many kids that are bullied are afraid to come forward and tell someone like a teacher or their parents. I don’t know if they feel embarrassed or are scared to report it. I preached it to my kids and grandchildren not to allow themself to be bullied. Always tell someone or come to me. We can handle it so they wouldn’t look like the snitch that reported it, but it needs to be handled.
 
oldman said:
Holly, sadly, you are right. Too many kids that are bullied are afraid to come forward and tell someone like a teacher or their parents. I don’t know if they feel embarrassed or are scared to report it. I preached it to my kids and grandchildren not to allow themself to be bullied. Always tell someone or come to me. We can handle it so they wouldn’t look like the snitch that reported it, but it needs to be handled.
Click to expand...
I did exactly the same with mine, always told her to tell me immediately if it was happening, not to feel she'd done anything wrong ...and I sent her at young age to learn martial arts should she need to put it into practice... being an only child as well, having no siblings to stand up for her....
 
Last edited:
VaughanJB said:
I'm so glad to have not grown up as a child in today's environment. Things like bullying have always taken place, but you were generally safe from school bullies in your own home. Not any more. We can suggest these people simply shouldn't use Social Media, or stay off the net, but we have to remember that for our generation, using the internet is a choice - but young folk it's their way of life.

There is currently an ongoing law suit against OpenAI by a couple who say that ChatGPT encouraged their son to commit suicide, or at least that it did nothing to prevent it despite having evidence of self harm (Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI).

There was another story from 2023: 'Failure to act' on suicide website linked to 50 UK deaths

All meaning, the internet can be a dangerous place if your mind is somehow unbalanced. We've seen radicalization becoming more common, extremist ideals being propagated, and illicit acts being glorified for entertainment. This isn't the world we grew up in.
Click to expand...

In my early years, it was really nice to come home where I could be myself after getting bullied all day, most days at school. My parents didn't help much either... just poo-poo it off most of the time.

Unfortunately in these times now, torment can follow you home. If I were a kid nowadays, I'd find sites to hang out at that other kids would never guess I'd be. Gaming that nobody would guess, discussions and hobbies and music, same qualifications. If things go bad, you can always play spider solitaire online (my fave), there's lots of things to get interested in.

It's a good thing for everybody's sake nowadays that I am not a kid who knows what I do now... I used to be scared of coming home "in trouble", I could truly give less a dam now. LOL...
The teachers would not like me either, nor the parents of "bullies". I'd mess a few up about right! I'd get expelled for the whole year, take the grief at home and truly not give one bit of a dam.
 
seadoug said:
You're not the only one. I went to Junior High with a girl with epilepsy. We had those desks that were chairs with table tops attached. We would be in class and her desk would just fall over when she had an epileptic seizure. Many of the students would make fun of her. After school, some would chase her and call her names. I didn't participate, but I never discouraged it. I also feel guilty to this day and wonder if she was finally able to live a happy life.

At least she was able to go home and get away from it. Today's kids, who are always on social media, don't have that option. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the incidence of suicide among today's LGBTQ youth.

"Research shows that lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) teens are at increased risk of suicide and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. One of the most startling statistics: LGBTQ+ teens consider suicide and make suicide attempts at about four times the national rate for all adolescents."
Click to expand...
I believe this. My wife and me don't have children, but if I were a father I'd support our child as much as I possible. People who are part of the LGBTQ+ community should have no reason being embarrassed or even anxious.
But I think there are improvements. As I grew up in the 1970s being gay or trans was still widely regarded as a mental disorder.
Now there are many support groups and a lot of resources for LGBTQ+ people because of the internet. However schools must be much more aware of these students and their special needs.
 
Capt Lightning said:
A few weeks ago, I posted about the unusual police activity in the village, accompanied by the arrival of the air ambulance..
I have just learned that a 12 year old girl committed suicide apparently the result of bullying at school. I think the family must have been fairly new to this area
as it's a small rural community where most people know each other. Whatever, this is a truly awful event and seems so out of keeping with this area.
Click to expand...
That is the saddest thing, that a child should do that. I cannot imagine the grief she has left behind.
 
My daughter told the bullies that she had a black belt in karate and she would be protecting their victims. She had a rep for not putting up with any cr*p. She'd just hit them. Hard. They were guys, so they weren't going tattle that they'd been hit by a girl.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top