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A Great Message About Bullying


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I think that the above is a great video for teenagers and for parents. I think that it is often overlooked just what the church tries to do to make this world a better place.

Agreed, it sends a powerful message.

 

I tweeted it the other day. (After holding out for a long time, I am now on Twitter.)

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Whatever you call what's being depicted in the video, I agree: no one should do it.  While I'm not going to get into semantics about what is and is not bullying, I was the subject of actual physical intimidation during elementary and junior high school.  If my chief tormentors had said, "We're going to take a picture of you and add a stupid slogan to it, then we're going to put it up all over school" (and that would have been the end of it), I would have volunteered to strike my dorkiest pose for the picture! While, again, no one should treat anyone the way that girl was treated in the video, I would've been thrilled to "get off that easy."  Just sayin'!

 

And speaking of dorky pictures, that video'd probably be a little more effective if they had chosen some less dorky-lookin' guys to play the "bullies."  (My bullies were way more cool lookin' than that!    ;):D)

Edited by Kenngo1969
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Yeah, I loved this one.  I shared it as well.  I like that they took a little bit longer than the average "mormon message" to develop it a bit more and add some impressive depth for a 10 minute clip.  There are a lot of nice details and a powerful message for youth AND adults in/out of the church.

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I just don't get why it is SO hard for us to be nice to each other?  It's the simplest thing in the world and yet we (adults and kids) can't seem to manage it.  It seems like we can justify being rude or mean or cruel to someone else faster than we can justify any other kind of sin.

"I know you are, but what am I?" :P

 

(Sorry; :huh:  Couldn't resist! :D)

 

Bluebell, you're right, as usual (I know you don't need me to tell you that, but I'm trying to be nice! :D)

 

P.S.: Just goes to show, that's one of the hardest ways to overcome the natural man/woman.

Edited by Kenngo1969
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I just don't get why it is SO hard for us to be nice to each other?  It's the simplest thing in the world and yet we (adults and kids) can't seem to manage it.  It seems like we can justify being rude or mean or cruel to someone else faster than we can justify any other kind of sin.

I wish I had the answer. Perhaps some of us feel that it is the only to make a point when reasoning no longer works?

 

Guess it depends on how you define bullying too.

Edited by Mola Ram Suda Ram
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I just don't get why it is SO hard for us to be nice to each other?  It's the simplest thing in the world and yet we (adults and kids) can't seem to manage it.  It seems like we can justify being rude or mean or cruel to someone else faster than we can justify any other kind of sin.

Such a good observation, Bluebell ... although I get that it's easier for some than for others to be nice!

Personally, I find that I need an awful lot of self-reflection and self-monitoring to turn judgmental thoughts into attempts to understand, to exercise compassion, and to decide to not judge because I don't have the knowledge and right to judge anyway!

In my view, bullying falls within the area of "judging others" because a decision is made to deem someone "worthy of" or a candidate for scorn, mockery, disgust, exclusion etc.

Bluebell, your post here is a big part of the reason I like you so much! :air_kiss:

I also want to commend those in the LDS church who produced this really good and timely video!

Just the other day I was hearing from a mother in my (non-LDS) church about cliquish behaviour among some Junior High girls that has discouraged her daughter from attending. Sadly, church is sometimes not the safe, welcoming place it should be for our kids.

Edited by Paloma
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Whatever you call what's being depicted in the video, I agree: no one should do it.  While I'm not going to get into semantics about what is and is not bullying, I was the subject of actual physical intimidation during elementary and junior high school.  If my chief tormentors had said, "We're going to take a picture of you and add a stupid slogan to it, then we're going to put it up all over school" (and that would have been the end of it), I would have volunteered to strike my dorkiest pose for the picture! While, again, no one should treat anyone the way that girl was treated in the video, I would've been thrilled to "get off that easy."  Just sayin'!

 

And speaking of dorky pictures, that video'd probably be a little more effective if they had chosen some less dorky-lookin' guys to play the "bullies."  (My bullies were way more cool lookin' than that!    ;):D)

There are many forms of bullying, and some targets, depending on circumstances, are more vulnerable to it than others.

 

The tendency to dismiss it as just joking around or having fun is where much of the problem lies, in my opinion. At worst, it is a contemptible act of aggression and hostility. At best it is seeking entertainment at someone else's expense with little or no thought given to how it is impacting the person.

 

That is the insight I drew from this very well-made production.

Edited by Scott Lloyd
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That believers in Christ create places (under the guise of common religion) to cater "adults", permit, if not encourage rude, mean, or cruel behavior and discourage/punish those who would speak against such behavior does nothing to teach righteousness to the rising generation.

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There are many forms of bullying, and some targets, depending on circumstances, are more apt to be injured by it than others.

 

The tendency to dismiss it as just joking around or having fun is where much of the problem lies, in my opinion. At worst, it is a contemptible act of aggression and hostility. At best it is seeking entertainment at someone else's expense with little or no thought given to how it is impacting the person.

 

That is the insight I drew from this very well-made production.

Fair enough.  I don't necessarily disagree.  I'm fortunate enough to have come through everything I went through relatively unscathed, but, as you point out, everyone isn't made of equally stern "stuff."  Believe me, I know a lot about people being "entertained" at my expense.  I found that my classmates could be divided roughly, into three classes: those who attempted to help me (and join me) in seeing the humor in my situation by laughing with me, those who made no pretense of attempting to laugh with me but, rather, laughed at me, instead; and those who tried to persuade me that they were in the first group when they were really in the second.

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And speaking of dorky pictures, that video'd probably be a little more effective if they had chosen some less dorky-lookin' guys to play the "bullies."  (My bullies were way more cool lookin' than that!    ;):D)

But on the other hand by using such actors for the bullies, meaning average looking guys who do not actually stand out as bullies, the meaning could hit home more closely to the target audience.

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That believers in Christ create places (under the guise of common religion) to cater "adults", permit, if not encourage rude, mean, or cruel behavior and discourage/punish those who would speak against such behavior does nothing to teach righteousness to the rising generation.

One strong point of the video is to show active mormon kids engaging in bullying by acting without thinking. The target audience were mormon kids. I think that teenagers regardless if they are active are apt to act on impulse, without much thought. This video brought home the idea that we should think before we act in such a way...think about the hurt that our actions may cause.

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But on the other hand by using such actors for the bullies, meaning average looking guys who do not actually stand out as bullies, the meaning could hit home more closely to the target audience.

Oh, so that's what an average-looking guy looks like these days, eh?  Maybe I'm more handsome than I thought! :D  (For the record, you may very well be right. :))

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But on the other hand by using such actors for the bullies, meaning average looking guys who do not actually stand out as bullies, the meaning could hit home more closely to the target audience.

In my observation, bullies tend to be pretty average. Maybe too average, with that being part of their problem. That is, they need to dominate others to build themselves up in their own eyes.

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Agree with the above commenters.  We used this video in FHE a few weeks ago. 

Good move. LDS parents should show this video to their teenagers. The video showed that regardless if a teenager is active in church, they can still act foolishly and hurtfully. I think that that was the point since all the kids were engaged in a service project, trying to do what is right and yet, coming up short in the bullying part.

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Fair enough.  I don't necessarily disagree.  I'm fortunate enough to have come through everything I went through relatively unscathed, but, as you point out, everyone isn't made of equally stern "stuff."  Believe me, I know a lot about people being "entertained" at my expense.  I found that my classmates could be divided roughly, into three classes: those who attempted to help me (and join me) in seeing the humor in my situation by laughing with me, those who made no pretense of attempting to laugh with me but, rather, laughed at me, instead; and those who tried to persuade me that they were in the first group when they were really in the second.

Kudos to you for overcoming, Kenngo! It's always good to see strength winning out over adversity.

A great sense of humour helps a lot!

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Oh, so that's what an average-looking guy looks like these days, eh?  Maybe I'm more handsome than I thought! :D  (For the record, you may very well be right. :))

My first thought was: just how can such guys be bullies. They didn't look the part. And yet, since they didn't look the part, and since they did look like nice kids, and yet, they acted hurtfully. And yet, they were active teenagers.

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One strong point of the video is to show active mormon kids engaging in bullying by acting without thinking. The target audience were mormon kids. I think that teenagers regardless if they are active are apt to act on impulse, without much thought. This video brought home the idea that we should think before we act in such a way...think about the hurt that our actions may cause.

While it was directed to Mormon kids, it was applicable to kids of all backgrounds. That's part of its strength.

 

I was interested to read the comments on YouTube. One respondent, obviously a youthful person, spoke favorably about "the man who was giving the speech," referring to the voice-over by President Uchtdorf. I reflected on how great it is that non-Mormon kids are being exposed in this way to our Church and its leaders.

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In my observation, bullies tend to be pretty average. Maybe too average, with that being part of their problem. That is, they need to dominate others to build themselves up in their own eyes.

And that was the point of the video. It would have been too stereotypical to show kids with a troubled past, being bullied by their father and then, begin bullying others.

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While it was directed to Mormon kids, it was applicable to kids of all backgrounds. That's part of its strength.

 

I was interested to read the comments on YouTube. One respondent, obviously a youthful person, spoke favorably about "the man who was giving the speech," referring to the voice-over by President Uchtdorf. I reflected on how great it is that non-Mormon kids are being exposed in this way to our Church and its leaders.

Which is why lds kids should put it on their facebook page. The more kids that see it the better it will be for those who may have been bullied if this video was not seen.

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