Bullycide Moms Speak Out

48 Hours Special - The Bullycide Project based on Bullycide in America

2011-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

Kevin Epling, BPUSA, Co-Director, may be included in an interview on a CBS News/48 Hours Special called, "Bullying: Words Can Kill.

Watch for the special on Friday, September 16, at 8:00 pm (check your local listings and times).

Some of the show will be about "The Bullycide Project" which is based on "Bullycide in America: Moms speak out about the bullying/suicide connection." To read a little about what Kevin is doing, and the 48 Hours Special, go to the link below.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110911/ELANSING01/109110423/East-Lansing-Ground-zero-for-anti-bullying?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|FRONTPAGE

To order the "Bullycide in America" book, go to www.bullycide.org or www.bullypolice.com.

Texas: Asher Brown's Bullycide

2011-03-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

Comments: No, Asher Brown wasn't bullied because he was gay - He was bullied because his school didn't care to help him. There is no way to say this lightly, so I'll just say it. Asher's bullycide was because of the negligence of his school and they are liars when they say they didn't know about the abuse and bullying he was going through.

http://www.dallasvoice.com/cover-story-aftermath-tragedy-1070237.html

...The day before Asher killed himself was particularly bad.

“We did not see bruises on him the day before he died, but his behavior was out of the ordinary in that he did not join us in the family room as he would usually do,” David said. “Instead he chose to read quietly and keep to himself.”

But David said that Asher told him he had a terrible day without going into detail.

According to Asher’s classmates and their parents, bullies tripped him and he fell down a flight of stairs. When he got up and had barely regained his balance, they tripped him again and he fell down a second flight.

None of the assailants were charged with assault or disciplined by the school.

More comments: This school has a clear history of negligence. Further down in this article it says...

...And this isn’t the first time Cy-Fair has been in the news for bullying.

In October 2009, Jayron Martin, 16, was chased and attacked by a group of classmates who wanted to “beat the gay out” of him.

A group of eight boys surrounded him while a ninth attacked him with a metal pipe and beat him with his fists. Jayron was left with a concussion and numerous cuts.

A neighbor with a shotgun scared the boys away. Had he not intervened, Jayron may have been killed.

Even more comments: How can Texas justify not having an anti bullying law that would protect ALL students from this type of abuse? There doesn't need to be inclusive language in the law to define victims, just a law to stop bullies from bullying. Texas has a C- law right now. I'm appalled that a great state like Texas hasn't taken the lead in promoting civil behavior in their schools. RIP Asher and God Bless your parents who continue to be harassed for speaking out.

Bullycide in America

2010-12-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

DOUBLE YOUR SOFT BOUND BOOK ORDERS
FOR ALL DECEMBER 2010 ORDERS

For the month of December, all (yes ALL) soft bound book
orders will be doubled - order one book, get an extra book, order a
case, get an extra case. It won't say that you got a double order on
your order receipt, but you WILL receive a double order in the mail.

Go to www.BullyPolice.com for more information

VA Mom blames teenage son's suicide on bullying

2010-06-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Condolences to the Taylor family from Richmond Virginia
Go to http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ikv3ZWIiEqUp6MRXQKJhvbsbeVsQD9G3DUFO0 to read the entire Associated Press story - Another Bullycide in America

...Christian Taylor was an avid skateboarder and fan of the rock bands Nickelback and Korn, his mother said. She said he had also had some problems with bullies in Killeen, Texas, before the family moved to Virginia a few months ago. Taylor's stepfather is in the Army and was returning Wednesday from deployment to South Korea.

"Chris was a good kid," Alise Williams said. "He had the usual teenage problems, the awkwardness and all, but he had a girlfriend and friends and they're devastated."

She described the bullying of her son as "just a lot of taunting and saying mean stuff." In one instance, she said, the classmate "told my son to go ahead and commit suicide and get it over with."

'Bye Dad' - Last Words Spoken by UK Teen

2010-05-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

This article hit home. The last words spoken to Jared were the same.

A bullied teenager out walking with his father said 'Bye Dad' then seconds later jumped to his death from a motorway bridge, an inquest heard today.

Matthew Miller, 17, from Leyland, Lancashire, was walking with his father to 'clear his head' when he passed the school where he had suffered months of physical and emotional abuse, the hearing was told.

A quiet, studious and sensitive youngster, despite being an 'exemplary' pupil, school prefect and destined to study computing and business at university, the youngster told his father the school had 'ruined my life' then ran to a bridge over the M6 motorway and leapt over the side.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1279995/Bullied-Balshaws-High-School-pupil-leapt-M6-motorway-bridge.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0oZoPeVz5
or
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1279995/Bullied-Balshaws-High-School-pupil-leapt-M6-motorway-bridge.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

16-year-old Southridge student shot, killed after school

2010-03-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

This news article is not about a "bullycide", but about a murder by a bully - the only difference, the hand that took the life. In this case, it was the bully.

BY LIANA KOZLOWSKI
lkozlowski@MiamiHerald.com

Daryl Eddie had called his mom, asking her to pick him up -- and quickly -- from the bus stop. Two boys from school who'd been threatening him the last two weeks were going to beat him up, he said.

`` `You need to hurry up because they just saw me,' '' Shonka Ward said her son told her.

When she and her younger son, 16-year-old Edward Collier, pulled up at the Cutler Bay bus stop Thursday afternoon, they saw Daryl on the ground, trying to fight off his attackers.

That's when 6-foot-1, 280-pound Edward jumped out the car, grabbed his 18-year-old brother by the shirt and dragged him out of the tussle.

But Edward never made it out alive...

A 9-year old dies by Bullycide?

2010-01-24T15:08:00.000-08:00

Check out the article below and you might feel as I do...THIS is a Bullycide!

...FORT WORTH, Texas -- What could cause a 9-year-old to take his own life?

Authorities, friends and the family of a boy from The Colony in Texas who was found hanged at school this past Thursday afternoon are struggling with that question after his apparent suicide.

A staffer at Stewart's Creek Elementary School discovered fourth-grader Montana Lance in a bathroom, police said. No children witnessed the incident.

http://www.newsobserver.com/386/story/300896.html

Brandon's Story

2009-01-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some short quotes from Bullycide in America, taken from Brandon's Chapter - Bullies Who Kill - By Cathy Swartwood Mitchell

“The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.” George Bernard Shaw

"...I have tried to write Brandon’s story for three days and have not been able to complete it…maybe today. I have a lot to say and this is a very painful and emotional subject for me. While my heart goes out to the victims of all school shootings, a different type of crime is happening in our schools. It has devastated my life.

"Although rarely labeled as such, "bullying" is a crime. It injures, maims, destroys and kills. Until a proactive approach is taken against crimes of bullying, a reactive approach to crimes of school shootings is futile.

"Bullying is a crime in which the perpetrators are rarely punished and the victims rarely receive justice. This crime is usually repetitive and a victim is injured and traumatized over and over again. When bullying claims yet another victim, few notice and even fewer care.

"Oftentimes, the victims themselves are blamed by being told that they must be doing something to "deserve" it. These victims are isolated and usually suffer in silence. The media doesn't broadcast the injuries or deaths of these silenced victims. Our nation doesn't share in their pain or extend sympathies to their survivors. Communities aren't outraged by these senseless and equally devastating crimes. The only outrage in our nation — in our communities — is when the psychological injuries caused by the bullying are externalized, and we have yet another school shooting."

To order, "Bullycide in America: Moms speak out about the Bullying/suicide connection" go to http://www.bullycide.org/. The book can be ordered by e-book (download), or by softbound print.

If I were to write a letter to Oprah

2007-10-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

If I were to write a letter to Oprah, what would I say?

Something like this...

Dear Oprah,

Nine years and five days ago, a tragedy of an unspeakable kind happened to our family. Our son, Jared, took his life. He was 13 years and 6 days old.

Our family has never been the same; I have never been the same.

When I walked into our home that morning, after being called by a dispatcher to come home, and heard the news from my husband, that Jared was dead, I knew that depression had driven Jared to take his life and that bullying was the trigger.

That was the moment of change in my life. Since that day, I have resolved that I would try to prevent that same outcome in other lives.

I would say more...
I would want Oprah to see that she can help me in my resolve.
But maybe I'll add more in the next blog

Brenda High
Author, Bullycide in America
www.Bullycide.org

Press Release

2007-09-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a copy of the press release that is being sent out to media outlets by volunteers and the "Bullycide Moms" this week:

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brenda High
509-547-1052 brenda@jaredstory.com

Grieving Mothers Expose the Reality of Bullying and Suicide in newly released book – Bullycide in America

September 10, 2007 – WA – What happens when a child is bullied to the point of hopelessness? For some young people the only escape from the pain is suicide.

Bullycide in America, Moms Speak Out About the Bullying/Suicide Connection is filled with the real-life stories of dozens of parents who share their own personal pain as they watched their children suffer and struggle because of the bullying epidemic.

This is a book of real stories about real kids. Kids who took their own lives because they thought it was their only way out of a hopeless situation. It is about the tragic choices they made in an effort to end the pain - when they believed there was no other solution.

Researchers acknowledge that within the teen population, there is a “high prevalence of bullying behaviors.” The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center [NYVPRC] reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers - almost 2,000 teens are successful in their attempts to end their lives each year.

The mothers who tell their stories in this book do not need researchers or experts to make the connection between bullying and suicide. They know firsthand that as long as we intellectualize this phenomenon and debate it, it will remain an impersonal subject of speculation, avoidance, paralysis, guilt, and blame rather than one of responsibility and change.

This book is for those of you with young children, who will soon be preteens and teenagers. It is for those with teenagers. (do we need this repeated?) It is for grandparents who are watching over loved ones. This book is for people who work in law enforcement, health care, education, or in any profession involving children and teenagers. It is for concerned citizens who simply want to be educated so they can help to make a difference.

The vision for the book came from Brenda High. Having lost her 13-year-old son, Jared, on September 29, 1998 to suicide as a direct result of being bullied, Ms. High has made it her personal mission to educate as many people as possible as to the risks involved in youth suicide.
In addition to coordinating efforts with other parents who have lost a child to bullying in order to educate the public of this silent epidemic, Ms. High works with state lawmakers to get anti-bullying laws passed, educators to create an attitude of change and parents to teach the importance of documenting bullying.

Bullycide in America is available at www.bullycide.org .
Media representatives can receive a 25-page media book by request.

JBS Publishing, Inc. - ISBN 1-59029-069-0 - $22.95 retail

####

Brenda High is available for interviews. Other authors may or may not be available. Please contact Brenda High for further information.
509-547-1052 brenda@jaredstory.com

Bullycide "Mums" - Australia

2007-08-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend I met another Bullycide mom in Australia - she called herself a bullycide "mum". Suicide's attributed to bullying, "bullycide," is not just an American phenomenon. Bullycides are happening all over the world. Our sad "Bullycide Mom's Club" is growing, and that's a sad commentary for our world community. We need to change attitudes about bullying in ALL of our schools.
~Brenda High

Working on the online Book

2007-08-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Today I've spent most of the day working on the online e-book, Bullycide in America: Moms speak out about the bullying/suicide connection. I'm making progress.

What's great about the online edition is that it will be easier to read, have lots of color pictures of the kids, a favorite quotes section, plus a recommended resource section from the writers. There will also be bonus downloads. The book will be offered as an affiliate program allowing readers & organizations to make a little money out as they get the word out about the dangers of bullying.

I can't wait to have it all ready go on the site, www.bullycide.org. ...Updates to the site is the next project I'll be working on.

I'll keep readers of this blog posted on my progress.
~Brenda

We are the Bullycide Moms

2007-07-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

My name is Brenda and I lost a child to "bullycide", a suicide attributed to the effects of bullying, September 29, 1998. I have never been the same.

I recently compiled a book called, "Bullycide in America: Moms speak out about the bullying/suicide connection" with 9 other writers, 6 of whom lost their children to bullycide just like me.

I welcome any comments from others who are parents (or grandparents) of children who are bullied, students who are being bullied, survivors who somehow got through the trauma of bullying or anyone else who would like to share your thoughts.

Our book will be available to order in early September 2007 and our online book (with an affiliate program) should be ready by August 16th. Go to www.bullycide.org for more details.

Also check out www.bullypolice.org and www.jaredstory.com.

~Brenda