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Time to Stand Up
In high school we are aware of our peers around us. We can see the kids who stand out of the crowd and not because they want to. They have intellectual or developmental disabilities. Many people label them with the r-word. It is an offensive word that is out dated. I am someone who is the club Best Buddies. We create friendships with these kids and we see them no different as any other peer in our school. Others use dehumanizing words and actions to make these kids feel bad for something they could not control. I am also a peer counselor and we make presentations to classes about bullying. My peers make comments about how they have heard this presentation a thousand times, and I think to myself “and yet you have done nothing to stop it.” Now when we give these presentations kids are on their phones not paying attention and the teachers not asking them to put it away or simply taking it away since it is against school rules. More than just the kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities are being bullied; people who are in the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning) are one of the highly targeted groups. They are two to three times more likely to commit suicide from bullying and harassment about their sexuality and I have yet seen any of my peers take action when they see bullying happening. In my school we have report forms where I anonymously go and fill them out each time I see an act of bullying. My peers wonder why we still give presentations at school about this but they do not help end bullying they are condoning it by being bystanders. As bystanders we have the power to make a huge difference, we have eighty percent of the power. We cannot just stand by we need to stand up!
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