Bullying

The article I chose is about bullying. In the New York Times article, it goes in detail about Mitt Romney’s admitting and apologizing for taking part in bullying a homosexual almost 50 years ago after President Obama’s pushing the issue, endorsing gay marriage (Ashley Parker May 11, 2012).

I think that this was out of publicity but out of guilt as well. Just a day after Obama spoke about gay marriage Romney decides to speak about bullying, which happened during his study at Cranbrook, a private school in which he attended in the 60’s. A couple of boys held down a boy by the name John Lauber, while Mitt took a pair of scissors and cut off a chunk of Lauber’s hair just because Lauber decided to dye his hair blonde. This is an example of taking things a little too far in my eyes. Who in the right mind would even touch someone’s hair, let along cut it off?! Sick.

Everyone has taken part in some type of bullying, whither it being as the bully or as the victim, but some more than others. Even though you take part in that action I think it’s fine just as long as you don’t take it as far as most people do. Some victims end up committing suicide, which I find very hard to see anyone doing, but it does happen.

Although It took Romney 65 years to apologize for the action he took during his studies at Cranbrook. I believe this was supposed to be a good move for his position but will end up back firing in his face in time, due to the fact that the family of John Lauber felt that they were wronged with even bringing up Lauber after all this time, in that type of manner.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/us/politics/years-later-a-prep-school-bullying-case-snares-romney.html

Stigma

What is Stigma?

Stigma in my own understanding can be wrong and right at the same time. From the reading that was given to me a seventeen year old young man was killed due to wearing the wrong clothes at the wrong hour at the wrong time of night. He was identified by his clothing as a trouble maker due to a sweat shirt with a hood. If wearing clothes was to make the man then I would be a different type of person every single hour, every single day. I would be a business man during the morning, and a gang banger by afternoon, and a bum during the night.

The reactions of stigma are funny in ways my eyes while other times it just doesn’t seem right. High school kids can be seen as trouble by wearing an outfit seen on TV in some ways.  How the labels emblazon onto some of the youths foreheads for having their pants worn almost falling to the ground. The times when I, myself have gotten stares like I was going to just take some lady’s purse and run or when a girl grasps onto her boyfriend’s arm once I walk past. Even when the time comes when someone just crosses the street to avoid contact when I was about to walk passed them. It sucks.

I think that society is on the way to simply not caring about any of this stigma now days. People still wear what they want to wear knowing the fact that it may seem intimidating, while others wear the clothing to make people intimidated. No matter the occasion people judge people. The way they carry themselves after that fact is the deciding factor.