Who else besides me thought the suicide last week of a 10-year old young man named Seven in Kentucky was a tragedy? Seven was bullied repeatedly because of a bowel condition he had no control over. Unfortunately, this was not this young man's first time at being bullied. In August of last year, he was choked on the school bus until he passed out. I have said before that I was bullied in high school. I never reported it to the school, because I feared it would make the problem worse, plus I had to see these girls outside of school because we played sports together. This is my own opinion, but I think empathy begins at home. If we raise our children in an atmosphere where racial slurs and making fun of others different than ourselves is acceptable, then why wouldn't we expect our children to be that way outside of our home? Empathy, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary means, "the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feeling, thoughts and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner." The particular group of girls that bullied me in high school thought it was fun to see me cry. I've been out of high school almost 38 years and I still can't figure out why that brought them such satisfaction. Yes, even almost four decades later, I still think of it. I can't even begin to know how sad this young man was and what pain he must have been in to feel that suicide was the only option available. My heart breaks for his parents. Their son was in elementary school, a fifth grader. My husband and I have had more than one conversation about how fortunate we are that Dominic is not bullied for being "different." Truthfully, I don't think Dominic would even know if he was being bullied. I guess we can take some comfort in that. Children committing suicide because they are relentlessly bullied really needs to stop. I saw the mom of Seven on television shortly after her son had taken his own life. I know I wouldn't be able to do that if it was one of my children. That woman was incredibly brave. I have had a hard time getting Seven's sweet face out of my mind, because it was such a senseless tragedy. He was just too young to have taken his own life. We need to start doing something. If you know someone struggling, there is help, it's not hopeless. Here is a link to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline .
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