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Stop Bullying My Child

In a world where a life can change in a second, with today's technology is it safe for our children to be online?


  • This blog is dedicated to Eira Maghuyop, all children who are being bullied, and those who fight to end bullying
  • With today’s technology, teen bullying seems like an epidemic. You hear about it on television, you read about it in the newspaper.

    But then when it occurs in your own life, when your child is hurt by someone, it enrages you.

    So where does childish fun end and bullying begin?

    Facebook and Twitter are the most advanced platforms for cyberbullying, and it’s not just kids. Look at all these out-of-control “housewives” taking to Twitter to try and ruin people’s lives—as if the damage they do on their TV shows wasn't already enough. Now we have tweens and teenagers on the cyberbullying bandwagon.

    Why would they feel it's okay to call someone fat online? Or a slut?

    How could someone think they have the right to video tape their gay roommate making love, then broadcast it over the internet driving the roommate to end his life?  

    Bullying may seem harmless and most parents think it’s normal kid stuff—but my dear parent, times have changed since you were a kid. We now have Wi-Fi and cellphones, it’s not the same as when we were kids with pay phones and later beepers.

    Now our children can take a picture or make a statement in seconds for ALL the world to see. Another child's life can forever be ruined in mere seconds. Bullying isn't in anyway "normal" kid stuff.  It is illegal and it should be. A child should pay the consequences for their actions, and so should their parents. It’s no joke anymore.

    Bullying can cause that fat kid to overeat and drown their embarrassment in more food, or it may cause them to go to the other extreme and become bulimic or anorexic. When your child calls someone a faggot, that kid  will forever be changed and his life will be over shadowed by the label.

    Is my child a crack head?  A fat pig? Is my child is a slut? A faggot? When did my child become a psychopath? Why is my child a loser?

    Hey! My child is none of these things, but thanks to your child, my precious child will forever have one of these labels attached to their name. You as the parent need to step up and control your child. Instead of ignoring the madness or supporting the madness.

    Stop the madness!

    We need to realize that calling someone vicious names or defaming them with private pictures sent to everyone they know is not a joke—it can lead to suicide. We never want to bury our children. Your child may be the bully today and the victim tomorrow.

    Take away the iPhone and iPad until they are mature enough to understand the damage they can do with their “jokes”. 

    But now that people are starting to get that bullying, and cyberbullying in particular, are real problems that do real damage, don’t just accept it as “kids will be kids”.

     It’s not OK.

    Call the school, call the cops, call the other parents, call your local newspaper. This has to stop.

    Please listen to the song I attached I saw Chaka Khan sing this for the first time to her granddaughter who was at the point of breaking. Chaka cried through the whole song and said that was the last time she will ever sing that song. The words are so POWERFUL.

    Editor's Note: 14-year-old Eira Maghuyop of Yonkers committed suicide earlier this week. A YouTube video put together by her friends said she took her own life because she was bullied.

     According to wsbt.com, Maghuyop attended Ursline School in New Rochelle, and school officials "tried to make it clear that she was not bullied in school and those who bullied her did not attend Ursuline."

     Click above to watch the YouTube video, and here for the Facebook page dedicated to her.

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    Henry Ferlauto February 3, 2012 at 06:43 pm
    An incredibly sad story.
    Amazingly, The Journal News does not have anything about this story. And there is no Yonkers Patch website. The only local background story I can find on this is from WPIX: http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-westchester-girl-suicide-020212,0,23149.story
    Beth Baumgarten Warren February 3, 2012 at 07:16 pm
    This is completely out of line, out of context and should not have been given blog space. The issue here is not whether bullying occurs or who gets bullied, it is that it is a huge problem in our schools and throughout our society. It is killing our children and young adults who do not have the means and emotional strength to handle it. We need to find a way to recognize signs and help those who cannot help themselves. As Julius said we have to "stop the madness"
    teevoz February 3, 2012 at 07:18 pm
    Absolutely right.
    teevoz February 3, 2012 at 07:53 pm
    To Jill Gertz:
    Google these names for starters: Phoebe Prince Megan Meier - targeted by a friend's =mother= Hope Witsell - she was only 13 Jessie Logan Alexa Berman Do I really have to go on? These teenage girls all were victims of cyberbullying and all committed suicide. And this list is the tip of the iceberg. This has nothing to do with gay activism - except insofar as gay activists have helped to bring this terrible problem to light, and society owes them a thank you for doing so. This is not propaganda, it is truth Why don't you educate yourself, instead of spewing your hate-filled, unacceptable vitriol here. And by the way, what about Eira Maghuyop? Do you have nothing to say about her tragic death? Have you no decency?
    Bob Zahm February 3, 2012 at 07:54 pm
    @ Jill -
    "... there is ONE reason the Rutgers student got the most attention and that's been true of the whole anti-bullying movement ..." Try as I might, I am unable, in your post, to find the "ONE reason". Would you please respond with it here?
    John Patrick Schutz February 3, 2012 at 08:05 pm
    Except thousands of kids being bullied for other issues don't kill themselves every year. It happens to be a serious issue in the community of kids who are gay or lesbian. It's a particulary abusive type of bullying and if you'd take some time to look up the suicide rates of teens and their causes, you might understand why a particular issue was chosen for confrontation by the government. We get it, you don't like us. That's okay, really. You do have the right to like or not like, approve or not approve of whom you please. Taking those opinions and using them as an excuse to bully, to make one's life an absolute hell escapable only by death is not - nor is it "protected speech". Some laws certainly get bogged down in over-protective nonsense and are reacting to one specifc event. Not here. A string of similar suicides led up to Tyler Clemente's case. Yes, he had a NAME, please remember THAT. He was not a nameless deviant, but a young man with dreams and ambitions (just as the young lady EIra Maghuyop whose tragedy inspired this story did) and to pretend in some form of moral righteousness that his roommate Dahrun Ravi had nothing to do with it is insulting and disgusting. "Oh, poor Ravi" moan the conservative pundits "his life is ruined". Ravi still HAS his life, Ravi was 100% responsible for pushing Tyler over the edge. Maybe he should have thought before he acted in such a malicious manner, but because to many abusing gays is okay or even encouraged, he felt it acceptable.
    Bob Zahm February 3, 2012 at 08:27 pm
    @John - thanks for making clear what I missed. Gaybashing - or any other - is an absolutely appropriate reason for removal of a post. And, while significant, sexual orientation is not the only reason for bullying. Anything that makes a child - or adult, for that matter - stand out can lead to it. Don't play sports? Become a target. Don't wear the right sneakers? Become a target. It's a small step to "Aren't the right color? Become a target." etc. Bullying is a problem, Jill. This is not a contrived issue.
    Mike February 3, 2012 at 08:32 pm
    Bullying is clearly an increasing problem for our schools and I'm not sure it is more predominately occuring to gay kids. I think there is bullying occuring at similar levels based upon other reasons- appearance, weight, gangs, etc. However, I dont think it is productive to look at it this way. Bullying for any of these resaons is just wrong and needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, I'm not sure it can be done by teh schools alone. I feel that as a society/nation we have lost teh sense of tolerance and acceptance of others. It does not mean we have to agree with others, but I think we must respect others and be as tolerant as possible. Our kids are grwoing up in a world that does not see this practiced very well. We have become such a divisive society and crass when you look at the Talk shows, reality TV, news channells where opposing sides do nothing but overtalk each other. We even see this in Congress. The solution lies not such much in our schools policing these situations, but in the parents in the home. We ned to teach kids manners and respect for others. We need to teach that tolerance and accepting other persons point of views is part of what this country is about. Monitoring your kids televison watching and internet use is needed just as much if not more than having teachers monitoring bullying in schools. In short, we need to instill personal responsibility back to our country and especially back to our kids.
    John Q. Public February 3, 2012 at 08:45 pm
    Parents on both sides have to pay attention to what their kids do, and should teach them what Martin Luther King said in his famous sermon: "We all want to achieve distinction... to lead the parade... Adler said this quest for recognition, this desire for distinction is the basic drive of life... Children are little bundles of ego, they have innately the drum major instinct. In adult life, we never get by it... The only people unhappy are those for whom praise goes to others... This drum major instinct, a need to feel superior, a need to feel they are first... The most tragic expression of man's inhumanity to man... what is wrong is... We have perverted the drum major instinct... The answer Jesus gave in the Gospel of Mark was, don't give up the instinct, don't pervert it or give it up. Keep feeling the need to be first. But be first in love, moral excellence, generosity. He transformed the situtation by giving a new definition of greatness. I can't make you first, you must earn it. Not favoritism, but fitness. If you want to be great, recognize that he who is greatest is your servant. King tried to live serving others, trying to be right. He was a drum major for justice, for righteousness. He left a committed life behind. Parents must teach children the same ideal, and recognize their own failures.
    Margaret Clancy February 3, 2012 at 10:43 pm
    This is a small part of a statement released today by Ursuline:
    Unfortunately, our grief has been compounded by the erroneous reports on the Internet and among some news organizations that Eira’s death was in part the result of bullying at Ursuline. We are reassured by the Yonkers Police Department statement that their investigation “has not revealed any evidence to support that bullying was a factor in this incident.” While the bullying conversation is an important one to have, it's also important that we don't all jump to conclusions based on internet postings by people who actually don't know anything about the situation. News stories based on the modern day rumor mill -- the internet -- aren't really news at all. The conjecture and speculation that Eira was bullied at school just served to make a grieving community of young women feel even more heartbroken.
    Margaret Clancy February 3, 2012 at 10:47 pm
    The Journal News actually has a policy not to report on suicides. From their website:
    The Journal News generally does not identify the victims of suicides that occur in private locations or report in detail on such incidents.
    Liz Claire February 3, 2012 at 11:19 pm
    Whoever wrote this article was stretching it. Kids must talk to their parents. If they don't, parents have to accept responsibility for their own failure. This author deflects the issue to third parties who, in a rational world where parents loved and cared for their kids, should have no overriding influence. I feel bad for all these kids parents, but they have to look hard and deep into the mirror. Why did they have less influence over their kids than their peers? Something was missing.
    Mike February 3, 2012 at 11:35 pm
    This is potentially a serious infraction of journalistic integrity. With all due respect, the Patch is quick to delete comments it deems inappropriate, but how then did this piece get written without first vetting it? Can you provide your readers with an explanation, update or is a retraction in order?
    Julius Michael February 3, 2012 at 11:56 pm
    In no way was I stretching anything. Have you ever been in a situation where you were to embarrassed to talk to anyone? If the parents of the bully brush it off as kids will be kids then what should the parents of the victim do? Kids must talk to their parents? In a perfect world Liz they would
    teevoz February 4, 2012 at 12:21 am
    Obviously, it is important for parents and kids to talk - that goes without saying. And the blog makes that point. But I have to ask- have you actually raised teenagers, Liz? That they are influenced by their peers - sometimes more than their parents - is age-old. No matter how good the relationship between parents and kids is, the teen years are exactly when they pull away - it is what they are supposed to do, in fact - and you have to hope that you laid a good foundation for them to compete successfully with those other influences. You are missing the point, though - accepting responsibility for failure doesn't do anything for the lost kids. What is needed is awareness on the part of parents, teachers, communities, that teasing and bullying in today's world can be deadly precisely because of how easy it is for a kid bent on bullying to sit in his room and trash-tweet at someone else's expense. This blog also makes another really important point - today's bully can be tomorrow's victim. Everyone is at risk, and people need to wake up.
    teevoz February 4, 2012 at 12:39 am
    @Mike - this blog post is talking about the serious problem of cyberbullying in general, and is dedicated to the young local girl whose friends say was a victim of bullying, Reliable news sources reported this, and the editor's note makes it clear that what her friends said is different from what the school has said. So if there is concern about these reports, they ought to be taken to the news sources who are reporting this - it's their journalistic integrity ito be considered, not Patch's in this case.
    Liz Claire February 4, 2012 at 12:48 am
    Maybe I'm a different parent than others. I don't allow my kids to participate in "social media" of any kind, because I think it's too intrusive and ultimately destructive. Do I know everything about my childrens' lives? Probably not. They need their own space, and yes, I've experienced a teenager withdrawing as they become a separate person, working toward adulthood. It's painful if necessary. And yet I do have an unusual amount of openness and conversation with them, all perhaps a product my experience on 9/11 and how I nearly lost everything. But that's me. I still think parents can teach their kids not to think that the internet is God. Lots of BS published. I'm striving to create a life for my kids where the Internet is an extension of the library and not a place to affirm their identity. I don't trust teachers to achieve this for me. I believe I'm my kids' best teacher and that's my role. I understand others want to subcontract the responsibility to others. I think there is a better way.
    Dina Sciortino (Editor) February 4, 2012 at 02:27 am
    Here is the story in New Rochelle Patch: http://newrochelle.patch.com/articles/ursuline-student-takes-her-own-life
    I would definitely not delete something saying people should or shouldn't put hot dogs up their nose, that's just hilarious. Jill, you lost me on your train of thought, but if you have any questions about me, my background or how Patch works I would be more than happy to speak or meet with you. My email address is dina.sciortino@patch.com and my phone number is 914.610.8525
    Dina Sciortino (Editor) February 4, 2012 at 02:29 am
    Thanks for your constructive input Liz! Really fantastic input for parents to consider.
    teevoz February 4, 2012 at 03:22 am
    I agree with you on this, actually, Liz. I think teachers are teachers - they are not the parents - and it's primarily the parents' responsibility to pass along their values and morals to their children. And to talk with them as much as possible. And to not give up if the going gets rough. But there's no point in blaming the Internet - the Internet doesn't =do= anything, it is just there as a tool. It's how people use the Internet that can be the problem. I can understand your desire to keep your kids away from the dangers, but kids find a way - I'm sure you know that. So they need to learn the skills that will enable them to use these tools and not be hurt by the dangers. No point in pretending it's not out there - and that's where teachers come in. They're with the kids when you're not, and they see them with their peers when you don't. They may be in a position to notice signs of bullying, And if they are alert to it, and not afraid of the inevitable resistance from the bulliers' parents to recognize the truth, maybe some kids will be saved.
    Mike February 4, 2012 at 06:15 am
    @teevoz-problem is the Yonkers PD as well as school have said it was not a suicide. The school said that it has been reassured by the Yonkers Police Department that “their investigation has not revealed any evidence to support that bullying was a factor in this incident.” I'm not saying bullying is not an issue but the point is at best it MAY not have been an issue here. If a news outlet is going to link it, then yes they gave the responsibility to check the facts
    teevoz February 5, 2012 at 05:10 am
    @Mike - I don't think anyone said it was not a suicide - apparently that was clear. They said they had not uncovered evidence that bullying was involved. Her friends say otherwise. Perhaps your concern is better addressed to the news outlet that reported on this - WPIX - but I'll just say that in my experience, schools are very slow to acknowledge that bullying is going on under their noses, for obvious reasons. I hope the truth in this tragedy is uncovered and an appropriate response is forthcoming.
    M. Timm February 5, 2012 at 01:22 pm
    @Liz ... (in a rational world) ... now that is what I call S T R E T C H I N G it. Be realistic before you pass judgement (and post it publicly); and then think again about ALL us HUMANS being less than perfect.
    M. Timm February 5, 2012 at 01:53 pm
    Thank you Julius and the WP Patch, for such a powerful and timely article.
    Bullying! has always been a problem, especially for children and teens. Realistically, it always will. My suggestion is always the same: if you see something; SAY something. I equate it to hiring a professional to get a specific job done right; bring it [Bullying!] to the attention of the proper authorities (an adult, parent, teacher and in some cases the police). I will not comment on suicide, except to say, that I sincerely hope people do not glamorize and/or romanticize it in any way, shape, or form.
    E. Nuff Sayd February 6, 2012 at 04:59 pm
    Part of the blame should go the media; especially Fox News. The level of vitriol and the screaming debates that pass as public discourse are a disgrace. Bullying is a societal issue, and until we stop buying the products advertised and stop watching the cheaply produced slug fests masquerading as news, our children will be at risk.
    Mike February 6, 2012 at 05:05 pm
    just foxnews? what about the lunatics at MSNBC some of whom have actually be taken off the air for their comments.
    BoomersRI October 3, 2012 at 09:04 pm
    Hi Rivertown!
    October is National Anti-Bullying Month. We just posted a great article on our www.boomersRI.com site to raise awareness about bullying practices. We invite you to visit our site, read our tips and leave some of your own. Together we can make a difference!
    curtis sharp October 3, 2012 at 10:00 pm
    I agree- they delete what they want beyond what terms of service say. When you log comments on a site like this, you have to consider this is not the NYT. It is a local forum, designed to look like what we know as a newspaper. It's not really a place to find who, what, why where when how or investagative reports. If you come to terms with this, you will be a happier person. That's why I use fake e mail addresses that don't even exist but most of my comments stay up. They block the ip for a while if I sound like a horses rear end or insult someone (they blocked me when my user name insulted the site), but when I feel like it my router can isuse a new one.
    curtis sharp October 3, 2012 at 10:02 pm
    I agree with Bob- they delete what they want beyond what terms of service say. When you log comments on a site like this, you have to consider this is not the NYT. It is a local forum, designed to look like what we know as a newspaper. It's not really a place to find who, what, why where when how or investagative reports. If you come to terms with this, you will be a happier person. That's why I use fake e mail addresses that don't even exist but most of my comments stay up. They block the ip for a while if I sound like a horses rear end or insult someone (they blocked me when my user name insulted the site),
    ...
    curtis sharp October 3, 2012 at 10:07 pm
    I think you should respect peoples feelings and opinions and consider it is possible that some posts are deleted that should not be. I have seen political posts written by others that get taken down even though they seemed ok to me. The "paper" seems slanted to favor trustee and police point of views in order to apease them. Not saying that's wrong. I would do the same thing if my biz was operating on a small budget and depended on information from certian parties. However, that is what makes this a blog/forum. It's not a newspaper.
    Note Article
    Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
    Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
    Colleen R. Brathwaite June 12, 2013 at 12:23 pm
    I'm glad to see someone else put on paper some of the reaction I have had to being required to pay aRead More fee to park at WestMed. I think the fee is unconscionable! I was even more insulted when I received a tone-deaf response to my complaint about the fee from the head of WestMed. I understand that WestMed ended up paying considerably more for the parking facility than anticipated, but that's no justification for charging clients who have no choice but to park there in order to receive vital services. It's a gross insult to the patients. It's not our fault that WestMed had to cough up more dough. With new WestMed locations being opened every few months, clearly the company is not hurting financially. And, what's most ridiculous, is that they hired a staff of four or five parking attendants to issue tickets and instruct us how to pay for the parking! Why not use their salaries to help defray the facility's cost? You're right that it's pure greed because WestMed could have chosen to recoup the cost more slowly and not charge a fee. When I expressed my displeasure about the fee to my doctor, he posed an interesting question: when the facility's cost is paid off, will WestMed continue to charge for parking? By this time, WestMed has certainly recouped enough of the cost to make a dent in the overall expense. It's time to get rid of the fee and restore some dignity to what used to be a fine organization. In the past I heartily recommended family, friends and many others to WestMed. Now, I've got a very nasty taste in my mouth about WestMed! Shame on you, WestMed!
    Clifford Blau June 15, 2013 at 09:48 am
    It's not true that parking is required. You could do as I do and walk there (assuming it isRead More actually the White Plains office you are referring to and not Harrison), or take a bus, or a taxi, or have someone drop you off and pick you up. And if you aren't happy with their service, go somewhere else. There are lots of doctors not affiliated with Westmed.
    Cathy G June 15, 2013 at 04:41 pm
    Clifford, thanks for your two cents! How lucky for you that you can walk to your doctor's office andRead More not have to pay to park!