Anti Bullying Video
This video is currently doing the rounds on the internet as one of the latest anti bullying videos to go viral. It shows two girls (actresses) pretending to bully a girl and then the positive reactions of the bystanders around her who step in to defend the victimin various ways. My favourite one is the guy who whips out a harmonica and starts playing it to cheer her up because...yeah, why not.
This video reminds of the 'What Would You Do' series that you can find easily on Youtube. In this series, situations showing bullying and/or discrimination are set up to see how members of the public will react. In almost every situation at least one person will stand up to the person causing the nastiness. These types of videos are powerful because they show clearly the positive impact of standing up for someone being treated badly. It is a positive way of looking at the problem, it shows that there are plenty of good people in the world and gives you that, 'my faith is restored in humanity', feeling.
It is also an example of the victim and/or hero of a situation being given more attention than the perpatrator. Another example of this is the image of Lavin Eskandar, the boy who stood up to an armed man in Sweden, going viral. Taking attention away from the peretrator seeking infamy is one positive reaction we can have towards tragic situations. Hopefully, the mainstream media will catch on and follow suit.
10 things some men do to 'out man' each other
#1 - Boast about how rare they like their steak.
#2 - Order the hottest curry on the menu and pretend to enjoy it.
#3 - Make as many disparaging comparisons between rugby and football as they can anytime either sport is mentioned.
#4 - Insist they love dogs but hate cats.
#5 - Detail what they would do if somebody broke into their house.
#6 - Tone down their posh accent.
#7 - Boast how quickly they could grow a beard 'if they wanted to'.
#8 - Refuse to admit liking any alcoholic beverages that women are commonly known to enjoy.
#9 - Claim their childhood karate lessons have left them ready for combat.
#10 - Talk about 'that fight' they had in high school.
Any I missed?
The Human Face Of The Refugee Crisis
Unless you have
been living in a box or under a rock you will have undoubtedly heard about the
humungous scale of the refugee crisis sweeping through Europe, mostly from
Syria. There have been so many tragedies happening to these people that it
would be near impossible to write about all of them. Therefore, I want to talk
about one of the positives that has come from the situation.
One of the main
positives that I have noticed is that much of the mainstream media are finally
treating refugees like human beings. Instead of the constant bigoted, inflammatory
nonsense about how, 'PEOPLE ARE COMING HERE TO STEAL ALL YOUR JOBS', I'm
actually seeing lots of reporting and news stories that are instead focusing on
stories of the difficulties that these people are going through as well as ways
in which people are trying to help them and suggestions on what we can do to
help.
How have we
finally got to this point? I think that part of it is that the crisis is now so
huge that people and the media have had to face more truths about what is
actually happening. The situation in Syria not getting any better, charities
not having enough resources and people getting increasingly desperate to find
somewhere safe to live have all contributed to the truth of the situation
becoming more obvious. The other reason is the story of a little boy who
drowned on a beach, Alan Kurdi, going viral. The incredibly powerful and upsetting
image from the story gave many people a focus for compassion and empathy over
the situation.
Obviously, not
enough is being done by our countries to help these people. However, some of
the truthful and sensitive reporting towards this crisis is a step in the right
direction for the media.
