It Can Happen to Anyone

Looking into my community I see a home. A home for a great amount of diverse families. My community identifies diversity; ranging from different ages and different cultures. But isn’t being different supposed to be accepted. Doesn’t this society teach children that looking “different” and “being yourself” is a good thing? Society also is supposed to teach everyone to be accepting and considerate, not just children. If those are the norms society teaches us; to be “accepting”, then why don’t people do it? In today’s generation there is a great amount of discrimination, racism, domestic abuse, violence, assault, and even suicide. Unfortunately all these negative actions start from somewhere and most of that time it is as simple as name calling or stating a hateful sentence with the intention of being funny. All these issues are greatly incorporated with bullying. We see diversity everywhere but that doesn’t mean that because someone looks different, they should be treated different. Bullying affects more than just children, it affects adults as well. All those negative issues stated ahead cause harm not just to an individual but to loved ones and the community that surrounds it. Bullying can happen to anyone no matter the age. A stereotype toward bullying is that most people think that it just happens to children; simple horse play and that it is not harming anyone. But having that selective mind toward a situation only increases the possibility that someone else might think it is ok and will hens forth in doing it themselves or allow someone else to be bullying. Bullying affects the members of my community since a great number of them are children but as well people of different races and ethnicities. I have unfortunately seen bullying happen to a variety of people; from children to grown adults. It is important to give the community a form of awareness toward bullying and kill the stereotype that it is just children that it can happen to anyone.

There is a variety of form of bullying and adult bullying is one that often gets neglected. According to an article published on http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/adult-bullying.html, adult bullying can be a serious offense and may even require legal involvement. It is stated in the article that in adults bullying is more of  a verbal predicament rather than a physical one. The reason to why adults bully is because they feel that they have to find a form of superiority over someone or even because they want to demonstrate that they are "the boss."



Narcissistic Adult Bullying: This individual is self absorbed and does not share empathy with others. he or she is more focused on themselves that they disregard little or any consequence that may occur when they get the impulse to bring someone down.

Impulsive Adult Bullying: This occurs when he or she has already been previously upset and occurs unintentionally. They release their stress on another individual.

Physical Adult Bullying: Physical altercations do occur amongst adults and in some cases the bully might not physically attack their victim. But they do use the threat of causing harm and giving the perception that they will act up on their threat.

Verbal Adult Bullying: Adult bullies act like gossipers or like immature children. They will spread rumors, be sarcastic, and find a way to use their vulgar words to harass their victim/s and causing emotional impact that may lead to psychological stress.

Secondary Adult Bully: This adult does not cause the bullying but is more likely to add to the harm. They do it to seek some type of "protection" in the future.

Even though these are only five types of adult bullying there is so much more that occurs and can hurt the victim. Even though as an adult, adult bullying does occur. It has grown to be a issue that elaborates greatly with verbal abuse, domestic violence, racism, discrimination, and even psychological/emotional disorders. Adult bullying is an example of how bullying can happen to anyone. It does not just occur to children, even though they are affected as well.

Many bullies become bullies themselves because as children they either experienced bullying or they were the bully. In my community it seems to be that children are a greater target when bullying occurs and it is greatly related with cyber bullying. In todays generation it is seen that children have grown fond of having a cellphone and interacting with one another on social media. I have seen parents gift their children the most recent electronic device without being aware of the exposure their children have to the internet. Children have grown to use social media as a platform to not only connect with others and surfer the web, they have used social media to cyber bully their pupils or even strangers they do not know.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place behind a screen; any electronic device accessible to the internet and public display. According to https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html they have a column that provides information on what cyber bullying is. It is constant sharing of harmful statements or words that are implied for a specific person. Cyber bullying is used to cause humiliation or embarrassment in over sharing negative comments or even personal content.  In certain cases of cyber bullying it provides a public record which means it can be viewed by anyone anywhere. No form of bullying should be tolerated and their is consequences to damaging actions. 

Cyberbullying is so common that in the year of 2014-2015 the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that 21% of students ranging from ages 12-18 have experienced some form of bullying. Within students that were questioned to have been bullied or not, 11.5 % of 24,243,000 students have reported yes to have been cyberbullied online or through text. Cyber bullying is a way that the bully can hide behind a screen and at times get away with what they are disputing on the internet or through text. In my community the pre teens or the young adults are usually the ones that experience cyber bullying and view it as a usual occurrence because it happens so often.

It is an unfortunate statistic that bullying has become so common nationwide that it has affected a gradual amount of students, especially people around my community and loved ones I know. Bullying has affected me because I have friends and loved ones that have been bullied before because people have been discriminated or even just made feel as if they were complete worthless and cause stress. Bullying has impacted my life because I am always involved in defending victims of bullying or just being the bystander that speaks up when something needs to be said. I have always been one to have a very out spoken blunt mind so when it comes to defending those around me and speaking up for them I will. Personally, I am constantly surrounded by children from infants to young adolescent's, being seen as an older figure gives the responsibility of being their helping hand and even be the one that helps resolve certain situations like when my goddaughter began kindergarten with her uncle and they would bully each other in school and I had to resolve that situation immediately to the best to my capability. Thankfully I am not the only one that addressed this situation with them. As for the adults around me, I see that they face bullying in a more cultural aspect. I have observed that the older generation or people in there 30's or 40's are the ones to make specific comments or stereotypes about one another. Even if at times it is said in a form of a joke but I have seen that people that are not comfortable with that type of comedy they find it discomforting and may find it offensive.Also being involved with the pre-teen young adolescents community, I see how much a video or a simple Photo shopped picture can make it viral.

Bullying is a topic that I always felt heavily about because I have met so many people that have experienced bullying or have been a by standard to it. I personally have been a victim of discrimination or racism myself as an adult. This topic has not only affected me but it as well has affected those around me and with this minor project I seek to reach awareness that bullying can be done in many types of forms and it can affect more than just children. Bullying can occur to anyone anywhere. As it does and it seems to have taken a toll on some people around my community.

The following images are of people in my community that have been affected by bullying or have seen it happen to others around them.

"I have seen cyber bullying before and it is something that
 happens often but not many people say anything about it."

"Growing up as a chubby child bullying was present during my elementary days, from being made fun of my weight to being told to my face that i would never find someone to love me.
All in all, I grew up being able to not believe in the harsh statements and begin to enjoy life smiling and pushing forward being the best and living life to the fullest."

"Being verbally harassed has definitely created an impact over my self-esteem throughout the years.
Fortunately, it does get better over time; however, every once in a while, something will trigger painful emotions and memories that I’ve longed to forget.

"Bullying is an issue that has affected people I know, one big bully I see is Trump.
Yet that is a separate issue on its own.
Bullying just leads to countless moments of frustration and unnecessary hurt"  

"Bullying is not just done in your grade school years it happens everywhere.
 Bullying can be seen every time a male objectifies and uses a woman as a tool
instead of treating them as human beings."

Spaying and Neutering are Necessary

The number of stray pets in the US is alarmingly high, considering we are one of the world’s leading nations. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, it is estimated that there are approximately 6.5 million pets that enter animals shelters each year.  Out of those 6.5 million pets entering only 3.2 million are adopted and about 1.5 million are euthanized (ASPCA). Out of the 1.5 million pets that are euthanized, 80% of them are healthy and treatable and could have been adopted into new homes.

 So why are there so many homeless dogs in the street? The reason is that people choose not to neuter their pets. Unfortunately, there are many irresponsible people who randomly decide to get a pup because it's small and cute. Once the dog outgrows its “cute” stage they kick it out like garbage. Once in the streets, these animals reproduce with others and increase the number of homeless animals. Sadly, as hard as may be tried there’s no sure way to prevent these types of people from getting their hands on a dog. But something that can be done is neutering every animal possible at a young age. This will ensure that come what may, these animals won’t run the risk of reproducing and bringing homeless babies into the world.

I myself am a proud dog owner. My dog’s name is T-Bone and he was born on May 27, 2012. I know that it’s extremely cliché for people to say “My dog changed my life!”, but it’s true. My dog really did change my life. 

T-Bone came into my life during a dark and rough patch, I had just started college at CSUDH and was so excited to start a new chapter. High School was finally over, and I was finally out in the real world ready to grow. But then life happened and I had to deal with my mother going into a very deep state of depression. Depression is not something easy that you could brush off your shoulder. It real and its intense, and I tried to give my mom all the support I could possibly offer in whatever way needed. But it did drain me. My grades started to decline, and I just couldn’t keep up with the pressure. By the end of Spring semester, I found myself on Academic Probation. That was a low blow for me because I was used to my constant 3.8 GPA, I mean I wasn’t a genius but I was smart. After falling into Academic Probation my financial aid was cut off and I had to drop out of CSUDH and go to Community College. To say I was sad is an understatement. 

One day I was driving past an animal shelter and thought that maybe looking at some cute pups my brighten my spirit. That’s when I met him, my baby T-Bone. He was a tiny 6-week old puppy, with dried tears in his eyes, and I couldn’t resist. I immediately called the shelter worker and started the paperwork. I paid a $50 rehoming fee and ever since then he’s been my $50 puppy. He brought so much joy and happiness to my life. There were moments when I would cry, and he would sit right beside me and cry with me. His heart is so pure and full of love that even as a small puppy he would share my sadness. He is now 5 years old and I love him more than I could possibly express. Looking back I realized that adopting a stray dog changed my life. But what if I hadn’t? What if my T-bone had been one of those poor victims who end up euthanized each year? It broke my heart and made passionate about advocating neutering. These animals are amazing, and they don’t deserve to be euthanized because someone decided neutering was not necessary. They depend on us as humans to look out for them. Euthanized animals not only die a lonely death, but they die feeling rejected and ignored.

This is T-Bone. He was rescued from a shelter and was properly neutered before adoption. He now lives a happy life, and will not add to the number of shelter dogs.

"Cubby is a rescue dog. He was found inside a cardboard box on the streets. Two of his siblings had died due to the cold. He's now in a loving home and will never contribute to the homeless dog population." -Leslie V.

"I love my Benny so much it hurts. I rescued him from a puppy mill and neutered him to ensure he never runs the same fate as his parents." -Jess C.

Works Cited

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/spayneuter-your-pet