Everything Under The Sun: A Case Of Online Bullying

Kaitlyn Collins, Green Bay Packers cheerleader.

Amidst all of the holiday preparations, it may be easy to forget the issues that evoke the most passion. Those issues, whether political (like what political party or spectrum you support), religious, sports favorites, entertainment personalities, can point to extremes in opinions. In the anonymous world of cyberspace, some of the passions can lead to ugly sentiments being expressed in print or video. Some of those attacks even become personal, with some individuals making vicious, personal attacks upon individuals whom they may not have met.

No one is ever really excluded from becoming a target. Even an NFL cheerleader can find herself subjected to attack. While rooting for a team can lead to some trash talk in the stands, that isn't usually directed at any one player or fan, but applies to the opposing team of the moment. Those expressions aren't what this is about. It's when the sentiment becomes personal and veers into hurtful, hateful words, that the attacks take on a different dimension.

No one knows that better than Kaitlyn Collins, who was a GREEN BAY PACKERS cheerleader back in 2013. Green Bay was slated to take on the CHICAGO BEARS. Before the game, one of the Bears fans posted a photo of Kaitlyn, along with a statement, "Like if you agree the Packers have the worst cheerleaders in the NFL," on Facebook. Fan comments following called her "ugly", "fugly," an "eyesore" - and those were the quotable comments. There were others that don't bear repeating.

But Kaitlyn wasn't standing for these bullying fans. She posted a video that contained written cards that explained her feelings and response to these vicious fans, along with her commitment not to define herself as just her appearance, not that there was anything wrong or unusual about it. She wrote, "Most comments on the photo were too horrible to repeat, but had the same theme...UGLY. This is bullying in its newest form - cyber bullying. Thankfully, I have an amazing support system full of wonderful friends and family telling me that I AM BEAUTIFUL. What about the people who don't have that at home? What will happen when something like this happens to them?"

Kaitlyn actually had a point. There have been enough children and adolescents who have been bullied in school, and that bullying has been compounded by social media posts. Those children haven't had the maturity to figure out how to respond to personal attacks, some of which have even threatened bodily harm.The rejection and hatred expressed in these types of posts are painful to the person targeted, as much as the most severe physical pain that a person could experience. It isn't for no reason that young people (and older ones, too) feel so badly that they may even resort to suicide. It's not okay to post these types of sentiments, especially when you realize that you may hold someone's life in your hands. Do you really want to be responsible for someone killing him/herself?

One of the cards Kaitlyn used in her video response.

There was this other purpose that Ms. Collins had in mind when she posted her video response, something that she hoped would help save lives and give others in her position a way to fight back. She affirmed, "It's hard to just brush it off your shoulders. No matter how confident a person can seem and appear - words hurt." If there is anything we take away from her experience, it is to treat those we address online the same way we would if we were face-to-face. We are generally less inclined to say hateful, spiteful words when we talk to someone in person. Remember, it's okay to be passionate; it's not okay to insult, defame, threaten, bully anyone. Let's keep our words kind and compassionate. Be free to disagree, but leave behind the personal attacks.