What Is the Right Thing? | Teen Ink

What Is the Right Thing?

March 13, 2018
By GyianiM BRONZE, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
GyianiM BRONZE, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Dear Mr. Trump, I am writing to you today about cyber bullying, school safety and more:  

      

Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream that one day the world would be strict and more serious and that they would care about racism. Well I had a dream the world would be stricter on the laws of guns, also on the internet. I know that you can't tell people to just stop because they won't, and I know that and so do you but like Obama said in his farewell speech ''But laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes often take generations to change.'' So here are some reasons as to why the government and the world should be stricter on the laws of guns, and the internet.

Reason 1. According to findapsychologist ''More than one in five children in the U.S. has been bullied and nearly 40 percent report having been assaulted by other youths, according to 2010 data from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Centers for Disease Control considers bullying to be a major public health problem. Young people.... young people victimized by bullies are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, psychosomatic complaints such as headaches and stomachaches as well as poor school adjustment.'' 

''Youth who bully others are at increased risk for substance use and violence later in adolescence and adulthood. Research indicates that bullied students’ academic performance is adversely affected in schools with high rates of bullying. At the extreme, bullying has been implicated in cases of suicide. Bullying has been defined as intentional, repetitive, interpersonal aggressive behavior that involves an imbalance of power or strength and includes behaviors such as hitting or punching (physical bullying), teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying), or intimidation through gestures or social exclusion. Bullies often target individuals who are perceived to be “different” in race, national origin, color, religion, appearance or gender expression. Research indicates that bullying can exert a powerful influence on not just the targeted individual but the sideline witness or bystander who can experience stressful vicarious trauma. Today’s technology including email, instant and digital messaging, chat rooms, blogging and website posts has provided vastly more bullying opportunities for a steadily expanding audience. Cyberbullying, or online social cruelty, requires only a phone and a vendetta. The behavior may include posting mean, vulgar or threatening messages or images; sending sensitive, private information about another person; pretending to be someone else to devalue a targeted individual; or intentionally excluding someone from an online group. Children as young as 12 have been taking compromising photos of themselves and use their cell phone to send pictures over their phone and computer. ''

''With its 24 hours per day, seven days a week exposure to a “virtual social network” the internet has become the new digital playground and apparently there are no “off hours.” The lack of geographic boundaries and anonymity further complicate the problem. Studies have found that over 50% of young people have not told their parents or any adult about something mean or hurtful that has happened to them online. ''

''Young people who are targets of cyberbullying are more likely to report social problems, depressed mood, and feelings of victimization. The media has highlighted the tragic effects that bullying can have on the well-being and psychological health of targeted individuals. For example, a Rutgers University student committed suicide after his roommate allegedly took a video of his romantic encounter with a man and streamed it on the internet. To address the severity of bullying and cyberbullying problems, New Jersey’s Legislature drafted a law requiring its public schools to adopt extensive antibullying policies. Although most states have statutes, the New Jersey law requires schools to conduct extensive training of staff and students; appoint safety teams made up of parents, teachers and staff; and launch an investigation of every allegation of bullying. While other states' laws have similar aims, many lack the rigorous oversight and quick response mechanisms that New Jersey is putting in place.'' 

''The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights unambiguously puts the state, school officials and law enforcement on the side of targets—and puts perpetrators on notice. Unfortunately, legislation alone cannot reduce this pernicious public health problem. To create more peaceful school learning environments, a change in culture and commitment to non-violence in schools, workplaces, and homes is needed to achieve this transformation. A culture’s attitudes can change. For example, years ago many thought that smoking was a problem that public opinion could not address. Similarly, workplaces have begun to create a culture that doesn’t support or tolerate interpersonal violence and offers protection to workers. Bullying can no longer be viewed as a “necessary rite of passage” or “business as usual.” For meaningful change to occur, effective anti-bullying programs need to involve the school, home, and community along with students, parents, educators, psychologists, school administrators, and community groups.''

It is only in this way that we will begin to see a culture change that tolerates no bullying, it is the only way that kids won't be afraid to be a kid, it's the only way kids will feel hopefulness, joy, and beatitude... it's the only way. ''The National Crime Prevention Council recommends to parents that they talk to young people about cyberbullying and teach them the rules below to help prevent cyberbullying from happening.'' I know you know about what happened in Parkland Florida and this could happen to more schools if the world doesn’t improve the laws on guns. Now I would like for you to put yourself in the position those kids were in before they died and those kids that survived, also the kids that are being bullied. Wouldn't you feel unsafe with the laws, wouldn't you want the world to enforce the laws more and be stricter on laws, so the world would be safe.''

 

Reason 2. According to theconversation, ''The shooting in Virginia that wounded House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, as well as the shooting in a San Francisco UPS facility that left four dead on the very same day, have generated – yet again – the standard set of responses in the wake of a mass shooting in the United States. The details of any such tragedy often emerge slowly, but a few points can be made. While deaths from mass shootings are a relatively small part of the overall homicidal violence in America, they are particularly wrenching. The problem is worse in the U.S. than in most other industrialized nations. And it is getting worse. The political overlay of the Virginia shooting also carries a social harm. Any thought that guns can play a helpful role in reducing tyranny in a democratic country like the United States should quickly be dispelled. Hopefully, that message will penetrate everyone from the NRA leadership and Sen. Rand Paul to anyone on the opposite end of the political spectrum who doesn’t like the current developments of Republican rule. I've been researching gun violence – and what can be done to prevent it – in the U.S. for 25 years. The fact is that if the NRA claim that guns helped reduce crime were true, the U.S. would have the lowest homicide rate among industrialized nations instead of the highest one – and by a wide margin. ''

 

''The U.S. is by far the world leader in the number of guns in civilian hands. The stricter gun laws of other “advanced countries” have restrained homicidal violence, suicides and gun accidents – even when, in some cases, laws were introduced over massive protests from their armed citizens. Eighteen states in the U.S. and several cities including Chicago, New York and San Francisco have tried to reduce the unlawful use of guns as well as gun accidents by adopting laws to keep guns safely stored when they are not in use. Safe storage is a common form of gun regulation in nations with stricter gun regulations. The NRA has been battling such laws for years. But that effort was dealt a blow in June 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court – over a strident dissent by Justices Thomas and Scalia – refused to consider the San Francisco law that required guns not in use be stored safely. This was a positive step because hundreds of thousands of guns are stolen every year, and good public policy must try to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children. The dissenters were alarmed by the thought that a gun stored in a safe would not be immediately available for use, but they seemed unaware of how unusual it is that a gun is helpful when someone is under attack. Statistics show only the tiniest fraction of victims of violent crime can use a gun in their defense. Over the period from 2007 to 2011, roughly six million nonfatal violent crimes occurred each year. Yet data from the National Crime Victimization Survey show that 99.2 percent of victims in these incidents did not protect themselves with a gun – this in a country with roughly 300 million guns in civilian hands.'' MORE GUNS = MORE DEATH, MORE GUNS=MORE DEATH. More guns won't stop gun violence so please update the law on guns.''

 

So, this is my letter to you, Mr. President

Sincerely, Gyiani M.



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