Bullied teen suicide shatters family

BUBBLY schoolgirl Sheniz Erkan should have been celebrating her 15th birthday next week.

But her devastated family will bury the young teen tomorrow, reported the Herald Sun.

Sheniz took her life on Monday after becoming the latest victim of schoolyard and cyberspace bullies.

Her death has prompted an unprecedented outpouring of grief and anger on social media pages.

More than 14,000 people have already paid tribute to the Taylors Lakes Secondary College student on a Facebook memorial site, and dozens posted memorial videos on YouTube.

But even her memory has been vandalised as the page has been attacked by abusive bullies.

Yesterday, friends and family of the talented soccer star hit out at her tormentors, who they said pushed her too far.

(Source)

Bullying is a serious Social Issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. Unless something is done about this issue soon, more senseless deaths will occur. With the popularity of online social networking sky-rocketing over the last several years, it is time to better educate youth of today about the dangers and negative aspects of engaging in social media. Parents should also be more vigilant about monitoring their children's online activities and better educated about which signs to look for when something is wrong.

Children now days don't have the innocence that they used to, all too often I hear 7 year olds spouting off 4 letter words, God needs to just purify this world already.

Ive been saying this for years. When a school shooting happens everyone is so quick to say how evil the shooter is and they cover up the fact that for every school shooting 7 more kids at least kill themselves because of bullying. And if they had gone into Columbine in the months before the shootings Id be willing to bet those vicims were not all innocent. Its time we wake up and start teaching our children that being able to throw a football, junp in time to music etc doesnt make you better than anyone else and the rules still apply and that being "pretty" is an accident. Then maybe this crap will stop.

As a father of 3 children, 2 of them teenagers, these stories crush my heart. I lost a niece to suicide due to depression which was a result of low self esteem.

It may sound corny but constantly tell your children they are beautiful and priceless and also treat them as such.

God bless that poor shattered family.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost

BUBBLY schoolgirl Sheniz Erkan should have been celebrating her 15th birthday next week.

But her devastated family will bury the young teen tomorrow, reported the Herald Sun.

Sheniz took her life on Monday after becoming the latest victim of schoolyard and cyberspace bullies.

Her death has prompted an unprecedented outpouring of grief and anger on social media pages.

More than 14,000 people have already paid tribute to the Taylors Lakes Secondary College student on a Facebook memorial site, and dozens posted memorial videos on YouTube.

But even her memory has been vandalised as the page has been attacked by abusive bullies.

Yesterday, friends and family of the talented soccer star hit out at her tormentors, who they said pushed her too far.

(Source)

Bullying is a serious Social Issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. Unless something is done about this issue soon, more senseless deaths will occur. With the popularity of online social networking sky-rocketing over the last several years, it is time to better educate youth of today about the dangers and negative aspects of engaging in social media. Parents should also be more vigilant about monitoring their children's online activities and better educated about which signs to look for when something is wrong.

edit on 12/1/2012 by Dark Ghost because: (no reason given)

I'm afraid to say that unless global catastrophe occured and we were blown back a few centuries, bullying will never disappear. People are now conditioned to find disproportioned body parts, body shapes and sizes, sexualities, races, religious affiliations, anything really, as abnormal and something to take the p*ss out of, mostly out of wanting to look "hard" or out of boredom, or maybe to place themselves on pedestals due to their own abuses (I think the "forgive them, they were bullied" argument is f**king ridiculous, I was physically and sexually abused, and I make a point to not lower myself to the people that commit these crimes).

reply to post by domasio


I agree that Bullying will not stop, there will always be bad apples who do the wrong thing. But I think education is very important in this regard. Let potential bullies understand that there are consequences for their actions, not to mention the effects they are having on the long-term well-being of another human being. Don't simply say "this is wrong, don't do it!" but rather show what can happen if they decide to participate in this ugly practice.

I think the fact that people kill themselves over bullying crazy.

Why are we taught to care so much about what others think? Who cares? Generally anyone that goes out of their way to make others lives miserable are miserable themselves. They are the ones trapped in prisons, why people get so offended by words...I don't know.

I know this sounds really mean, and I really don't intened it to be like that, so try and think about what I'm saying...I think if people are weak minded and are willing to kill themselves over simple name calling, let them go. Darwin invented the term 'natural selection', that's all this is.

I'm not saying children can't be mean, I remember bullying in my schools, and at times it could get bad, but usually people get picked on if they allow themselves to appear weak.

The only thing that can prevent bullying is confidence in children, they need to be sure of themselves and know that they are good people. If not instilled by their parents (and not by just telling them they're pretty/handsome and smart, but actually teaching them to learn for themselves) then the kids are doomed.

I feel bad for the parents, but god, get your kid off Facebook, twitter and whatever else kids use, teach them that learning is important and who cares about kids calling you names.

Pred...

The solution is simple: we need to teach kids that when the school system fails you, it's time to break somebody's nose.

If the bully sues for assault, you countersue for harassment and emotional distress.

If the school tries to expel you, you sue them for allowing you to be in a hostile environment and in constant danger.

The trick is documenting that you tried to take the decent route.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
reply to post by domasio

 

I agree that Bullying will not stop, there will always be bad apples who do the wrong thing. But I think education is very important in this regard. Let potential bullies understand that there are consequences for their actions, not to mention the effects they are having on the long-term well-being of another human being. Don't simply say "this is wrong, don't do it!" but rather show what can happen if they decide to participate in this ugly practice.

edit on 12/1/2012 by Dark Ghost because: (no reason given)

Then somebody could always argue that the rehabilitation of criminals often fails, so I don't think consequences of being a bully would be much of a deterrent.

Originally posted by predator0187
I think the fact that people kill themselves over bullying crazy.

Why are we taught to care so much about what others think? Who cares? Generally anyone that goes out of their way to make others lives miserable are miserable themselves. They are the ones trapped in prisons, why people get so offended by words...I don't know.

I know this sounds really mean, and I really don't intened it to be like that, so try and think about what I'm saying...I think if people are weak minded and are willing to kill themselves over simple name calling, let them go. Darwin invented the term 'natural selection', that's all this is.

I'm not saying children can't be mean, I remember bullying in my schools, and at times it could get bad, but usually people get picked on if they allow themselves to appear weak.

The only thing that can prevent bullying is confidence in children, they need to be sure of themselves and know that they are good people. If not instilled by their parents (and not by just telling them they're pretty/handsome and smart, but actually teaching them to learn for themselves) then the kids are doomed.

I feel bad for the parents, but god, get your kid off Facebook, twitter and whatever else kids use, teach them that learning is important and who cares about kids calling you names.

Pred...

I dont know what your experience is but bullying goes way beyond calling someone names; it tends to escalate to physical and sexual abuse and things that if one adult did to another would be treated as an assault.

I can bet that a lot of the people apparently grieving over this girl's death either contributed, directly or otherwise to her decision to kill herself, or knew what was going on and did nothing to help. Hypocrites.

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck


You are forgetting one important thing though. This world is run by bullies so that they and their kind can prosper. Its a horribly unfair world.

reply to post by predator0187


You said, "I think the fact that people kill themselves over bullying crazy." I could not agree more but remember these are children who obviously do not have the coping skills to deal with this sort of abuse. We all were bullied at one time or another. It is just that with the addition of the internet, kids are being wrecked emotionally and often times the parents are not even aware that it is going on.

As parents we have to build our kids up so that they are able to brush off this peer induced abuse. There are no easy solutions but it has to be brought to light through the media. More so than it already is.

reply to post by aprilc1


Sexual abuse is beyond bullying in my book, that is a criminal activity and should be treated so. As for physical abuse, yea, that's going to happen. It happens in nature with almost any species, and will happen to ours, usually it does not entail life threatening beatings, nor life changing, but that happens in nature as well.

I think us as humans worse thought is that we are not animals, we try and act like we are above them, and someday we might be, but as for now we are a universal time scale away from living in forests mating with chimpanzees.

With technology we have been able to keep our weaker members of the species alive longer, which is different than most animals, but it does nothing but dilute our genetic lines. Sounds bad, I know, but in nature our handicapped ones wouldn't last that long. Look at all of nature for those numbers.

Again, I don't mean to sound cold-hearted, I am just looking at the fact that we are animals.

Pred...

Originally posted by predator0187
reply to post by aprilc1

 

Sexual abuse is beyond bullying in my book, that is a criminal activity and should be treated so. As for physical abuse, yea, that's going to happen. It happens in nature with almost any species, and will happen to ours, usually it does not entail life threatening beatings, nor life changing, but that happens in nature as well.

I think us as humans worse thought is that we are not animals, we try and act like we are above them, and someday we might be, but as for now we are a universal time scale away from living in forests mating with chimpanzees.

With technology we have been able to keep our weaker members of the species alive longer, which is different than most animals, but it does nothing but dilute our genetic lines. Sounds bad, I know, but in nature our handicapped ones wouldn't last that long. Look at all of nature for those numbers.

Again, I don't mean to sound cold-hearted, I am just looking at the fact that we are animals.

Pred...

Then technically you are opposing people's right to life. Do you view life-saving treatments as bad, because they keep the "weak" alive longer, thereby diluting our genetics? What you seem to be implying is that bullied people that commit suicide, and "weak" people in general SHOULD die, therefore have no right to life, because they are discrediting Darwin's theories? I find that mentality disgusting to be honest. The most genetically weak person still has the right to live as long as they can and through any means possible. No human being has the right to play the dealer of who should and shouldn't live, that would make them no better than a sexual predator deciding who will be subjected to sex, because they are horny and decide to pick who will or will not receive their abuse.

Originally posted by domasio
Then technically you are opposing people's right to life. Do you view life-saving treatments as bad, because they keep the "weak" alive longer, thereby diluting our genetics? What you seem to be implying is that bullied people that commit suicide, and "weak" people in general SHOULD die, therefore have no right to life, because they are discrediting Darwin's theories? I find that mentality disgusting to be honest. The most genetically weak person still has the right to live as long as they can and through any means possible. No human being has the right to play the dealer of who should and shouldn't live, that would make them no better than a sexual predator deciding who will be subjected to sex, because they are horny and decide to pick who will or will not receive their abuse.

It's a complicated subject. Our evolution is progressed to evolve forward, we want the best genes and the beat traits. I am not saying those people should not live, but they are, no matter how harsh it sounds, diluting our gene pool.

I say it all the time about educated people and 'trailer trash' educated people statistically have less children, whether it be to be able to afford college educations for them or to ensure they have a good life, whereas the 'trailer trash' have 15 kids that never get 'true' parenting. So the educated ones of society will eventually be replaced by the uneducated ones.

Pred...

Originally posted by predator0187

Originally posted by domasio
Then technically you are opposing people's right to life. Do you view life-saving treatments as bad, because they keep the "weak" alive longer, thereby diluting our genetics? What you seem to be implying is that bullied people that commit suicide, and "weak" people in general SHOULD die, therefore have no right to life, because they are discrediting Darwin's theories? I find that mentality disgusting to be honest. The most genetically weak person still has the right to live as long as they can and through any means possible. No human being has the right to play the dealer of who should and shouldn't live, that would make them no better than a sexual predator deciding who will be subjected to sex, because they are horny and decide to pick who will or will not receive their abuse.

It's a complicated subject. Our evolution is progressed to evolve forward, we want the best genes and the beat traits. I am not saying those people should not live, but they are, no matter how harsh it sounds, diluting our gene pool.

I say it all the time about educated people and 'trailer trash' educated people statistically have less children, whether it be to be able to afford college educations for them or to ensure they have a good life, whereas the 'trailer trash' have 15 kids that never get 'true' parenting. So the educated ones of society will eventually be replaced by the uneducated ones.

Pred...

Hmmm, that may be true to an Evolutionist, but even in these modern times, I think that even Evolutionists understand that due to our intelligence, which leads to morality, spirituality etc, that we can't just blindly act like animals in the "survival of the fittest" ideology.

It is survival of the fittest whether we like it or not.

Just like eventually we will be taken over by the Chinese or Indians. They simply have the numbers, rather than starting a huge was with us, they will simply replace us. Before the middle class will be replaced by the numbers from the 'trailer trash'.

It's all a numbers game. They might not be the 'fittest' per say but they will survive.

Pred...

We still have appendixes.

In other words, evolution takes quite a long time and no matter what, bullying sorts the strongest to the top. Its ingrained. I wish is was not so, but its going to continue for thousands more years at least. We were taught about bullying 30 years ago when I was in primary school, but once teen years hit, its game-on.

I truely know what this girl went through, I spent 7 years in hell. Hindsight is a gift she will sadly never have, but for any other victims out there, there is eventually hope, just hang in there.

Unfortunately there are many of us know what this girl went through-if another adult in the workplace came into your cubicle or whatever and destroyed your personal property, knocked you around, threatened sexual assault you would no doubt that person arrested. Yet some of you are justifying and trivializing this young girls pain. You wouldnt tolerate your neighbor or coworker treating you that way-why should a child have to tolerate it? We need to stop thinking of it as "teasing", "name calling" or even "bullying" call it what it is "Physical Abuse" "Sexual Abuse" "Vandalism" "Assault"