The Bully Project.

This upcoming film has created quite a lot of interest before it has even made its way into theaters. Originally the Motion Picture Associating of America (MPAA) was rating Bully as 'R'-rated which would limit the audience to over the age of 17. Unfortunately, the audience that REALLY needs to see this film to make it an effective tool to end bullying, is UNDER the age of 17.

Bully
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Why are they being bullied? Most times for the one thing that I have always found pride in, and always encouraged my daughter to be: DIFFERENT!

As a mom, and a former victim of bullying, I fully support The Bully Project. We hear all the time about young people being bullied, and sadly, many that we hear about simply feel as though violence is the only option to escape this cruel treatment. In fact, once I gather the courage, I will share with you my struggle with bullying, where it led, and how a potentially dangerous situation was avoided. I cannot imagine anything more heartbreaking than to learn that your child has taken their own life or the life of someone else because of something that should not be happening in the first place. I was almost "one of those" kids.

Like I mentioned early, Bully had received an 'R' rating from the MPAA.  A rating like this would prevent the people that need to see this film most from even being able to get into the theaters - our children. In order to help ensure this film reaches the audience that needs to see it most, the company backing this film has made the decision to release it as 'Unrated." NOW, here is where it gets tricky... Being released as 'Unrated' means that some theaters may to not show it. It is at the discretion of the theater. So, even with the release as 'Unrated' Bully may not reach the audience. Why the 'R' rating?? Because of  "offensive language" - language that children who are being bullied are hearing... language that bullies are using... language that you can overhear just about any where. Let's be honest for a second... do you REALLY think that your kids don't already know these words no matter how much you have tried to shelter them?

So far Evansville theaters are not listing Bully as an upcoming film. I have checked both theaters websites, and sure enough... Nope. Not listed. Bully premiers Friday, March 31st, and you can demand it here. If you would like to reach out to either theater to request Bully in Evansville, you can contact Showplace Cinemas here, and AMC Theaters here.

This is NOT OK! This behavior HAS to end. We are human. We ALL deserve to be who we are, and we should be able to do that WITHOUT fear. This effects every child, everywhere. Maybe your child isn't being bullied... maybe your child IS the bully... or maybe your child is in the group silently watching from the sidelines too afraid to stand up for another human life because they don't want to become the next target themselves. I hope that in our lifetime we can make this end.

To put this into perspective, here are some statistics from MakeBeatsNotBeatDowns.org...

- It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Source: National Education Association.

- American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims. Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center.

- 1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.

- 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.

- 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.

- 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.

- 1 out of 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school.

- 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

- Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools.

- 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying

- Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullied by peers.

- Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings.

- 87% of students said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.”

- 86% of students said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.

- 61% of students said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home.

- 54% of students said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school.

- According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.

- Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.

Talk to your children. BE the example that they follow. Teach them tolerance.

If you'd like to read more on how I feel about fitting it, being bullied, or being "normal" you can check out these:

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