Milwaukee, Wisconsin news anchor, Jennifer Livingston, called out her bully on the air
October is National Anti-Bullying Awareness Month. It's fitting, yet unfortunate, that the viral video of the day was a Milwaukee, WI news anchor, Jennifer Livingston, responding on-air to a particularly hurtful email she'd received. The gist of the email was that Ms Livingston was not a good role model for Milwaukee's young people because she was overweight. (You can watch the entire video here.)
In her scathing rebuttal to the anonymous - of course - bully, Ms Livingston made two points that I think should be said over and over again, because we're obviously not getting it.
The first thing was her comment, "This behavior is learned." As parents, we have to remember that when it comes to attitudes about race or religion or sexual orientation or weight or anything else - our kids are blank slates. It's normal for kids to talk about differences. Which one of us hasn't had a child say, "Mommy, that boy has no legs!" loudly in a public setting (or something like that...you know what I mean.) It's important that we acknowledge these things, and then explain to our kids that someone's difference is never a justification for treating them with anything but kindness.
And that brings me to the second thing: we need to teach our kids that you should never write something to someone or about someone on the internet that you wouldn't say to their face. A good rule of thumb is that if you won't sign your name to it, it's probably not worth saying. Anonymity is the coward's shield.
I can't imagine how hurtful it was for Ms Livingston to read that email, but I am so glad that she had the confidence to do what she did. Preventing bullying begins long before it's an actual problem; it begins with what kids see and hear at home. I know I can probably do a better job of it.
What about you?
3 comments:
I initially felt the same way as you.
However, I just went back over this situation, and I'm no longer as convinced the man (Kenneth Krause) was really as far off-base as Ms. Livingston and her husband would have us believe. They have conflated this issue with bullying, which I'm not sure it is.
The email was sent privately. It was not a public comment. Nor was it anonymous. Nor was it apparently a repeat offence.
The text of the letter itself, while critical, does not contain any slang insults or harsh personal attacks. He asks her to remember that she is a public figure and to use her privileged platform to promote healthy living and physical fitness.
That's not unreasonable. It is somewhat rude, I suppose, in a "if-you-can't-say-anything-nice" sort of way.
But that's not bullying.
It may do the anti-bullying cause a disservice to conflate rudeness and criticism with bullying.
Sorry for taking so long to respond to this. I really appreciate your thoughtful comments.
I don't disagree with you that we have to be careful not to confuse criticism with bullying. And in this case - based on circumstances that have come to light since I originally wrote the post - I don't know that this would be bullying per se. However, it brings up two interesting points for me:
1. Do we define bullying based on what we think it should be, or how it makes the victim feel? If she felt bullied, then shouldn't that be good enough?
2. Would we even be having this discussion if the criticism focused on anything other than her weight, say, her sexual orientation or religion?
I don't have the answers - obviously - I just think this incident has started a lot of interesting conversations about bullying, what it means and how we should approach it. Not a bad conversation to have, in my opinion.
Heya,
In response:
1. Just because someone feels that they are being bullied, does not make it so. There are, of course, official definitions of bullying. Typically, the bully is a required to be a repeat offender. Usually, as well, the bully must be in some position of power over the victim.
2. Maybe. It depends. I'm having a hard time imaging Ms. Livingston's video being very compelling if it consisted of her attacking Mr. Krause for suggesting that her Scientologist beliefs were not appropriate. But it might happen.
All this to say that Ms. Livingston received *one* snarky email from Mr. Krause. She didn't try to ask him to clarify, or tell him that she was hurt, instead she attacked him on television.
Maybe *she* is a bully.
Post a Comment