Upfront January 9, 2012 Issue

A pledge for healing answers

Jenny Nelles, Staff Editor

In the past few years, the suicides of a number of young people have made bullying a big news issue. Public outcry has prompted parents, school officials, child development experts, celebrities, community leaders, and kids to come together, often online, and pledge to “stop bullying.” (Just Google “stop bullying” to have a look.) 

It’s true that a bully might be someone who teases you at school or taunts you online. A teen in our issue this week shares how she got through a time when her friends turned on her. Prayer gave her courage and helped to turn things around (“When your best friends bully you,” p. 10).

Questions from a recent Sentinel audio chat with Lois Carlson point to the fact that bullying doesn’t just happen between peers in a school environment (p. 6). Elements of bullying take place in the workplace, within marriages, in politics. And perhaps more subtly, but frequently, it happens in our own thoughts as we put ourselves down. 

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Items of Interest

Listening and bridge-building