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Faerunner said on January 20th, 2007 at 6:02 pm :

:( I’ve heard of it happening here, too, but mostly here they blame the suicides on the internet, or music, and the bullying on the kid’s social ineptitude, or the bully’s choice of music/movies/games/friends, and nothing is ever done about it here either.

Blame and guilt are easy to lay on someone else, and tough to rid oneself of. I feel really, really bad for those children, but I can’t say I have any idea how to protect them. It’s a cultural problem, from what you’ve said, that won’t just “go away” or be fixed by outside intervention. The hardest part is waiting for someone inside to realize the problem and attempt to fix it.

 

kit said on February 12th, 2007 at 7:44 pm :

i really wish i could think of something to do about this; i’ve been pondering it for a few weeks, since i came across a similar article. but i hardly know where to start.

Jan 5, 2007 | Malaise

There's something wrong with the way Japan is, right now, and I've come to realize it just recently. It's hard to put them to words exactly, and I have no intention to offend, either, but it's a social illness that worries me greatly, an illness that preys on the disillusioned, the helpless, the youth. It doesn't target the poor, in particular, but instead propagates itself among those of every social standing.

Open any Japanese newspaper today and you'll find news common to every nation: political scandals, opinions about Saddam Hussein's execution, lifestyles of the rich and famous. What disturbs me is the spate of recent suicides among school-children, from elementary school to high school students who decide that the best way to resolve their misfortune of being bullied by heartless other students is to kill themselves.

Bullied? It hardly raises eyebrows, and when it does, school authorities (and perhaps the police) are quick to administer some kind of justice, and community effort. But to commit suicide?

Knowing Japan, it's hardly inconcievable.

  • Children don't stand much of a chance standing up against bullies, particularly because very few would be willing to defend the poor soul for fear of being ostracized as well.
  • The country is largely unreligious, priding itself on syncretism, a sort of metamorphosis of Buddhism, Shintoism that forms the foundation of society but provides no refuge afforded by other religions. The Japanese, it would be safe to say, don't believe in those religions, they just make it a part of daily life, and not in any meaningful, tangible way.
  • The authorities are reluctant to do much about it, for doing so would show their very incapacity to maintain order within their school district.

    Japanese newspapers and television revealed the case Oct. 1, saying the school concealed the bullying. The reports triggered an avalanche of more than 2,000 letters of protest to the school, forcing Kawae to admit that bullying might have been part of the reason for the suicide.

    Publicity about the student, known only as Yoko (not her real name), triggered similar suicides. More than 10 youngsters between the ages 10 and 17 have killed themselves since Oct. 1, leaving wills, e-mails or notes hinting that they, too, had been bullied.

    [...]

    In the past two months, three teachers and principals have killed themselves, one because he didn't stop a case of bullying.

    • Part of me wants to apply for a grant and do something about it. Part of me wonders what can be done...

    Excerpt from Lexington Herald-Leader.

    Also written on this day..

    This entry was posted on Friday, January 5th, 2007 at 9:19 am, EST under the category of Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.