Cosplay Against Bullying

"It's a blessing to be different, not a curse."

I didn't write myself a script or rehearse in any way. This is just me, speaking straight from the heart.

Act Against Bullying
Luna’s Fandoms Against Bullying

I went so far out of my comfort zone to record this, I can’t even. I was shaking, and I still feel a bit nauseous. Also, very anxious. Actually, scratch that. Terrified. It seems silly, I know, but there you have it. I have this irrational desire to snatch it back, delete it, pretend I never put myself out there like this. I won’t, of course. This is something I feel strongly about, and as awkward and full of run-on sentences and pauses that would put Shatner to shame as it is, I stand by my words.

TRANSCRIPT

Right. Well, hello. I am Kaida Stormshadow and I am taking part in the Cosplay Against Bullying Movement. Uhm, which is, basically, pretty much exactly how it sounds. Uhm, a bunch of cosplayers or just, y’know, people in accoutrements -- because we don’t have costumes -- uhm, go and get our geek on and go out to do our small bit to spread awareness about the problem of bullying in our schools, and the fact that in many cases school officials don’t do anything about it.

Now, I can already see eyes rolling and hear cries of “Slacktivism! Go do something useful, because what is marching around in a costume or fan gear going to do?” Well. Every movement has a beginning. Every awareness campaign has a beginning. They all start with an idea, and those ideas need to be taken out into the world. There is a wonderful woman, Featherwolf, who got an idea and she is trying to spread that idea out into the world, and myself, and roughly a thousand other people in various cities are trying to help her spread that idea. Bullying is an epidemic and we are the people trying to find a cure. Slowly. Because as I said, everything has a beginning and sometimes it’s a small beginning.

When children are bullied in schools, that is -- let’s call a spade a spade -- abuse. Verbal abuse. Mental abuse. Emotional abuse. And sometimes it escalates to physical abuse. Now, when we send our children to school, we generally do it with two primary expectations: we expect them to be educated, and we expect them to be safe. But when school officials and the adults that we are placing our children into the care of are turning the other way and ignoring the bullying when it happens, are failing. Us, and our children. They are failing because they are not protecting our children from the abuse that they are suffering. Now, this needs to change.

Bullying has been a problem for a very long time, and it’s been a problem that has largely been overlooked. “Oh, kids will be kids,” and that sort of thing. But guess what? Those kids grow up into adults. And the bullies sometimes get a clue, realise what horrible jerks they were and sometimes even reach out to the people that they bullied and try to make amends or at the very least, apologise. And as for those who were bullied, they sometimes -- quite frequently -- end up going out into the world with crippling social anxieties, or they suffer from severe depression, or any other sort of problem that, y’know, people try to pass off as ‘just in their head’ or ‘cries for attention,’ and that’s just wrong.

When an adult looks the other way, when an adult ignores the bullying, when an adult says, “Oh, if that little girl doesn’t want to be bullied she shouldn’t be carrying a Spider-Man lunch box.” or “If that little boy doesn’t want to be bullied he shouldn’t be carrying a My Little Pony backpack.” they are giving tacit approval to the bullies; to the abusers. They are saying, “This is all right. We condone this behaviour.” Because there are no consequences. It is clearly the victim’s fault, because they are different.

NO! This is wrong. This is wrong and it needs to stop and we need to take a stand. As parents, as friends, as god-parents, as aunts, as uncles, as grandparents, as cousins and family friends, we need to get out there, in our communities, be aware of what’s happening in our schools. We need to listen to our children; to the stories they tell. Whether it’s about another child being bullied, or themselves being bullied, or if they laugh about “Oh, haha, that person is so weak because they like My Little Pony.” We need to show the bullies that this is not acceptable, this is wrong. We need to show the victims that we are there for them, that they are not to blame because of their loves, because of their passions.

Because those passions are what make them unique, what make them special, and what make them treasures to be sent out into the world; to improve it; to make it better.

We cannot live in a bubble and say, “Oh, well, I shouldn’t get involved because it’s not my child.” or “Oh, I’d better not make a fuss. I’d better not cause a scene.” Wrong! Just because it’s not your child today doesn’t mean it couldn’t be tomorrow. And do cause a fuss. Do make a scene. Because if nobody stands up, if nobody says, “This needs to change!” then it’s not going to change. School officials will continue looking the other way; they will continue to place blame on the victims; there will be no consequences for the abusers, the bullies.

This message today is a planted seed. Hopefully it will reach fertile ground and grow, and spread, and flower, and more seeds will spread, and grow, and flower. Because our future belongs to our children. And being different is okay. “It is a blessing to be different, not a curse.” Because those differences are what make us physicists and doctors and artists and actors. And those differences are what we take out to say, “I am going to contribute something. I am going to change the world in some way. I am going to contribute and make it better.” But if those passions are ever squashed, if those dreams are made fun of, then they will be abandoned. And that, is a tragedy.