Flight Attendant Freaks Out And Jumps Out Of Plane

We have all been inundated by the in-your-face-reports on the Jet Blue Flight Attendant who lost it when a rude passenger hit him on the head and failed to apologize. This story speaks to the decline of our society on so many levels.

First, we all deal with rude people on a day to day basis. Normally, we either ignore the abuse or we say something to the rude person and walk away. Today, people are resorting to violence. How many people have died in the past year thanks to disgruntled co-workers?

Second, rude people need a wake up call. Walking away from rude behavior is a mistake. Rude people need to hear that they are rude. Point out the behavior and it will most likely stop. Life is too short to be mistreated by anyone.

Third, Steven Slater did not have a "little meltdown", it was a major meltdown that resulted in a criminal act. Someone could have been seriously injured or killed at the moment he hurled the door open and deployed the slide.

Fourth, mainstream media and thousands of fed up Americans are making this guy out to be a hero!!! How exactly did that happen?

Fifth, prosecutors will not throw the book at him for his reckless actions because they do not want the press that this case would bring!!!!!

Sixth, this guy went from obscurity to fame in a matter of seconds. Now, he'll be all over reality TV. Only in America.

80% Of Bullying Is Witnessed: Only 10% Is Reported

The Early Show reported yesterday on a recent study that finds that 80% of bullying is witnessed!!!!! What's worse is that only 10% of the witnesses report the bullying!!!! Teachers and parents, teach your children that reporting a crime such as bullying is not tattling!!! The bullies are using the word "tattletale" to control our kids!

Another Teen Dies As School Administrators Stand Idly By

It is always shocking to hear that another young person has taken his or her life as a result of bullying. It is so senseless. Especially, when the bullying was common knowledge and the parents and school administrators were aware of it.

Phoebe Prince, a beautiful, 15 year old girl took her own life as a result of her anguish over the chronic bullying she received at her South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. I am glad to see that a District Attorney is holding the school administrators accountable. Personally, I think they should be criminally charged along with the 12 bullies they, in effect, helped to end this lovely girl's life. Shame on them! Shame!

Cussing At School Leads to Bullying

McKay Hatch, a very brave and intelligent sixteen year old takes on the bullies by trying to get the Senate to pass a no cussing bill for American schools. It was passed by Congress, but set aside by the Senate.

I agree with McKay that the U.S. Senate's action, or inaction as it were, is a Victory for millions of bullies. By not passing the bill, the Senate has condoned bullying. This mirrors what happens each and every day at our schools when administrators do little or nothing to stop bullying.

According to a 2 year study out of Louisiana, bullying decreased when cussing was disallowed at a Louisiana school.

You can visit McKay Hatch's website and read about or join his national campaign @ NoCussing.com

Alarming Increase In Teen Deaths As A Result Of Huffing

I just heard the shocking news that there have been 77 teen deaths in the first 3 months of this year! That is very alarming considering that just over 500 teens died after huffing over the last 5 years according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

I just taught at SMART START class to a sixth grade class last Friday dealing with the dangers of inhaling or huffing poisonous substances. I cannot emphasize enough the dangers of huffing. One in three first time abusers drops dead. I tell kids, your first huff, may well be your last breath. I am deeply saddened by this ABC report.

Bullying On The Decline Says Who?

I could not believe my ears when HLN reported last Monday that bullying is on the decline. What?According to HLN, reports of physical bullying among children fell from 22% in 2003 to 15% in 2008. Now, I am no expert, but I take serious issue with this study.

First of all, most bullying incidents never get reported. The majority of bully victims suffer in silence. Secondly, physical bullying is just one facet of bullying. The girls are the worst kind of bullies and I'd wager there are a lot more girl bullies than boy bullies. Girls today are just plain mean. They bully in ways that go undetected by the adults around them, especially their parents who will deny their darling little angel would ever say a disparaging word to another child. Give me a break!

So, I say to this HLN report, HOGWASH! For the very day of the report, I received a phone call from a mom in tears over her daughter's distress and anxiety due to 2 girls who had been repeatedly bullying her at school. Two days prior to this report, a friend informed me that her son was bullied at Track and Field practice which is run by a Christian Youth Organization!!! Shameful!

HLN, why don't you put your focus on the fact that 1 in 4 children are bullied every single day in this country???? Let's put that out there and put a stop to it now.

NASCAR Bullies Go Way Too Far

I was stunned as I watched a NASCAR driver purposely cause the car in front of him to flip off the track on Sunday. It was reported that he showed no remorse and indicated that it was pay back. Really????? Have we stooped so low as adults that we need to exact revenge on our tormentors?File a complaint, call the police, get legal retribution, but don't risk your life and the lives of innocent fans.

This blatant act was attempted murder. Hello! Both of these drivers should be thrown behind bars for attempting to murder each other on the track and on national television no less. I am completely disgusted by this attitude and both men should be ashamed of themselves! What's more, it appears that NASCAR encourages such reckless behavior. Why? For the almighty dollar. Sickening!!! Shame!!! Shame!!!! Shame!!!!

Gym Bullies: American Society Increasingly Self-absorbed And Inconsiderate

Okay, now the bullies have made me really mad. I am still hot over this one since it happened just this afternoon. So, today I finally get to the gym. There were very few people today. The "resolutionaries" are dropping off fast. I'm on the elyptical machine, no one else around me, 31 minutes into my workout when I start to struggle with my body which wants to call it quits. I successfully talked it into continuing to 45 minutes.

Excited that this was going to be the best workout I've have had in 3 months, I peddled away straining to read the subtitles of the soap opera (not my choice, but it was already on) being broadcast on the TV in my area. All the other TVs were showing sports and news. I hate sports programs and I had seen all of the day's news repeated 5 times over as I had watched the latest on our treacherous California storms all morning. All of a sudden, the TV screen went blank. Someone had asked the staff to change my program!

Shocked and pissed all at the the same time, I looked to my left with a huff of disgust, and there he was, the jerk who changed my channel! I looked to the right at the staff behind the counter; the criminal staff member who changed my channel was completely oblivious to my glare.

Then, as the creep's sports program came on, he jumped up and down, clapped, and yelled, "Yes!" I looked to my right. There was an available elyptical machine right there with a TV screen directly over it showing the same exact program the jerk changed my program to! I couldn't believe it! 3 out of the 5 TVs were now showing the same sports program!

Disgusted, I grabbed my things and went to complain to the deviant staff member who changed the channel without any regard for the fact that I was obviously staring at the screen being that I had no headphones and had to strain to keep up with the dialogue flying across the screen.

Needless to say, my workout and my good mood were ruined. This is not the first nor the second time this has happened to me at the same Fitness 19 gym. I notice that men are usually the biggest offenders! Is this a gender thing? I have never, and would never, walk into a gym and before arriving to my machine, ask the front desk to change the channel of a program that someone else is clearly watching. What do you think? Has this happened to you? What would you do? Am I in the wrong here?

Now that I am writing this, I don't know why I didn't complain to the creep who was so inconsiderate to change my channel. I was very angry and preferred to avoid confronting him, so I went to complain to the staff and will complain to the manager tomorrow when I see her. Clearly, Fitness 19 needs to enforce it's TV policy, but it is also clear that our society is increasingly self-absorbed and blatantly inconsiderate of others.

New Study Says Tattoos Linked To Trouble

Hard to believe a study was needed to figure this one out. Researchers now conclude that people who have tattoos are 8 times more likely to commit a crime. Doesn't everyone know that to get a tattoo in the first place, one must be a bit on the wild side? No Duh!

Moms Against Texting: Focus Driven

For some reason, in this country laws and risk of serious injury and death are not enough to get people to stop doing dangerous things especially while driving. A national campaign has been launched called Focus Driven. It was started by mom's who have lost children and even parents thanks to drivers who were distracted at the wheel by either talking on their cell phones or worse, texting. According to the national safety commission, 28% of auto accidents are now due to cell phone use. Clearly, the laws and penalties need to be much greater in order for people to just drive while driving.

KGO Radio Dealt With The Topic Of Sexting Today

Thanks Gil for bringing to the forefront the very serious problem of Sexting. I knew that the numbers were high, but Gil reported today that 20% on children are Sexting and 36% of young women are Sexting! These are shocking numbers.

I quickly grabbed the phone to dial in. I have never called a radio show before. It was an interesting experience. I was asked what I had to say. Caught off guard, I fumbled with my words and the woman told me to hold on. I waited through numerous commercial breaks only to hear Gil, the announcer, state that the show had ended. The topic clearly hit a nerve with the public and I hope he will touch on the topic again.

There were numerous thoughts and opinions that I would like to comment on, but will break them down into separate posts in the interest of time and organization.

N.J. Mom Charged After School Refuses To Take Action Against Bully

I was stunned to see the report this evening. A New Jersey Mom was charged with verbally assaulting the school Superintendent in a meeting after his school administrators failed to take action on against a boy who pulled down the woman's 13 year old daughter's pants.

I have to say, bullies at my children's middle school have been known to pull other boys' pants down in the hallways. This behavior usually results in the bully being suspended. Small punishment for such a humiliating act, but it is better than nothing.

One comment I read on the blog, Kansascrime.com, infuriated me. A dude commented that this was just a case of kids being kids. I beg to differ. If someone pulled his pants down at work, at a football game, at the movies, would he not call the police? Would he not report the incident as assault? Would he not press charges? And let's remember that the victim here was a 13 year old girl.

The dude also commented that pulling down the girls pants was not a crime, but a prank. Excuse me?!!! Pulling down some one's pants is assault! What planet does this guy live on? I pray he never has children. Pulling down some one's pants serves no other purpose than to humiliate the victim. That is bullying and bullying is a crime. Finally, there are anti-bullying laws on the books. So, parents and victims do have legal recourse.

N.J. mom and her daughter should definitely press charges against the bully and sue the school district. Unfortunately, legal action is the only way to get the attention of school officials who fail to take disciplinary action against school bullies. I do hope that this case gets lots of national coverage and attention. The only way to stop the bullying in our schools is to speak out against it.

Religious Bullies: Reverend Pat Roberts Bullies Devastated Haití On The Air

Religious leaders have bullied the masses since the beginning of time to manipulate and control the actions and money of those they lead. Being that we are now living in the 21st century however, I was shocked to see and hear Reverend Pat Roberts berate devastated Haití on the air yesterday. His words and actions are not only shameful, but sinful.

The national and international backlash from these disparaging comments has been swift and harsh. Mr. Roberts needs to apologize to Haitians and to the entire world for his words of condemnation. Haitians did not make a pact with the devil in order to be free of France as Mr. Roberts alleged. Did the United States make a pact with the Devil to free herself from England? I think not!

Bad things do not happen because we humans are being punished by God or a higher power. Natural disasters are part and parcel of the physical planet we live on. Colossal natural disasters have happened throughout history even before man came to inhabit the earth. So, Mr. Roberts, you are dead wrong. The Haitians did not bring this terrible tragedy onto themselves. The very notion is preposterous and sinful.

Bullying In The NFL

I was appalled at Oakland Raider's Coach Tom Cable's behavior in 2009, punching his assistant coach in the face! Outrageous! However, I was down right disgusted that Mr. Davis did not fire his butt on the spot! What's that all about??!!

Later, a couple of women who were involved with Cable came forward to say that he physically abused them. But, no!! That wasn't enough for Mr. Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders to fire this NFL bully. This week Mr. Davis is finally considering firing Tom Cable based on his 5 and 11 losing record for the season. Outrageous!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year one and all. I am back after a short break thanks to the economy. I learned a lot working as a junior college professor teaching Spanish, but I am glad to be able to focus on what I am passionate about in 2010. Unfortunately, bullying did not take a break as I did. I have a lot to comment on as a result.

Hopefully, this year will bring us all closer to our individual and collective goals. As you may have guessed one of my individual goals is to put a stop to bullying. As I cannot do it alone, I am banking on the collective efforts of others out there who also want to put an end to bullying. So, let's make 2010 a productive year on all fronts!