Last year I sent out emails to 19 organizations dealing with bullying.  Five opened the email.  No one responded.  But, this year it seems bullying is in the top ten of news stories and blogs so I am going to include a bullying comment in my blog.

My feature family film, CARUSO AND THE SWORD (C.A.T.S.) in development, has a bullying aspect.  I’ve tagged it as “A Karate Kid with Swords” but it differs from The Karate Kid in that there is no bloodshed.  Most films that deal with bullying either the bully prevails or the bully is pulverized.  Not so with C.A.T.S.  It’s a feel-good win-win film.  But it is fiscally sponsored and not backed by big studios.  So, if you don’t have time to read this whole blog, please read the last paragraph.  Thank you

I’m not one to ban violence in movies or on TV.  My favorite shows are CSI, Burn Notice, NCIS, and I eat dinner while watching reruns of Bones.  I’m not a fan of Saw, Hostel, or any of the other torture horror films   But, I wouldn’t ban them.  There’s a time and place and a fan base for everything. I also don’t believe a cartoon of a rabbit dropping an anvil on a coyote is going to damage most kids.  I grew up on this stuff.  But, there are other factors involved.

When I was in high school there was a student who was diagnosed schizophrenic.  He would get on the bus and look at the other riders with a terrified look because he was mercilessly picked on.  When the queen of the cheerleaders got on, she would laugh and spit at him.  He would spit back but not laugh. Members of the football team and others trying to win the favor of the queen of the cheerleaders would get on and elicit spits and fear from him.  It wasn’t long before he found that I was one person who was not going to tease him.  He always sat next to me.  We never spoke.  I read.  He sat.  He rode calmly when he sat next to me.  As a teen who was not one of the “popular” ones I didn’t have the gumption to tell his persecutors that they were idiots.  As an adult, I would be taking names and hauling butts to an office to wait for parents.  Such bullying behavior is unacceptable.  So, why do we accept it?

How we deal with bullying in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and shown on the news encourages behavior for the positive or negative..  We can say it isn’t right and we won’t tolerate but, we need to turn those words into actions.

I recently saw on the news a head stomping at a political rally.  Three grown men grabbed a woman, pushed her to the ground, and stomped on her head because she disagreed with them politically.  They said she started it.  Excuse me, shouting back at someone is one thing. Head-stomping is attempted murder.  You can usually live with a broken jaw - a crushed scull not so much.  Anyone who escalates into stomping on a woman’s head at an event should immediately be arrested.

When my youngest son was about 5 he came home from school in tears.  He said he had been picked on.  I asked him if he told the teacher.  Still whimpering, he said, “No.”  Then a sly smile crept over his face as he added “I told my brother.” Unfortunately, he knew telling the teacher would be ineffective.  Telling one of his older siblings would produce faster results.  

I guess it is pretty clear to see where I’m coming from on this one. I will go ahead and add the comments I will hear.. “We can’t watch everyone.” “We can’t arrest everyone.” “There’s no money for bullying programs.” “These bullys have learned this in the home.” “Teachers get beat up, too.”  That’s all true.  But, it has to start somewhere. 

Back to C.A.T.S. my film in development.  There’s a bully.  The bully gets turned around but not through the Hollywood beat-down.   You can read more on the website which you can get to through the IndieGoGo page.

Please feel free to add a comment.  Now my big pitch.  C.A.T.S is fiscally sponsored and donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.  There is no big studio backing.  IndieGoGo .  Any amount is welcome from $1.00 on up. Thank you.