National Anti-Bullying Month is October

Several groups are rallying around October as a time to raise awareness about anti-bullying efforts.

A key component of modern bullying and a key emphasis of “The New Bullying” is cyberbullying, and that has played a role in two current cases.

* In Canada, 15-year-old Amanda Todd made a video detailing the ways she was bullied. Her story, reported by the Associated Press and others, includes videos, sexting, emails, Facebook bullying and physical violence. She took her life Oct. 10, a day that had been designated for people to wear pink in support of bullying victims.

* In Maryland, a 15-year-old boy was charged with assault for bullying a high school student who was about to be interviewed by a television news crew on Oct. 8 about years of bullying he had suffered. The bullying was caught on camera.

* Early in October, Wisconsin news anchor Jennifer Livingston read an email on air that a viewer had written, telling her that she was obese and socially irresponsible for appearing that way. She made an issue of the bullying and spoke about the issue on national TV.

— Joe Grimm

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