Anti-Bullying Advocate Takes His Message Across The Country
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - One year after the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, the fight against cyber-bullying hasn't lost any steam. This past week came word of another teen suicide related to bullying in New York. Now authorities are considering filing charges (see related story). And one man is on a mission to stop cyber-bullying one school at a time.
Travis Brown calls himself Mr. Mojo, with what he calls a high level of positive attitude. He's on a cross-country tour talking to high school students about standing up for what's right and stamping out cyber bullying.
For students, he says, it can be as easy as daring to speak up, "Look at somebody and say 'you don't have to talk to people like that' or even to say something to the student that's being bullied and saying, 'you know what? I'll sit with you.'"
He tries to keep kids away from hateful messages and the pain they can cause, especially online, "All that does is magnify it. (It) allows us to take those same things that we're saying to people and now to use text messaging, Facebook and Twitter to really just enhance how we continue to blast people with messages of how I don't like you or how you don't belong."
For parents he says it means being careful about what you say about others. In other words be more tolerant and if you go to school administrators with a complaint, also go in armed with an idea about how to combat the bullying problem head on.
Reported by Robin Culverwell, KYW Newsradio 1060
