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I'm A Kid, A Kid With Feelings! (By Johnny, aged 11) ~Part One~ by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Monday, February 23, 2004
Rated "G" by the Author.
A young boy writes a letter to kids who make fun of him, asking them to stop teasing him and to understand how he feels when they tease him.
Dear Bullies:
My name is Johnny, and I am 11 years old. I am writing this letter to you because I don't like it when you tease me. I am only a kid, a kid with FEELINGS, and I don't like being called names or being laughed at!
How do you think YOU would feel if I did that to YOU? How would YOU like it if I called YOU those hurtful, ugly names, names that hurt my feelings, names like "Dummy", "Stupid", "Four-Eyes", "Seizure-Boy", or "Crippled-Kid"? Those names aren't very nice, and when you use them against me, I get my feelings hurt, every time. I can't help it that I have a disability that causes me to use a wheelchair or use crutches for short trips, and I can't help it that I have trouble with my eyes or can't hear or can't learn as well as you do! I didn't ask to be this way, and when you tease me, I feel bad. Do you LIKE making me feel unhappy or miserable? Well, in case you haven't noticed, I DON'T like it, ONE bit, and I wish you would STOP! Teasing is very immature, and only BAD people tease! I am NOT a bad person, and I don't like it when you treat me badly just because I happen to have problems!
I try my best to do well at school, and even though I AM doing better now than I ever have, I still have problems learning, and you don't help my attitude any when you laugh each time I try to read in front of the class or have to hold a book or piece of paper close to my face, so I can see what I am reading! I also don't like it when you point at me or stare at me. I may be "blind" to most people, but I STILL can see a LITTLE, and I also can hear with my hearing aids; and I can hear you laughing at me behind my back. Don't think I can't hear you because with my hearing aids, I CAN, and I DON'T like what I am hearing when you talk about me!
I also don't like it when I see you imitating me when I have a seizure; that really cuts me like a knife, and I think it is embarrassing when you make fun of something you don't really know anything about. Having epilepsy or seizures is NO fun, and when it happens, it is scary for ME as well as for you all, and when I am done with it, I feel so sore and so headachy I can't stand it! And then here you go, laughing at me. Don't you have any good sense that the Good Lord gave you? How do you think YOU would feel if YOU had something like epilepsy and I laughed at YOU? It makes me feel like a big zero, and I already feel bad enough; do you enjoy making my life a living HELL? Because that is EXACTLY what you are doing when you tease me, and I wish to GOD you would STOP it! NOW!!
Think about what you are doing when you tease me or kids who are "different". Think how WE would feel when you tease us, or even better, think about how YOU would feel if say, I, or other kids who are "different", teased YOU about the way YOU looked, the way YOU dressed, the way YOU talked, the way YOU walked or got around if you COULDN'T walk, or because YOU were born in another country and couldn't speak our language well. Don't you think you would be sad? Angry? Hurt? Humiliated? Well, that is how I feel, and much more, when you tease me or other kids who are "different" than you, and you have ABSOLUTELY no idea or clue what goes on in our lives or how it feels when you redicule us in front of people! I only hope that people never tease YOU because as one who DOES get teased on a regular basis, I can tell you from experience that it's NOT fun by a LONG shot! The next time you tease me, just think of what I am telling you and try to understand what I am trying to say to you in this letter.
I only hope to God that you NEVER are teased, and I only hope that you have people who will help you when you get teased because I DIDN'T until I met Jose' (and a few other people!), and now because of your teasing, I have problems with my feelings and trying to express myself. I don't like myself very much now as it is because of the damage you have caused me, and I don't think I will EVER get over what you have said to me in the past! I may FORGIVE you for what you have done to me, but I can NEVER forget, and I want you to know just how I feel inside when you DO tease me.
Teasing is very rampant amongst young children. It is indeed hurtful to the person being teased but children think it is a lot of fun until you turn the tables on them.
kids can be so cruel...and so can adults (look at grown people staring at others "different" than they are, making gestures, commenting). this needs to stop. treat people the way you want to be treated. we're all different on the outside, we're all "disabled" in some way...but on the inside, we're all HUMAN.
powerful message contained in a heartrending plea for humane treatment
Dear Bullies:
