Punching Bag on Pages

Hate

People are defined by the clothes they wear, the shape of their bodies, their sexuality, the color of their skin, and money in their wallet.

We need to open our eyes to the fact that bullying will never end. Trying to stop bullying is like trying to stop bloodshed. It's never going to go away, and it pisses me off that people think it's possible. I think we can fight bullying, and prevent some cases of it, but never abolish the hatred completely. Teachers believe talking about it will help, but it is extremely difficult to tell someone. Take it from me; I was bullied in ninth grade. It's the worst experience.

Bullying sucks. I've been verbally attacked for liking Nickelback. Being that I am sentimentally attached to everything in my life, it was the worst experience. Maybe if I share this, it will help you, the reader? Overall I'm just looking to release my own anxiety and stress.

Growing up, it had been my favorite music. That band, and the Jonas Brothers too. Nickelback was and still is there for me, through good and bad times. One of my first memories was around the age of nine, when my parents had just divorced. My father took my brother and I to a hotel so we could spend the night with him. On our way there we listened to Nickelback. I distinctly remember "Rockstar" blaring through the speakers, and I had tried to sing the lyrics but failed miserably. After the song finished I shouted "Play it again!" Well, five repeats later, Dad and my brother had heard it enough.

I also remember the first time I had cried while listening to their music. I used to wake up early to watch Teen Nick in the morning. Usually "Zoey 101" was on or "Drake & Josh", and commercials contained music videos. "Far Away" appeared on the screen, and it was relatively a foreign song to me. I was only like ten or eleven, but tears were instantly falling. The song's powerful meaning combined with the beautiful warping into a video... just beautiful.

Now back to the actual date of destruction. Prior to this event, I knew Nickelback has their fans and haters. Someone in my classroom in ninth grade randomly mentioned Nickelback. My attention was focused on trying to eavesdrop. "I'd rather bang pots and pans together." Kids chuckled to the teacher's reaction, and the three girls knew that I was researching the band for an essay. They sneered back at me, but I shook my head knowing that I can't change their minds. They hate Nickelback, and that's that. Girl A mentioned my like for Nickelback to the teacher, and he said something like "Well sorry I just don't like their music, all of their songs are about the same things: partying, alcohol, etc." I shrugged, saying that some songs are about that but a majority of them actually hold meaning.

Vulture A chimed in "How could you possibly like Nickelback, they're horrible." I'm not exactly a fan of public attention, so my face continued to change to a red hue. Silent classmates surround me, waiting for my reaction. More comments were thrown at me, along with "Oh we better stop, we're making her upset." Why would someone make fun of a band that I had grown up loving? Even if they disliked Nickelback that much, why target me? If those girls could actually open their eyes to some of the music they listened to, it would be a completely different story. Unfortunately if I were to retaliate that would be considered the same thing, and I must not fall to their level. The struggles of life.

One or two of my friends finally started to support me, but it was too late. I had already been humiliated, and on the verge of running out of the room. It's the worst feeling in the world, being pressured to think that what you find great in your life is apparently a pile of garbage. My teacher warned the vultures with a referral, and I actually choked on anger when one of the three said "But I did nothing wrong!"

Needless to say I left that twelfth period class with a soaked red face. I practically jogged to my locker, dodging other friends in the hallway who started to wonder why I was crying. I remember my hands shaking, and rage building as I waited outside for my bus. For the rest of the day I never stopped listening to Nickelback, In fact, my love for them grew stronger. I'd like to say that I learned not to take shit from anyone, and I learned that assholes never change. I apologize for the profanity, but this is naturally flowing from my brain.

Now transitioning to plain old hatred.

Why are we ridiculed for being gay, practicing a certain faith, or expressing ourselves a certain way? Even though I stated that bullying is inevitable, I would love to live in a world where I am not self-conscious.

I dont understand why people have to be judged for any of this bullshit.

We should be able to do whatever we fucking want to do. We should be able to be whoever we fucking want to be. Oh, are you going to cringe at my use of profanity? Well I use it to make a fucking point.

Before I plunge headfirst into this, you need to understand a few things. I am centering this around the idea that anyone should be able to do or feel anything they want to. You have your opinions, and you should be able to express them. You have your quirks, you should be able to flaunt them. I'm not throwing my views in your face as if yours aren't morally right.

We live in a world where our views are derived from or influenced by our religion, parents, and the masses that surround us. Just think for yourself. I will be over-using the phrase "should be able to" because I know it will never fully happen, but in a perfect world, these revelations would be a reality.

Two men or women should be able to have a romantic relationship. Why is it such a horrible thing? I have no idea if people are actually reading my rants, but wait a bit before commenting about (like I already said in the last paragraph) your religious views and such.

Just imagine a world where "straight" people are the outcasts. How would it feel to be pressured into thinking some batshit crazy theory like how you'll go directly to Hell (without passing "GO" i must add) just for liking someone of the opposite sex! Please, remember that this is just me giving you a scenario, but it's quite ridiculous to have this sort of tunnel vision. "God doesn't like gay or bisexual people" is absolutely ludicrous. I'm not the least bit religious, but the "almighty God" supposedly loves all... right? I don't see how God is actually a palpable ideal anyway, but that's a completely different rant.

Next on the list to discuss is religion, though. Not on my actual beliefs about it, but about the amount of prejudice opinions thrown at people. No matter what faith you practice, you shouldn't be discriminated by others. Worshipping Siddhartha Gautama, God and Jesus Christ, or Allah should not be a factor to fight over. Why do Americans primarily hate Muslims but not Buddhists? Oh I almost forgot (note the sarcasm), we tend to confuse "Muslim" with "terrorist". It amazes me how we think Muslims are to blame for the tradegy on the eleventh of September. The people who hijacked the planes were terrorists who coincidentally followed Islamic teachings. Okay, that may have sounded a bit too nonchalant, but do you understand what I'm saying? There are almost two billion Muslims in the world. If that entire statistic was extremist, there would be full scale war on Earth. Picture a mother with three children. Would it be reasonably logical to conclude that they are not plotting terrorist attacks? Just stop assuming that the few horrible people we hear about are accurate representations of everyone else.

Lastly, just a short little blurb. I feel like I'm restating the awfully cliche moral to every movie these days, but please just be yourself. I hate to witness people supressing their individulaity due to the pressures from society and school. Honestly, I pride myself in being different.