School bullying

A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice

Fiery Inspiration: Lucky Clothing

Are you okay? Ok? So much the better! If not, take care of yourself and take the time you need to recover. In addition, today, the theme of the article is quite "hard", but it was close to my heart. If you don't feel like reading it, I wouldn't blame you at all, the most important thing is you and your well-being.

♦♦♦♦

A Silent voice beginning
A Silent voice beginning

School bullying is not something trivial, yet it is rarely talked about and this subject unfortunately remains taboo regardless of the country. Ironically, before that it remained in the " school and external to one's home, whereas now this type of harassment has also entered the " Cyberbullying ». You will probably wonder why I am talking about this now, when this topic is not related to the main theme of the blog.

Well yes, there are mangas by talking, daring to mention it, but also other media. But before talking about it, let's quickly come back to this subject, on this fact of society that many try to hide or that may seem trivial in the eyes of some. Unfortunately, bullying can lead to dramatic circumstances and will mark the victim for life if it does not lead to an early end.

Injuries related to harassment can be physical, but above all moral. The desire to disappear, to understand what one could have done wrong, to put an end to it can assail the victim who withdraws into himself because his cries for help are not heard or cannot be formulated. You will surely say to me " But Kymeria, you just have to talk about it, it's so easy! and I will answer you in the negative.

It's not easy because The harassed person knows that there can be repercussions, that everything can get worse as well as better. It's a bit like he was flipping a coin... With his own life. A life that is no longer really hers, but which has become survival. Keeping quiet, making yourself very small, trying to avoid attracting attention as much as possible, even by mistake, and ending up dying out, it really happens.

Talking about being harassed can be both a good thing and a bad thing, especially in our countries where, ironically, the person will receive little help. Worse when the people learning it deny this when the harassment does exist. After all" It's just a game, you're not really a target " or simply a " I didn't see anything... I didn't know. Because yes, such bullying may not be visible.

It's so simple to be " kind with the person when the parents appear or any adult – unless the adult in question also participates in belittling the unfortunate person –whereas The victim's daily life is a real ordeal. The pressure on his shoulders increases, so does the fear, and this human being will be able to completely change his way of being. Goodbye to the daily joy of life, goodbye to the desire to go to school or meet people, in reality the person can even say goodbye to himself.

I don't know if you realize what it feels like to see people trying to end their lives while around you some people are laughing under their jackets or still making derogatory remarks. I also don't know if you know what it can be like to feel as low as the ground, to be in a bottomless pit and to hope deep down that you will see a hand appear to help you, someone who will be strong enough not to go with the current chosen by others and who will try to help you.

It is so much easier to look the other way or to be on the side of the harassers, the executioners, than to dare to go against them. It is human nature that is like this, made to be solitary despite the impression it gives. After all, to belittle someone is to show oneself superior to him and when several people gang up on another it seems natural to treat this being as being " inferior ». Even if it will never be said like this, even if some will say that " This is not normal ».

Powerlessness appears as much in the victim as in the observers of the scene who may think that someone will eventually act, that there are enough people for that. Well, no. No, because Everybody Think like this, it's a way of unloading on others, of telling ourselves that whatever happens we won't be at fault when if... It may seem strange to you to say it like that, but I assure you that it is because there is a chance among many thousands that someone dares. Because you have to stand out from the crowd, be spotted and risk becoming a target for the executioners as well. This is not really the dream of most of them, who will prefer to stay quietly in their corner in order to minimize the risks.

Until the day something happens. A drama, a much more important reaction than before or just another being daring to leave the mass of observers in order to extend a saving hand. Whatever grain of sand is added, it will have an impact and it will be either positive or negative. And it is at this point that we will hear " I've never done anything to you, you're not going to blame me », « Are we still friends? " or even " I don't understand what pushed him to do this... ».

The heroine's notebook
The heroine's notebook

This harassment is found in different worlds, including works of fiction. You all know, or almost all, A Silent Voice of Yoshitoki Oima Present at the Editions Ki-Oon and existing in animated film. We follow Shoko and Shoya, the first is deaf and was the favorite target of the second when they were in primary school, yet when she leaves the school following all this, it will be Shoya who will become the target of her classmates to the point that at the beginning of the story our hero thinks and is about to commit suicide, but before that he decides to apologize to Shoko. In doing so, something unexpected will happen and turn Shoya's plans upside down... I won't say more, but It is easy to see how possible a turnaround is while seeing how far bullying, harassment, can lead. Following Shoya's evolution over the seven volumes forming this series, but also Shoko's was a real treat that also made me cry in the middle of the station.

Next to this headline, I can also mention Vitamin of Keiko Suenobu which is a One-Shot released by Editions Panini and which has not been republished to this day if I'm not mistaken. Found by chance in a second-hand car, I had taken it without knowing what was waiting for me and I was quickly put in the bath. Sawako – Heroin – seemed to have a normal life, yet this is not the case. No, she's not a camouflaged magical-girl, but a schoolgirl with a boyfriend who physically abuses her when she doesn't agree. Her life in college will change completely when she is seen in a questionable position with him – when she didn't want to at all – and Sawako will become the whipping boy of his class. Her parents will help her very little and it will be her reunion with an old passion that will save her from the hell she was in. The pain of our heroine is well and truly present, from the beginning until she really finds herself and starts to trust herself again. A confidence destroyed at the beginning when all his « world » collapses and it will take time for him to get back on his feet thanks to this passion that had been stored in a box for years, until today... Nothing can save a life and here it will be something trivial in the eyes of most people, but which actually had an important place for Sawako even if not being supported for a long time will have hurt her, she will have ended up rebuilding herself and that's what really matters.

If we base ourselves more simply on school phobia and fear of the gaze of others, the title Sans aller à l'école, je suis devenir mangaka by Syoichi Tanazono , present at Akata editions, can also be mentioned without difficulty. Here, it is the action of a teacher that will lead to the fact that Masatomo no longer wants to go to school. He is afraid of the gaze of others, of rumours that may circulate and he can no longer integrate or behave naturally with others. His schooling was no longer "ordinary", but a vocation was born over time. A vocation that will allow him to move forward, to make an important encounter and to be, in the end, a person who has rediscovered his joy of life. (My opinion)

Regarding school phobia, thanks to Raven, I came across the short comic LUCE made by AmeFumikka and Eurasiam which can be found on Mangadraft. This comic book talks to us with the right tone about school phobia, what we feel and what we can do to get out of it, the help we can receive. It was a very nice surprise and I thank Raven for sending me the link. Whether it's the drawings or the dialogues, they hit the nail on the head – in my eyes marking the reader and can send them back to their past or make them realize that this is not easy for people affected by school phobia.

Lately, I've also been watching the movie The Giant Hunter d’Ander Walter where morality will have touched me: " We are stronger than we think ». Barbara is a lonely young girl, seen as an original, and on a crusade against giants. Is this true or is it all going on in his head? The answer is given in the film after 1 hour and 45 minutes of viewing. Just don't expect to see a fantasy movie, but be prepared for a rather psychological movie. Here, our heroine will be roughed up by some of her classmates and will advance little by little until the end. It is easy to realize the reasons that led her to protect herself and to want to protect others, even if in the eyes of people it seems strange. No... It is really morality that has touched methat you read aboveand the bonds formed between a few characters who will end up understanding Barbara, not to see her as a person with problems. It's hard to say more without telling you about the reasons why she did this, although the film doesn't revolve around bullying per seeven if Barbara experiences it in a certain way – I think it can make you realize the strength you have in each of you.

Finally, I will talk about Vanilla Heart of the saga of the Chocolate Girls of Cathy Cassidy and found at the Nathan as well as Pocket Youth. This may surprise some, but Honey will be the target of cyber-harassment while she is in Australia, near her father, to the point that some of her new classmates will change their views on the young lady. It will hurt her morally, up to a point, and I started to like this character when I read it. A reading that allowed me to change my vision of Honey, to see her differently and to suffer by her side while her world cracked over the pages. Will it be able to rebuild itself? Will she be able to get out of it? All this appears during the novel.

Of course, this " theme can be found in other titles but also affect secondary characters. After all, it's not especially the hero who can be a target. A bit like in the real world at the end, where we are not always the one who is the victim of the harassment. Because yes, when we read we are only spectators of what is happening on the pages facing us, pages that hit us most of the time or make us realize the suffering of others. We find ourselves in the place of distant observers, of those people who cannot react, but who see the suffering of others. We are not with them, like his friends who are far away, and yet we encourage the characters, we try to help them overcome what they are going through... But above all we put ourselves in their shoes, because it is through their eyes that we discover the work. This suffering becomes ours, in one way or another, and when we have lived through situations close to us it can become much stronger, resonate within us.

All faces are X's
All faces are X's

A resonance that can make us realize how far we have come, what our loved ones could have suffered if they tried to help us or to tell themselves that deep down, they too were lost. It is difficult to understand, at first glance, what the other person feels, what he or she is going through and as often communication is broken down when someone is harassed it becomes even more difficult. Most of the dialogue is, practically, non-verbal unless the harassed person finds the courage to break through the wall that has been built between him and the others. To do so, it will take time and realize that there are people who really trust him, people who will always be there no matter what. It's extremely difficult, but possible. The most important thing is not to give up, to try to show the person that you are there for them even in the most difficult moments, even if you are afraid. One day, she will thank you for always being there, for not letting her sink into a bottomless pit and you will be able to see this being smile again. At least if he doesn't close himself off, again and again...

I have no idea how this article will affect you, but I still hope that it " will resonate in one way or another in you. To be honest, I suffered while writing it because many memories came back, some positive and some negative. Like many, I had a hard time talking about it, I still have difficulties now because I feel my throat knotting and my heart tightening. Currently, my eyes are still misty. However, I know how good it can be to free yourself, to know that you are heard, to have someone by your side and to no longer feel that you are sinking into something sticky from which you cannot extricate yourself. It is possible to get out of it, but you shouldn't think that you will really be unscathed... Something breaks inside during this period that can be more or less long, a part of ourselves and like the characters we discover during our viewing and reading we have to rebuild ourselves. This is done at your own pace, which varies according to each person when possible.

I'll leave you now, hoping I haven't been too radical... I had a hard time putting words at times, but this article had been in my head for a while now. This has been done and the next ones will be less radical (I think so...), but I really had to talk about it. I suspect that this will not please everyone, but never mind. What is certain is that writing all this will have done me good even if all along I will have had a hard time.

Full of cuddles and rays of sunshine, know that you deserve the best.


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2 Comments

  1. EvvySwan

    Magnificent article and very touching ✨. It is still a very taboo subject but unfortunately very present in our society 🥺. Thank you for talking about it so gently and for sharing the works on the subject that touched 🫂 you

    • Thank you very much for your feedback!
      Yes, unfortunately... However, it is well and truly present.

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