I saw two stories on Yahoo yesterday, one of which has been on my news all morning — the guy suing ESPN and MLB because he fell asleep at a game.  

During the broadcast, the commentators teased him for being “oblivious” to what was happening in the game, and wondered if the guy next to him was a friend letting him sleep.  After the broadcast, however, many people joined in the merriment of making fun of this guy so he is now suing for $10 million dollars.  For more, read this article.

The other story I read was about a 14 year old girl who was teased about her body.  Someone had made gravity at a beach about her figure.  She went to the place where this was written, smiled for a picture, and posted it on Instagram.  She did this because she didn’t want to give the kids who did this power over her.  She made a choice not to be a victim. Read her story here.

That, folks, is the key to combating bullying.  We have a choice in how we handle adversity, no matter how big or how small.  The man suing ESPN and MLB will continued to be made fun of because his response is ridiculous.  In fact, I would argue that he has now put himself in a position to be more of a “victim” because most rational people see the absurdity of his $10 million dollar claim [I won’t even talk about the poor grammar in his suit].  Carleigh, on the other hand, at 14, has shown great poise.  She has shown the world how to respond to a bully.  

Parents, when you talk to your children about bullies.  Talk about Carleigh.  Help your children to find their strength and persevere.  Help them to understand the power of choice and how not to choose the victim mentality.