WOW

I have not blogged in days. I am not even sure where to start. I've been living in a whirlwind for the past week and it's not over yet.

I'll try to make some sense of it. On Friday, Sept. 14th my daughter called me, not anything unusual in that. However she needed me to stop at the bank and see if an account could be set up to take donations. It seems the sophomore class at the high school in town, same high school my daughter had attended, voted a young girl to be the class representative at homecoming. All well and good you say. Not exactly. It was done as a joke. Pick the unpopular girl to make fun of her. To say the least, the young lady was devastated. My daughter who has children who have been bullied and who was horribly teased in high school was enraged. She set up https://www.facebook.com/SupportWhitneyKropp this page on Facebook.

Little did she know what would happen. For starters she does no know the young lady this happened to. The town was so enraged they rallied around the young lady. Her hair, nails, and make-up have been donated by one of the beauty shops, as well as dinner before the dance on Saturday night. A bridal shop in town donated her dress, shoes, and tiara. This will be a homecoming she will never forget. She has been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.

My daughter is completely overwhelmed  by the out-pouring of support and the stories being shared by adults who were bullied as children and still bear the scars. She is looking into opening a non-profit to raise awareness of bullying and bring programs to schools. She has talked to more national media people than she ever planned to in her life. Even questioning Ryan Seacrest when he called her. Like REALLY, Ryan Seacrest would call me?

All of this comes as the release of my newest book Crossing the Line nears. A book in which bullying to the extreme is dealt with. My publisher and I have talked about linking my book to the site my daughter will have for her non-profit and giving 10% of the book price to the non-profit.

We as adults need to set an example for our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Bullying is not acceptable. More teens commit suicide because of bullying than any other thing. It's why we have Columbines to remember and regret. We can stop it, if we start at home, in our neighborhoods, in our communities, and in our schools. This is bigger than one girl at homecoming. This is an epidemic in our nation. It's part of what drives inner city kids to gangs. They are bullied into joining, they are bullied in school so join because in joining someone will defend them. Many bullies are bullied and this is what they do to defend themselves.

Okay off my soapbox and on to other things.
TTFN