It goes without saying that this story is very special to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing it, Timmy. And a special thanks to all of you for reading Timmy's story.
Showing posts with label Love Bytes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love Bytes. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Because It's Time to Move On, Part III of Raidean's story, a FREE serial read by Timmy Ashton
I'm over at Love Bytes today with a very special short story written by Timmy about an intersex character, Because It Started This Way.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Importance of Cadence in Writing & Jamie Fessenden's newest book, Violated.
I'm over at Love Bytes Reviews today talking about the importance of Cadence in Writing and Jamie Fessenden's newest book, Violated. Check it out!
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Because It Started This Way, Part II of Raidean's story, a FREE serial read by Timmy Ashton
I'm over at Love Bytes today with a very special short story written by Timmy about an intersex character, Because It Started This Way.
It goes without saying that this story is very special to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing it, Timmy. And a special thanks to all of you for reading Timmy's story.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
A Little Rant for Our Friends
I'm over at Love Bytes today with a special article about being allies for each other.
My good buddy, Timmy, talks about something very important: intolerance
by people within the LGBTQIA community. Sadly, bigotry does happen and it isn’t
only against people of the QUILTBAG persuasion. It happens against our allies. Heterosexism
is just as much a sexual orientation and gender identity as any other letter of
the alphabet soup and all are
essential elements of our human identity.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
Slaying Isidore's Dragons Book Tour! The Making of with a Round Table Chat with Timmy and Mel!
I'm over at Love Bytes Reviews today with a candid behind the scenes chat
with Timmy and Mel on the Making of Slaying Isidore's Dragons! Check it out!
Now available in print and ebook at
Friday, April 10, 2015
Slaying Isidore's Dragons Book Tour! A special post co-written by Timmy about the Differences between Isidore and Christy!
I'm over at Love Bytes Reviews today with a very special post about the Differences Between Isidore in Slaying Isidore's Dragons and Christy in Omorphi. Timmy co-wrote this post with me and we hope you enjoy it! Check it out!
Now available in print and ebook at
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Seven Facts About My Writing Life You May Not Know
I'm over at Love Bytes Reviews today with Seven Facts About My Writing Life You May Not Know! Check it out!
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
And It's Only Just Started, Part I of Raidean's story, a FREE serial read by Timmy Ashton
I'm over at Love Bytes today with a very special short story written by Timmy about an intersex character, And It's Only Just Started.
It goes without saying that this story is very special to me
and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing it, Timmy. And a special
thanks to all of you for reading Timmy's story.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Timmy Interviews Cody! Part One of a Three-part Interview!
Getting to know My Koti
This is part one of a series of three interviews about Cody in conjunction with Love Bytes Reviews!
I have met some really cool people on Facebook and I love to soak up all the information I can about them. I like to feel I really know them. I know Cody very well, and respect him a lot. As I read interviews of him, I find that people ask him a lot of the same questions and those are mostly about his work as an author, and the work he does helping abused kids.
I have met some really cool people on Facebook and I love to soak up all the information I can about them. I like to feel I really know them. I know Cody very well, and respect him a lot. As I read interviews of him, I find that people ask him a lot of the same questions and those are mostly about his work as an author, and the work he does helping abused kids.
I wish people knew My Koti; the one who has helped me through so much of the difficult time in my life. There is so much people don’t know about him. So, on that note, I asked if I could interview him and he said yes! I had so many questions that I decided to make it a three-part interview! And he still said yes! Yay! I’m super excited!
This first interview is all about My Koti where I asked never before asked questions about him. Enjoy!
I have heard that writers do different things when starting a new book. Are there any rituals you go through when starting to write a new book?
Because I’m an organization freak, the first thing I do is ensure that all of my filing is complete. This may sound simple, but for me it isn’t. I detest filing with a passion. I create piles and am happy with my piling system...until I can’t find something. Then a bunch of keening and wailing occurs. I digress.
Because I view starting a new project as an exciting privilege and I practice “get the worst over as quickly as you can,” I force myself to FILE. This involves a lot of self-talk. If you hadn’t let it go for so long, you’d have this done in ten minutes. But, no. You had to let it go for a month. It’s your own fault. Speed it up.
If you are sleeping and suddenly wake up with a new story or character on your mind, what is the first thing you do?
Tell myself to go back to sleep, the idea will still be there tomorrow. True story.
There are some who say writer’s block is not real. What are your feelings on writer's block?
Writer’s block is defined as “the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.” Setting aside for a moment that authorship is a profession and, as such, one does not have the luxury of being unable to write, I don’t have this problem. I was blessed with a wild imagination and, rather, I have the problem of having too many directions to go with a story. I’m oft burdened with figuring out how I can fit all the imagined options into a story. Realistically, this isn’t possible and I must choose what to keep and what to lose. I have a number of incredible talents, but the art of choosing is not one of them. Please see: keening and wailing, above.
I have heard it said that if you do something a million times you become an expert at it. Translated to writing, if you have written over a million words would that make a writer an expert? Are you an expert?
No and no. Writing does take practice and many of us have written well over a million words, but unless we hone our skills as we go and press ourselves to be ever better as we write, we won’t improve. I have been writing for nearly half a century and am nowhere near being as good as I hope to one day be. I’ll add another thought. I will never be an expert at anything. Being an expert infers that there is little or nothing more to learn about a particular subject and I won’t limit myself in that respect. Our worlds are not static. They’re ever-changing and ever-evolving things and there is and always will be more to learn about everything.
As a thirteen-year-old boy, I find that I am way different from other kids my age. Romance is something I like to read and dream about. It gives me hope and it is one reason I work so hard to heal from my past. There is nothing better to me than reading a sweet romance story. If you were planning a date, where would you take him? What would be the perfect romantic date for you?
Is this the part where I say I don’t date? Gawwww. What a question! A walk on the beach, good conversation, and dinner on the pier as we watch the sunset. Life is hard and I suggest that spending as much time as we can making our lives peaceful and easy, the healthier we’ll be. I like peaceful and easy.
I love reading about different time periods, whether in the future or the past. I always wonder what my life might be if I was born in another time. If you could live an any time period, what would it be and why?
I would choose to live in the future. I want to be able to fly without the aid of large machinery, to travel instantaneously, and to live in world peace. While things may get worse before they get better, I’m certain we’ll achieve world peace in the future.
I think of the future often. I hope that one day everyone will see me as normal as they see themselves. Until then, we depend on our government to keep LGBTQIAP people safe and to force people to treat us equally. In your opinion, what is the most important law that can be or has been put into place to help the LGBT community?
Certainly, marriage equality has changed not only our country, but also the world. Nonetheless, rights are not yet equal or equitable. The disparity in both instances stems from discrimination and I believe more severe pecuniary measures should be in place not only for discrimination, but for concealing, fostering, and/or being a passive party to it.
I have always wanted a pet but, other then my fish, I have not had one. Tell me about the pets you have had in your life. Are they your friends? Are they your children? Do they make you laugh? Are they there when you are upset?
I have had every conceivable domesticated animal as a pet, each with his or her own distinctly different personality. I had a fawn Great Dane when I grew up. Psyche was the sweetest dog ever and took up more of my twin bed than I did. Pyewacket, my beautiful chocolate Siamese cat, was very fickle and aloof, but also slept on my bed at night. Her purring is indelibly imprinted in my mind. As an adult, I had a black and tan hound named Dixie for thirteen years. Her disposition was as sweet as Psyche’s was. I miss all of them dearly. Now, I have a horse and three parrots. My horse, Majic, is fun but he is spoiled and can be a jerk. Having three parrots is like having three four-year-olds. They’re a ton of work and time-consuming, but so worth it. And yes, they know instinctively when I’m upset or angry. Two of them will immediately ask “Are you okay?” This goes on repeatedly until the third chimes in with “I love you.” It’s uncanny. #BestFriendsEver
Yes! They are stockings!
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes it’s hard to sit back and look at what your weaknesses are. My strength is caring. I care about people and things, and I believe that makes me a better person. My biggest weakness is self-bullying. If I could learn to be nicer to myself, I could save myself a lot of drama. What is your best strength and your biggest weakness?
I don’t know. I try to look at the positive side of things and think that's my best quality. It seems each trait we carry has two sides to it. I’m fun, caring, and try to be kind. Because I strive to be patient in all things, I often allow others to take advantage of me. #Note2Self #Area4Improvement I wish I was not as gullible as I am and wish I had a quick wit. I’m lousy with wit. I’d say my greatest weakness is my temper if I feel someone is being unjustly treated or, worse yet, mistreated. It’s a whoa gig for me. I force myself to walk away. A friend of mine bought me a stuffed animal as a birthday gift once. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I still have it. Begs the question: Why do I still have it? :/
People say it doesn’t matter what others think about me. I say that’s a bunch of crap! It’s hard not to care when people look down on me. I know what your advice to me would be, but how do you deal with negative people in your life?
I ignore them. One of the benefits of age is that you care less about what others think of you. In caring less, you are more naturally yourself and the ease with which you function puts others at ease. As a result, less strife occurs around you. That said, when I was your age, I felt very differently. My grandfather kept having my hair cut short when I was young and I finally convinced him to let me grow it...and grow it...and grow it...and have had long hair ever since...because I can hide behind it when I’m feeling unsure of myself. That’s a secret. Please don’t tell anyone.
When I review books, I try to be careful not to hurt authors’ feelings because I know they put a lot of time and effort into their books. I understand that two of your books hit close to home for you. I can’t imagine what it took for you to write about such painful memories. How do you deal with criticism on these stories? How do you deal with what must be heartbreak when they say they are not realistic?
First, I swallow hard and stifle sadness. Second, I shake my head and decry the human race for believing that we are incapable of treating our youth so badly. Third, I smirk. Particularly at those who claim to be “in a profession” related to what I have not only written, but lived. Finally, I smile to myself and think there is nothing wrong with people disagreeing with or not liking what I write. Far be it from me to “tell” anyone anything. It isn’t my place. In the end, I try to be philosophical about it. The aforementioned said, Pollyanna is not my middle name and I welcome constructive debate when it comes to the treatment and care of abused children.
I find that though being gay does not define me, many things about my appearance might indicate that I’m gay. What parts of your appearance are unique to your sexuality?
Being Intersex, it’s difficult to tell whether I’m male or female. From a distance, I appear female, but as one comes closer, they realize I shave, etc. What follows is a lot of staring. We’re deeply conditioned, sociopathically so, to sense gender first and above all things, and it’s tough for people to adjust to. Unfortunately, staring is also one of the few things that irritates me. I want to stare back and say: JUST ASK!
Thanks, My Koti! This is great! The second interview will be about Intersex people and what is means to be intersex. The third interview will be about how being intersex has affected him and the challenges he has met with. Stay tuned!
Friday, October 17, 2014
Timmy Talks the Importance of Young Adult LGBTQIA Literature in School and Local Libraries
Timmy and I are over at Love Bytes Reviews today talking about the importance of young adult LGBTQIA literature in school and local libraries. Come check it out!
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
The Weight of Silence & Those Who Took Timmy's Challenge
Timmy and I are over at Love Bytes today "talking" about the inability to speak. Come check it out!
This is an extremely important post and it's important to acknowledge, appreciate, and respect those who took Timmy's Challenge.
The first person to take the Challenge was Anna Lund. Her experiences over the course of twenty-four hours do much to elucidate what we, who cannot speak, go through; and her experiences are heartrending. Thank you for being brave enough to try it, more importantly, endure it. Read Anna's "A Silent Challenge" here.
The second person to take the Challenge was M. LeAnne Phoenix. LeAnne was also bold and brave, yet still found a whole new world. She asks a very important question at the end of her posts. Check it out. Thank you for taking Timmy's Challenges, LeAnne. Read her two part "Day of Silence" here and here.
Speech and Me by Timmy
I don’t remember everything from my old home, but the memories I do have often haunt me nightly—especially those relating to my struggles with speech. Because my life is mine and private, I will only briefly explain a few key parts of my background. I come from an abusive home and the majority of the physical abuse came from my two older brothers. This is important to know to understand my story.
Think of a newborn baby, unloved and unwanted. Though I can’t remember it, I was told that I stayed in my crib nearly 100% of the time. It was my older brothers’ job to take care of me. One year old, two years old, three years old.... I can only remember parts of my life around that time. Because we never celebrated my birthday, I’m unsure of my age at the time of my memories. I didn’t learn when my birthday was until I turned twelve and that was only because the new school I attended announced students’ birthdays over the intercom at the beginning of the day. I know that around the age of three or four was when the worst of the abuse began (or at least those are my earliest memories of it).
I was forced to speak in my home, though I couldn’t speak properly. I have a stutter and a lisp and, when I do speak, you have to stain to hear me because my voice is so quiet. If I misspoke, I would be punished. If I stuttered I would be called names or punished. If my brothers heard me when I spoke, I would be punished. To make matters worse, if I cried, they would be punished, and I would suffer worse punishment if that happened.
So, think of a small three or four year old boy trying to say, “I need to go to the bathroom.” If I said it aloud, I would be punished for saying it wrong... and then I didn’t dare leave the room without permission. What could I do? Nothing. Either way, I would be punished. At ages five, six, and seven, it didn’t change.
Now, I can’t speak more than two word sentences because I struggle with keeping words in order. I can say “I’m hungry,” but if I try to say “I am hungry. Can I eat?” it will come out as “I am eat can I hungry.” I don’t know why my brain confuses words. All I know is that I say it wrong even though I wasn’t thinking it that way.
When I started school and I had to communicate with teachers and students, it didn’t take me long to figure out that writing was the best form of communication for me. Then later, when something very bad happened at home, I was sent away. I had to talk to police, social workers, and foster people. All of them were too busy to allow me the time to write everything out and read what I wrote; and speaking was never an option. At that point in my life, not only did I have speech problems, but I had a lot of fear to go with them. What would happen to me if I didn’t say what I meant to say to the police? Could I go to jail for that? I was scared of what they would do to me because my brother would beat me for it and the teachers sent me to the office for refusing to speak, so what punishment would the police give me? I know now that I wouldn't be in trouble for it, but I didn't know that then. I was so scared, and I felt so alone in this strange world.
The foster people I was sent to were worse than my family members, so I lied and said I made it all up - even though I had several broken bones - one so severe it required surgery to put my arm back together. Nevertheless, they sent me back home, and the cycle continued. Home or school, it didn’t matter where I was. I was bullied and abused because I couldn’t speak, and people were too impatient to wait for me to express myself in the only way I could: by writing. There was no hope for me. I was going to either make it or not in life. Nobody was going to save or help me. Teachers didn’t talk to me and my parents were never home. I was lost in a world that did nothing but abuse me. I was lucky if an adult even noticed me.
I don’t know if my life would have been different had I been able to speak, but what I DO know is it only took one little girl who cared enough and was patient enough to help me. I wonder why nobody else stopped and asked himself, “What’s wrong here? How can I help fix this? How can I help this kid who is clearly struggling?”
There are many kids like me and they depend on every adult to do one of two things to save their lives. One, help them! Two, show compassion. If your child, sister, wife, husband, anyone you have any sort of influence over belittles a person for their differences then you have failed as a compassionate person. Please stop them, talk to them, and TEACH them. Nobody can control another person, but (with the exception of your children), you can decide who is in your life. You may not have control over what your husband says or does, but what do you want him to teach your children? What would happen if it was your child who had the same speech problems that I do? Ask them to step into the shoes of the person they tease or belittle for one day. Every person is teachable if they have even the smallest kindness shown to them.
I have many speech problems. Some of them have been identified and some have yet to be identified. It’s very difficult not to be able to speak. If I’m hurt, scared, or upset, I have to depend on my writing and someone being willing to read what I write.
Over the past few days, I have seen the “Don’t Read This” challenge all over Facebook. It challenges people to go a whole day without reading anything in hopes you will understand how an illiterate person feels. I have a few challenges for you to try too. In truth, the only people who will try these challenges are people who truly want to know what people like me go through every day. You can say you understand, but trust me, you don’t understand the feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, and the feeling of being broken.
My challenges for you are to do two things on different days. On the first day, spend the day without speaking. You can make noises, but no words. That means no speaking to teachers, students, bosses, grocery clerks, police officers, NO ONE. Your only forms of communication are writing, typing, and body language. If you decided to take this challenge remember to have paper and pen with you. When I had to talk to the police, I was trying to talk about something extremely upsetting and I had to try to explain by writing. The second challenge is, the next time you are angry or upset, and I mean extremely upset or mad, express that only in writing. No words, no yelling, only writing and body language. After doing either or both of these challenges, you will understand on a small scale what I deal with every day.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) approximately 7.5 million people in the United States have trouble using their voices, and between 6 and 8 million people in the United States have some form of language impairment. It is also estimated by the NIDCD that more than 3 million Americans stutter, and more than 15 million individuals in the world stutter, most of whom began stuttering at a very early age. By the first grade, roughly five percent of children have noticeable speech disorders and the majority of these speech disorders have no known cause. To read more on this go to the NIDCD website. Thanks for reading this.~Timmy
All content ©2014 Timmy Ashton. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Bus Ride by Timmy
This is part two of a special two part post on Love Bytes Reviews
I’m really scared today, it’s been a long day already and it just turned 7am. I had to wake and deal with a family that doesn’t understand me. They say they do, and they say they will protect me, but they look at me different then the they do each other. They send me off into the world that doesn’t understand me. As I wait by my bus stop, my stomach ties itself into knots. I know what is coming, and I can see it in my mind. I daydream about the quietness of my room, and the safety I find there. I try to imagine that I’m still warm and safe in my bed, but it doesn’t work. I know that the minute that bus stops, I will be entering their world. I watch the bus coming up the street and steel myself for what is to come. As the bus stop grows busier I hide behind a tree. It’s not hard for me to hide, because I’m small and easily overlooked.
When the bus stops I see all the kids running to get the good seats, which is easy because we are only the second stop. That means I have 12 more stops to sit through and 45 more minutes before I get to school. Most kids would think that was great. They have 45 minutes to hang out with their friends, but I don’t have friends. I have no one who will understand me and help me. As I enter the bus, I make eye contact with the driver. He gives me a little sneer and tells me to hurry up and be seated already. I immediately look down and try to hurry out of his sight. I have no ally there either.
Because I am still looking at the floor, I see the foot that pops out. I wish I wasn’t hustling, because I can’t slow down in enough time to miss the foot. As I fall to the dirty wet aisle floor, I hear the laughing and insults they fling at me. I bite back my scream and tears. I work hard trying to get up in the small space, all the while wishing it hadn’t rained today. Now, I will have mud stains on the front of my clothes all day.
I’m feeling lucky today, because there is an empty seat close to the front. Though the driver never helps me, at least the kids don’t hurt me as much if I’m in the front. Just as I begin to sit the driver hits the brakes hard, and I go flying across my seat and face-first into the window. “Retard!” I hear from more than one of the kids on the bus. It’s okay, I can handle this, I tell myself. Around this time the whispers start. I hear almost all of it because they don’t even try to whisper quietly.
“What a stupid little kid! I don’t know why his parents keep him!”
“I know his brother, he is nothing like it.”
“OMG! I think he touched me when he walked by! I hope I can’t catch what he has.”
It goes on and on, kids talking about me, like I can’t hear them. It hurts. There is this deep loneliness and sadness that I can’t make go away. Ever. I think about what they are saying and wonder why my parents keep someone like me around. I don’t even want to be around me. I disgust myself. I think if they were to send me away, I would understand. I feel sorry that I disgrace them like I do. I promise myself that I will try harder and work harder to be normal.
At the 5th stop, my stomach clenches, because that means it’s Chris's stop. At the beginning of the school year Chris told me we could be friends. I was so proud of myself! I had a friend! It was the best thing that happened to me in my whole life! I wrote notes to him, and he talked to me. I thought he really understood me. We were going to be best friends forever! Then the real world caught up to me and showed me what friends did to each other. Chris had used all the notes and letters I wrote him and made a small crude looking book. He had pasted them all on papers and stapled them together. I guess he made copies because there were about 50 of these books going around school. He named the book, A Day in the Life of a Mute Retarded Gay Boy. There it was for everyone to see, in my own handwriting. They all knew I not only couldn’t talk, but that I was gay.
For some reason that I can’t fathom, the fact that I have a speech impediment meant I was also retarded. I believed this for many years, until one day I decided to look up the word. And this is what I found.
Definition of RETARDED:
slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress
re·tard·ed
adjective \ri-ˈtärd-əd\ (Medical Dictionary)
Medical Definition of RETARDED
sometimes offensive : slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development : characterized by mental retardation
That did not resemble me or the problems I had but everyone, including my family, has told me that, yes, I am a retard. So I go with it. Who am I to argue? Besides I see kids calling other kids “retard” all the time. So, maybe it wasn’t a bad name? I tell myself this, but it still hurts when they say it to me.
Anyway, it was Chris's stop and, any minute, I will be in my personal hell. I see his red hat first as he climbs the stairs. I loved that red hat. It used to be mine. It was the only gift I ever remembered getting from my dad. Chris took it about a week after his book went around school. I was so upset, I cried for hours that night. I still feel something crushing my heart when I see him wearing it. I thought I loved him. He was my hero. My first crush and my best and only friend. He knew how precious that hat was to me. Well, now the whole school knew it as well. It is a big joke and everyone laughs when they see him wearing my hat. And just like a rehearsed chorus, all the kids on the bus start laughing. I feel the tears beading up in my eyes, and quickly look down at my folded hands in my lap.
I swallow back the vomit rising in my throat, when I feel his arm come around my shoulder. He knows I can’t handle being touched. He does this to see if he can make me vomit today, as I have in the past. I wish I had the nerve to vomit on him, but he warned me what would happen if I did that. Not to mention, the bus driver who allowed this to continue always made me clean up my vomit. So, I was humiliated for being bullied.
At this time we have 28 minutes left on the bus. By the time I had made it to school, I was numb. I moved on autopilot and had turned my brain and emotions off to protect myself. I’m assuming this is where people get the impression that I am retarded in some way, but what I’m really doing is trying to survive. And now the easiest part of the day is done and it’s time for the real hard stuff, I must live through another day at school.
I want you to do something for me. I want you to go back and read this again. Only, this time, I want you to use yourself as the “I” in this story. Then think hard of all the times that you were one of those people laughing and calling names. Most people won’t admit to being one of them, but at some time during your life, you will have laughed, sneered, or made someone less fortunate than you feel low. Just because they can’t speak for themselves (for whatever reasons) doesn’t mean that they can’t be hurt.
The moral of this story: Kids are mean, and they grow up to teach their kids to be mean. If any of the kids on this bus stood up to these bullies, maybe I wouldn’t have spent hours thinking that ending my life would be better than going to school the next day. Teach your kids not to hurt others. Explain to them what the words they say mean. It may be “just a joke” to them, but it is a hurtful thing to the people who feel that the words represent what they really are. Tell them that laughing at what the bullies do only encourages them to continue and do worse. HELP the kids like me by teaching your kids about people with differences. Talk to their teachers and find out if they are bullies. Take the time to get to know the kids they hang out with. KNOW what your child is up to in school.
This is one of my true stories. Thanks for reading it. ~Timmy
Special thanks to Billy Gilman and Rictor Riolo for retweeting this post!
NEWS FLASH!!!
This story inspired Liliana Li's artwork for the You Will Rise Project and a "Stop the Bullying" meme for Unity Against Bullying Day created by Timmy from Anna Lund's artwork. This meme took on a life of its own on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest and became the profile picture for many. Take a look at the wonderful merchandise you can purchase to support the You Will Rise Project and join us in our fight to stop bullying.
All content ©2014 Timmy Ashton. All Rights Reserved.
We hold no interest in or claim to the copyright(s) for
You Will Rise Project or Unity Against Bullying Day
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
When Bullying Begins in the Home
Bullying is a form of psychological abuse and when bullying begins in the home, a child is predisposed to being bullied in school, and later, at work, in social settings, in life. My good buddy Timmy joins me over at Love Bytes Reviews with his third installment on bullying. Today he talks about bullying from within the family unit and what one might do about it.
Victims of abuse often can’t defend themselves. They have poor self-esteem, a very low sense of worth, and feel, among other things, shame, humiliation, guilt, isolation, loss, anger, betrayal, but most of all, fear. They are afraid to defend themselves for fear of reprisal and that they’ll be further abused. If you know of or see someone being bullied within the home or by relatives, step up, make your listening all about them, speak out, and help a friend. YOU may be the one person who will make the difference between survival and not for your friend.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Self-bullying and The Golden Rule Applies to You
Join me over at Love Bytes Reviews to kick off the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia with a special post on Self-bullying and applying the Golden Rule to yourself! HAHAT is an incredibly important event each year intended to raise awareness and inspire LGBTQIAP individuals. Along these lines, we don’t only wish to inspire others, but also wish to inspire ourselves. That’s right. OURSELVES.
My good friend Timmy wrote about bullying… but a type of bullying we don’t often think about: self-bullying. Timmy’s insightful words will have us thinking well and often about how we treat ourselves and how we can be better to ourselves. As always, thanks for a wonderful post, Timmy!
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Child Abuse Casts a Shadow the Length of a Lifetime: A special post for Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and in honor of it, I did a special two-part post on child abuse and bullying on Love Bytes Reviews. Of greatest import, take 3 minutes of your the time to watch this video.
I joined the two issues in one post because to bully is to commit an act of violence and it is the most prevalent form of abuse in society.
My young, insightful friend Timmy, who has endured horrific bullying at school, recently took note of how adults treat each other. Check it out.
All of the memes in this post were created by Timmy.
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