MNN’s Can’t-Miss Special Broadcast on Bullying

“No kid should have to feel alone.” That’s the thought that drove Peggy Morales, chair of Manhattan Community Board 11’s Public Safety & Transportation Committee, to spearhead the interview with two Manhattan teens on the topic of bullying that will air on MNN this Sunday.

Bullying is not a new problem, but, as New Yorkers are increasingly aware, it’s a growing one. In 2012, youth suicides on Staten Island and in Morales’s own East Harlem have been blamed on this cruel form of tormenting, and there’s compelling evidence that the ubiquitous nature of the Internet has enabled bullying to reach new (terrible) levels of viciousness. In the last couple years, New York State has enacted the Dignity for All Students Act and the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act, with another piece of legislation currently pending in the State Senate. Even Lady Gaga, who grew up on the Upper West Side, has put her weight behind anti-bullying activism. But is all of this enough?

“I speak to a lot of young people as a direct result of the fact that I myself have a 15-year-old, and they all have complaints about bullying,” Morales says. “It’s hard to know whether legislation is effective, because, how well is bullying reported? Most kids are embarrassed and feel as though they should be able to deal with it on their own.”

Morales thought Manhattan’s youth could benefit from a frank, straightforward conversation about bullying, so she got two young women from her East Harlem neighborhood to sign on for a recorded chat. Teens Morgan Strydom and Tamara Ayala have dealt with bullying themselves, so they were able to offer not just an inside take on the problem, but tips on how to handle it in the moment.

“Another aspect of the conversation that viewers will find interesting is that it’s not cut and dried,” says Brodie Enoch, Community Board 11’s Public Outreach Task Force Chair and co-chair of the Public Safety & Transportation Committee. “Maybe sometimes you’re being bullied, but sometimes you’re the bully. You can be on both sides of the fence. It’s possible, even, that the more you’re bullied, the more likely you are to take it out on someone else.”

Morales agrees. “You don’t know what the bully is dealing with at home, with family, with friends. The reality is that the baggage they’re carrying around makes them hateful. My goal with this broadcast is to spread the message that bullying is not OK, and that you can adopt the skills you need to support your own self esteem and survive being bullied as these two young women have.”

Tune in to Community Board 11’s conversation on bullying this Sunday, March 3, at 10pm on MNN 1 and MNN.org.