Emma Watson Says She Was Never Bullied Out Of College

Emma Watson - the Harry Potter actress announced last month that she was taking time off from her studies at Brown University to focus on her film career.

There were reports later on that she decided to leave college because she was bullied by fellow students. However, Emma is saying that she was not bullied out of the US Ivy League college at all as the media is portraying.

According to one report, the 21 year old Emma Watson was bullied by classmates when she gave correct answers. They used to make fun of her by shouting, 'Three points for Gryffindor' - reference to the fictional school of Harry Potter.

But Emma insists nothing like that ever happened. In fact, she said it is ridiculous to say that students at Brown University bully fellow students. She chose to take a break for acting and will continue studying again. She said she has never been bullied by anyone all her life.

Anyhow, though I feel students can make fun of her, most of the staff members say she is indeed correct in saying that she was never bullied. Seniors say that there was awareness about her but all of that faded in sometime at the campus.

As it is she joined the college in 2009 and it is a good enough time for students to get used to celebrities kids. This is exactly how it usually happens. I doubt it too that she would be bullied but yes people can make fun and joke around.

So you want a horror story

This morning I come home from work and turn on the TV, by chance I had left it tuned to a news channel instead of TBS when I left.  What was I greeted by?  The news of Tyler Clementi who had apparently jumped to his death off the George Washington bridge. The police officially ruled it a suicide.  Tyler was a 18 year old freshman at Rutgers, and by reports a talented musician.

With so much bad news, honestly this just registered as just another sad story.  I hate to admit it but I went on about my daily rounds with little attention, but did make a mental note to look it up and find out more.

Before I had time to change the channels however, I heard about Asher Brown.  Asher was a 13 year old from Texas who died of a self inflicted gunshot wound.  Another tragedy.  What besides the obvious do the two teens have in common?  Both were the subject of harassment and bullying.

Asher was bullied because he was small for his age.  Small kids typically have a hard time and are the target of the stronger bully types.  However Asher was also a Buddhist, and also gay.  This made him the perfect whipping post for other kids.  Kids raised by homophobic, right wing parents.  Kids who make themselves feel stronger but beating down those who can't fight back.  maybe he could fight back if it was a fair fight but with gang mentality he never had a chance.  It's sad he chose the path of terminating his own life.  Suicide is not the answer but in Asher's case I can't call it the "easy way out." To a 13 year old kid, just coming to grips with his sexuality, with nothing to look forward to except being an outcast it had to seem to be the only way out.

With Tyler it wasn't bullying in the traditional sense, but betrayal and public embarrassment.  He was recorded by his roommate while engaged in a sexual encounter.  That recording was then posted to the Internet and the roommate tweeted about the prank inviting people to watch.  Sure , maybe it sounds like a harmless prank, but once again played upon a young man, dealing with his sexuality, a sexuality still frowned upon by so many and looked on as a source of humor.  Now in the Internet age embarrassment isn't just something between a group of people, your embarrassment can be broadcast worldwide.  What escape did Tyler have except for death?

I don't condone the suicide of either, but I do understand.  We live in a bigoted, intolerant society.  A society where if you do not fit in you don't have a right to privacy, intimacy or even life.  It would be bad enough if it were only these two, but it isn't.  I just read of an unnamed California teen, 13 years old, who hung himself due to being tormented about his sexuality.

Bigotry, racism, homophobia, hatred and fear.  When will we grow out of them?  When will we step up and do something to stop our children from killing other children?  Until that time hope your child isn't the one being tortured.

Asher Brown victim of fear and bullying

Tyler Clementi

For those who do care, please remember these kids and let's work to end this so no other parent has to lose their child this way.

Bullies are all around us

“When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should – so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.”

Charlotte Bronte

“It hurts my eyes to see the things I’ve seen.”

Moliere

I was horrified after reading the ordeal of a 14-year old girl named Nadia Dorrington. It’s one of the cases of bullying. In fact, 4 schoolgirls have been suspended as they were the culprits & a police probe is underway after a video of Nadia Dorrington being bullied appeared on YouTube. The shocking clip depicted a gang of cruel bullies punching & kicking the victim & pulling out her hair. Others were jeering & calling her abusive names. I don’t know the crazy story behind it, as it was not reported. Maybe it’s not yet known. Anyway, the victim was left with cuts & bruises to her face & bald patches on her head from where clumps of her hair had been pulled out. To humiliate her further, the footage had been uploaded on the website under the title “Fighting a Dirty Bitch.” The video had been removed, however.

Bullying is not a shocking phenomenon. Bullies are all around us. We come across assholes & bitches on a daily basis. Some are really fucked up & we call them bullies. I once read that bullies have low self-esteem & due to some inferiority complex, they bully others & it actually makes them feel good. Nevertheless, there is no justification for being so evil & vile. And if they want to feel extremely good, they can masturbate using knifes or pieces of broken glasses. That would be more of an exotic experience. Why inflict pain on others? Do that on yourselves.

Anyway only the victim can shed some light on the level of humiliation & insult that she has suffered at the hands of these monsters. I’m amazed while typing ‘Fighting with a Dirty Bitch’ they didn’t add ‘by fucking lunatics’ who are too low for even the word low. Even if some serious action is taken against the culprits (they are only suspended & that’s nothing), the damage on the psyche of the victim has been done. Whenever she would look back, how is she going to feel about this episode?

Some of my friends & I too had been victims of cyber-bullying. Now my story is not like Nadia’s ordeal, but nevertheless I want to share it as cyber-bullying is a crime as well & the culprits never rot in jails. There was a gang who used to send us fake ids on a daily basis. Since we were not 14, it wasn’t that horrible an experience. They used to tell us everything what they thought after reading our scraps & comments on the communities at Orkut. Our accounts used to get hacked every now & then. Every day they used to send us dirty profiles. A couple of time, I seriously had the urge to puke. We used to get abusive scraps. There was no restriction & so anyone could insult you on your scrapbook. If you thrown one fake profile on your ignore list, they used to send another. It was a pretty bad phase, cause there was no way to control what was going on.

You see what you want to see; whatever you are capable of seeing. And you also give people what you have. If you only have animosity, then you can only pass that on. Even at Facebook, fake ids by our names used to add us. I don’t know what was the point. Anyhow, it was definitely easier to bully us on the net.

The fact is bullying is an abuse & a crime. Again scars don’t go away. Naturally it’s far more difficult for a younger person to take this & deal with it in a positive way. In our case, those immature adults were behaving as 14 year-old retards.

You may hate & you can hate someone for the rest of your miserable life. But what difference would that make? You’re nobody & you would remain that for us. I don’t see any justification for stooping down to that level from where you won’t ever get up. By telling someone what you think of them, you are only highlighting your own complexes & fears. If you think bad of me, tell yourself, don’t tell me. You’ve got to convince yourself first. By telling me all this, you are giving me importance & I don’t attach too much significance to importance of any sort. Alright.

It’s the choices that we make define us. One must choose wisely. I truly do not have time for people who hate me & are jealous of me. However, when I think of this particular teenager, I feel really bad. Right now I’m writing all this, but even I’m going to forget about her & so will you.

I believe God doesn’t forsake anyone, but He tests us from time to time. However, when I read such stories, which I do almost every day…I often wonder why doesn’t the world end now? We have authentic lunatics all around us who are ever ready to devour anyone who is weaker than them. Throwing dirt at someone’s character doesn’t make anyone superhero. Reducing anyone to dirt doesn’t make anyone God. Nobody is invincible & by nobody, I mean not a single person on this planet. And you’re certainly mistaken, if you think you are something of the sort. Everyone gets a wake up call sooner or later.

I don’t know if life gives you a second chance…I don’t know if miracles happen…All I know is that strength within you can never let you down. And yes, what you think of yourself is far more important that what others are saying about you. Don’t let them do this to you.

“I don’t regret the difficulties I experienced; I think they helped me to become the person I am today.”

Paulo Coelho


Nadira Rahman