CynthiaParkhill: March 2009

Sunday, March 22, 2009

MakeBeliefs Comix: Classic hallmarks of bullying

Comic strip in four panels. In the first panel, a fluttering pigeon with the head of a man says, "I find it difficult to feel sorry for you as so many students like you have never really made an attempt to be part of the student body." Listening to him, a human-looking cat thinks, "Wow ..." In the second panel, the pigeon says, "You simply stand to the side and criticize what you didn't understand and never tried to correct." The cat thinks, "Verbal put-downs ..." In the third panel, the pigeon says, "This article ... will reach a lot of alumni and only make it more difficult for you to return for any of our All-Class Reunions." The cat thinks, "And threats of social exclusion!" In the fourth panel, the pigeon says, "The word will get out ..." The cat thinks, "Where'd he learn to bully so well?"

While claiming that bullying never happened at my high school and that I just didn’t make an effort, my accuser exhibits classic hallmarks of bullying: verbal put-downs and threats of social exclusion with victim-blaming thrown in. Created via MakeBeliefs Comix, this comic strip utilizes text from an email sent by someone who graduated from Calistoga Junior/Senior High School 20 years before I did, and objected to one of my newspaper columns about being bullied in school.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Addiction has her in stitches

Some people’s addictions are of the chemical variety; my addiction is yarn. My latest project is a cardigan in my “school colors,” House Gryffindor, that is. Once completed, I’ll embellish it with the official Hogwarts crest.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Get it in writing!

Your local Toastmaster’s club relies upon publicity to help its numbers to grow. There are many opportunities for a publicity campaign in the pages of your local newspaper.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

MakeBeliefs Comix: When teachers bully

Comic strip in three panels. The first panel's narrative reads, "When teachers bully." A human-looking rabbit says, "All right class ... everybody take hands." A girl and a human-looking cat are also in the frame. In the second frame, the rabbit says to the cat, "No one wants to hold your hand so you have to hold a pair of combs. The children next to you can hold the other ends." The cat has a sad look on her face. In the third panel, the rabbit happily says, "All right! Take hands!" The cat has an angry look on her face and her hands are on her waist. The narrative reads, "How I hated her ..."

This MakeBeliefs Comix strip depicts a way that teachers bully, or give approval to classmates bullying. Chances are, if it happened today, the teacher would be slapped with a lawsuit or at least some sort of discipline.

Originally posted to Facebook

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