I saw this earlier. Good for her.

I'm sure on air personalities get ugly emails everyday. Let's hope this doesn't start a brave new trend of on-air editiorials on how we should all be nice to each other.

It's great to stick up for yourself and not take crap. But it's not necessarily appropriate to lecture the jerk who insulted you in front of the whole audience. We are all aware that fat people suffer verbal abuse. It sucks. The people who do it are pathetic jerks. The thing is, attempts to educate these jerks may win applause but it just gives the jerks more attention.

This lady's job is not lecturing bullies. If I watched this news show, I would stop watching after this self righteous sojourn away from the point of the program.

I'd be surprised if she hasn't had worse said to her (or maybe I've just had worse said to me over the years....)

The letter writer is scum. But I sort of agree with Compos. Readng the letter given him attention.

That said, I don't feel that strongly either way. I've been a target, and haven't always reacted the best. And I don't expect anyone else to always react the best when attacked either.

If we don't speak out against these things- they don't get better. This guy needs a very clear message that he is nothing more than an abusive bully and his behaviour isn't acceptable. If he sent her this email- how many other people has he attacked? Would it be OK if he walked up to an overweight child and berated them for being that way? Turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to those who think they have the right to do this sort of thing just contributes to the problem. If your parents didn't teach you "if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all" society has to.

I think as a society there is too much emphasis on feelings. Kids are taught at school the pc way to talk and encouraged to whine every time their tender feelings get hurt. There is a problem of proportion. Rather than focusing on acheivement in academics or art or atheltics it's all touchy feeling bully awareness every day.

What happened to handling bullies the old fashioned way? First ignore. Then fight back. If it's still a problem talk to an adult. Nowadays it's all SOUND THE ALARM! Somebody was mean to me. boohoo.

This TV lady is from a generation taught that it's all about me me me. Has all this narcissism made everybody nice? If all this awarness is the answer, why are more and more people being "bullied" then ever before?

Yes my son's are nothing but whiny brats that are too sensitive for their own good. My youngest who is now 8- was dropped on his head on the sidewalk by a bigger kid- he has scar tissue on his brain and permanent damage from this. He gets bullied because he can't take a hit- it HURTS him, not everyone has a high tolerance for pain and he is now a child that suffers concussions when most wouldn't. My oldest son is 10, last night he came home bleeding from the mouth with a split lip and a cracked tooth- why? because his younger brother was getting bullied and he stepped in between his brother and the bigger kid- grabbed his brother's arm and said "let go home- we don't need to play with these boys" the bully grabbed my son by his face, and started punching him- my son weighs 60lbs and the other kid weighs over 100lbs!

Your suggestion is for my son's to fight back- can you yourself take on someone twice your size? As a woman who was nearly beaten to death, I find it incredibly hard to teach my boys to be violent and hit another human being. I talked with the father of the kid who hit my son-I am now faced with a huge dental bill- and what did the father say? "Boys will be boys" he comes from a country where "real" men hunt and fish and fight. He plays violent video games with his son and he teaches him to fight- if a kid squirts him with a water gun- he has been taught to go beat the crap out of that kid! Ya boo hoo somebody was mean to me- I guess you haven't sat in the hospital with your child and watch their tiny body twitching during a seizure from a brain injury. I guess you haven't had your child come home crying and bloody when they have done nothing wrong and you left feeling powerless to protect them because you can't be with them 24/7. I guess you don't know a teen that has committed suicide due to years of bullying. You want them to fight back- just what do you think those kids who bring guns to school are doing? They are fighting back of course. My son's have been taught to respect others, they don't need to be friends with everyone but they also don't need to be mean to anyone either. Why are more kids bullied? Because more parents are disengaged- they are busy working, they aren't around and don't have the time or energy to spend with the kids they brought into this world. Many bullies are hurting themselves, in fact I would guess that most of them are- they are insecure themselves and they take it out on others. What do you think will happen when my son has had enough and fights back? How much do you want to bet HE will be the one charged with assault and labelled as violent- it'll be easy because he has issues because his brain doesn't work as it should- so of course he'll be the one to blame- he shouldn't have been so bleeping sensitive!

I'm sorry for your son's difficulty LiannaMe. Apparently you read what I said you with the very meme me/mymymy attitude that I spoke of. I think human beings should stand up for themselves and each other but not make that their main focus in life. We are as a society becoming whimpier. If you choose to be offended by my opinion, you succeed in making my point.

Yes Compost I find your comments and ideas on bullying to be offensive. You yourself seem to be a bully which would explain your attitude on the matter.

I think when a person goes out of their way to make fun of someone to their face is bad manners. They have no clue how they have hurt that person. Some people have thicker skin than others. Megan on Fox news got a letter that her hair always looked dirty and greasy. She also confronted them on TV. As children we teach our kids manners. Maybe they weren't taught. ,I don't know but it is called bullying and it is bad manners. I have thought myself Megan's hair didn't always look its best but I would never knowingly say something to hurt someones feelings. Why adults feel it is ok to insult someone because of their weight or how they look is sad.We have women fighting on buses, parents fighting with coaches at a kids game. Have we lost our minds? My mother said if you cant say something good to someone dont say anything at all.

Of course it was rude of some guy to send an email to this TV news woman. Does it teach society right from wrong if she confronts him about it on the air? Will people listen and connect her remarks to their own behavior? Will they suddenly get the epiphany that they should be nicer and bullying is bad? No, they'll think about how they have been victimized. Not how they themselves can be less unkind. History shows us univited preaching rarely converts the people doing wrong to do what's right.

Some see this TV woman is a champion, raising awareness. That's fine. I just don't agree. I also think that if this TV woman overtly spouted some Christian gems like "do onto others as you would have them to onto you" she'd be bullyed off the set for shoving her religion on people.

If my opionion makes me a bully, so be it. I'm not going to whine just because somebody called me a name.

The letter was rude. But that was long winded and I don't want to sit and listen to that everytime an anchor has their feelings hurt. I was bullied as a kid and as a girl was a tomboy so I fought back... my philosophy has been well that is just an *ss whooping I'm going to have to take because I've never been the type to let people just walk on me and I am only 5'2 . I have as a grown women had a whole mob of kids surround me and throw rocks and stuff at me. Bullies seem to smell fear and that just empowers them...but kids these days are vicious and their parents are vicious so I don't know. If I saw my kids bullying someone when they were kids I would have slapped the taste out of them....I was taught the same if you can't say something nice...say nothing. But I was also taught never to take it because once you do you become an easy target. I feel bad for the kids today.
Lianna I agree bullies are the troubled ones who try and gain self worth by belittling or abusing others. In your case I don't know. It pains me to hear your pain. If it were my sons I would get one of my really big guy friends to let those who are bullying your sons...if you mess with them again...there is going to be hell to pay. Sometimes a dose of their own medicine is the *only* language a bully understands.

Those who use words to hurt and attack others are bullies- when they are called out- get labelled a bully they try to pin it on those they were bullying. I'm not a bully- they are too sensitive, whiny and whimpy they should just suck it up and toughen up.

This woman going one air did accomplish something- it got people talking about it. You can bet this isn't the first person this guy has felt the need to criticize, and it has been made very clear to him that he doesn't have the right to go around doing this sort of thing. His response was that he would work out with her, help her get into shape- which means he has already backed down-I'm sure his opinion of over weight people will never change but he now knows that people won't accept him going around hurting others.

I'm sorry I'm coming to this discussion late.

Lianna, (((Huge hugs)))) I am SO sorry for what you and your family have been through. I don't even have words, but I'm sending as much support as I can through stupid DS hugs here.

I'm a staff advisor at my school (for at-risk teens) on the Anti-Bullying Committee. When that committee started there were about 20 students involved identified with pink shirts, for any student who was in trouble with anything, but especially bullying, the poink shirts were kids who could be trusted to help. We're a small school, of about 450 kids, most of whom come from abusive home lives. Last year, just about every student in the school had a pink shirt. Our bullying problem has all but disappeared.

And it wasnt just the pink shirts helping raise the value of stepping in and standing up, rather than being a silent bystander, it wasa concerted effort to help the bullies. Statistics show bullies have a higher rate of dropping out of school, being unemployed, and getting in trouble with the law. They also show bullies are often abused or bullied by someone nbigger, stronger, or with more authority than them (usually their parents). We gave them youth counselling, leadership opportunities and a whole lot of support in making amends to those they bullied.

But it all has to start with SOMEONE calling them out on their behaviour. When the victim says it, thats good, but if a bystander says it, the impact is much bigger on the bully. And if a whole whack of bystanders or pink shirts says it, then the bully realizes what theyre doing is unacceptable.

Its convincing bystanders not to be silent thats the crux of things.

That the reporter on this TV station stood up for herself and called it what it is, was good, standing up for others who are bullied, is better. Its just too bad the bully in question didnt ever have to show his face, because the anonymity of emails exacerbates the problem. You can see it just about anywhere on the internet, that people are becoming ruder, less civil, more disrespectfil, insulting, belittling, attacking. And I just have this feeling if we were all in the same donut shop or bar having these discussions, things like that wouldnt happen, because I believe we're all decent people.

I was just saying to someone last night, in my own personal experience here, when someone has belittled me, and I've spoken up, I often didnt get the response I was looking for, but slowly over time, it seems things have gotten better, and I really appreciated that. When that sort of recognition of each other as human beings with compassion and respect...wow...the entire thing changes. Then like the concept of "safe schools", discussion forums can be more fertile places for discussion and mutual understanding, and maybe even learning.

Lianna, you sound like a loving, caring mom. I am glad youre on this forum, and thanks for sharing your story, you and your kids are going through so much. Keep going, better things are ahead woman.