Mirriam Santiago on Online Bullying

posted on April 10th, 2011 in Internet, Politics

Having been called a bully herself, Senator Mirriam Defensor Santiago has proposed a new bill against cyber bullying as seen in this recent article from Inquirer.net

Interestingly no real account of cyber bullying has ever made headlines in the Philippines yet (this is probably because of the socio-economic reasons as majority of the nation’s population accesses the internet through Internet-Cafes). Though there is no precedence, Mirriam isn’t really taking any chances with there are many reports of children committing suicide in other countries due to cyber bullying.

There might not be any real accounted precedence for this but I can attest that it has happened to me before, I just probably have thicker digital-skin than other people but then again I’ve never experienced getting videos of my personal-sexual-relations getting leaked online or having the entire 4chan community flame me.

The quest for equality among persons and the advancement of human rights start from basic education, where children learn the values of cura personalis [the Jesuit principle of caring for the whole person] and being men and women for others from their teachers and apply what they’ve learned to their classmates and friends,- Sen. Mirriam Santiago

Though it doesn’t seem like a big deal right now but with the latest trends in technology, children will only get more and more exposed to the internet and will use it more and more making this more and more probable in the country.

  • Renee

    The internet isn’t the problem – it’s how people use it. While I understand that it is a tool used by bullies, it is also a tool used by many others for the greater good. What should be monitored and moderated is the reasons people use the internet. No one wants their habits traced, but at the same time, they want to stop bullying? Is one liberty really worth all the suicides? If you ask me, there should be something that monitors how people use the internet and only act on uses that threaten or bully people. I would gladly give up my privacy on the internet (like there is any real privacy anyway) if it will save even one life.

    Bullying is horrible here in America. Every day you can easily find news stories where someone has committed some act of violence or suicide because of the bullying they receive in school. The real heartbreaking facts are that it can be prevented, if only teachers and parents would pay more attention. There are even reports (and subsequent charges filed) against teachers bullying or not doing anything when they are confided in by a bullied child. It’s hard for me to get my head around – what does bullying do? Nothing good. It will not make your life better, make you look like a better person, or create any kind of success for you.

    I was bullied when I was younger and I know exactly how it feels. I remember the many times I would go home and cry to my mom about some person or other that made deliberate efforts to hurt my feelings and make me sad and cry. Those people had no respect for me or what their bullying would do to my self esteem. Those people were usually the most popular people in school – those that had already went as high on the social ladder as they could, so felt the only way to keep their “cool” or go farther was to bully others.

    Those people are sad. They have low self-esteem, bad self-image, and usually never receive enough attention as a child. The worst, for them, is when they grow up in a family where verbal and physical abuse are every day occurrences – it’s all they know.

    I’m glad this woman, despite being called a bully herself, is taking some kind of stand. Who cares if she is called a bully? If we waited around for all the perfect people to take a stand nothing would get done. Kudos to her, and I hope her plan works. I long for a day when America can take a stand against bullying so strong that it never happens. But that is probably wishful thinking.

    I’m sorry – It’s just that I’m really passionate about bullying ;(

  • http://www.facebook.com/mark.lacsamana Mark Lester Coscolluela Lacsam

    No need to apologize renee :-) Your thoughts are much appreciated.

    I remember being bullied (and actual counts of cyber bullying) when I was younger to. What was kinda bad in my case was when I would go to my dad he’d simply say “just suck it up cause there will always gonna be a bully even when you go to work blah blah” but really we shouldn’t stand for it, if no one stands for it how will these kids learn.

    Unfortunately, the legistlation process here in the Philippines is extremely slow and it could take more than the 6 years of a presidential term before this gets passes

  • http://www.graphix-goddess.com Graphix-Goddess

    Hey Mark, GG Here

    Heck, even I was bullied in school – A LOT. It’s ridiculous that people think this is okay – and there is no accountability on the internet – which makes people turn into idiots. They think that just because they are Anonymous, that they can do and say whatever they want and there are no consequences.

    Dang, i had a hard time when i was in school as a kid, but nowadays, things are getting out of hand… cyber and real life bullying.

    I totally get Renee’s story, too.