Blog #2- I Once Was Miss America- A Reponse

Children are cruel little beings trying to find their place in the world. This cruelty creates hostile environments where nature’s “survival of the fittest” comes into play with our species, although we value conventional attractiveness and athletic talent rather then literally being able to stay alive long enough to reproduce. These “fittest” are sought after by their peers as they crave to have the attention of the popular kids. This gross system is perpetuated, generation after generation, no matter the lessons we try to teach, and the children on the outside of the popularity suffer for it. New ways to ostracize peers come about with new innovations, and suicide rates of our youth show that things are getting worse. I really can only think of one way to describe this situation and it can be summed up in one word: crappy. Its crappy that this situation is perpetuated and its crappy that kids have to deal with it, but until we stop teaching this system (no one wants to admit that we do, but all behaviors are learned…) kids will keep on being evil little things or picked on by the evil ones. There really are no winners in the situation, as the mean girls often peak in high school and end up living in wine bottles and taking out their petty issues on the other soccer moms, and the kids that are picked on live with the emotional baggage of being tortured by their peers. Sure, there are some that seem to be outside this system, or overcome it (as there is an exception to every rule), but the problem is that it still happens. I’m not going to offer a solution to this problem, because honestly I don't have one, but I will say that coping mechanisms need to be taught from a young age to help those that are bullied. Roxanne Gay illustrates one kind-of coping mechanism: books (or a passion). Books can help kids find alternate realities

to envision for themselves and give them hope and friendship outside of the cruelty they endure, and many children, including myself have found this to be a great way to escape our everyday lives. The effects of these books or whatever passion the child finds to escape is lasting and often untouchable, as even as an adult with more understanding one can still believe in their escape and look back with fondness at this one aspect of their childhood. We need to address the cruelty in our youth and we need to address ways to properly handle the situations and where to find solace from humanity. One last reaction to this reading, representation matters. It is only touched on lightly, but seeing a black woman be crowned Miss America gave Roxanne hope and expanded her view of her possibilities in life, and people often don’t realize that impact, especially if they are used to being represented.