THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Why A 10-Year-Old’s Question About Bullying Surprisingly Moved Clinton And Us All

December 24, 2015 | Posted at 5:38 pm | by Ashley (Follow User)

Photo Credit: (Image courtesy of CNN)

“What are you going to do about bullying?”
 

That was the moving question asked by 10-year-old Hannah Tandy during Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s town hall event earlier this week in Keota, Iowa.
 

It was quite a question.
 

The fifth-grader told CNN that she didn’t expect to talk about the bullying she endures at the event. However, she felt she had to do so: “I was hearing her talk about so many people she had met that were worried about certain things and I never heard her mention anything about someone asking about bullying… I just thought, there are a lot of kids out there who are getting bullied way worse than I am and it should stop.”
 

Clinton appeared intrigued by the young girl, responding with: “Can you tell me a little bit more about why that’s on your mind?”
 

“I have asthma and occasionally I hear people talking behind my back,” Hannah said. As she continued to explain, Clinton became moved and pulled her in to give her a long hug. The audience was also touched, sharing an applause as well as some “awws.”
 

Hannah asking her question to Clinton (Image courtesy of CNN)

Hannah asking her question to Clinton (Image courtesy of CNN)

WATCH VIDEO OF HANNAH ASKING HILLARY CLINTON HER QUESTION


 

Hannah told CNN she felt compelled to ask Clinton how she planned to tackle the major issue, because of the negative impact it has caused on so many. She also told CNN that she surprised by Clinton’s response.
 

“I learned that not everybody has this opportunity, but when you get a reaction from someone as powerful and as famous as Secretary Clinton, you realize everybody has something in common, from the most powerful to the most poor people in the world,” she said. “We all have something in common. We all have human ingenuity and we all have feelings.”
 

This story again made me realize how we are all connected and how our actions really impact each other. I also think Hannah bravely brought to light the extensive amount of young people who are consistently bullied. According to the National Association of School Psychologists, bullying is the most common form of violence in our society. In fact, more than 3.2 million students are bullied each year, with 17% of American students reporting being bullied two to three times a month. Additionally, studies have revealed more than one-half of middle- and high school students engage in social media abuse, like bullying. These are crazy statistics!
 

With an inspiring response back to Hannah’s question, Clinton assured Hannah that she also believes it’s a major issue that needs to be tackled.
 

“Bullying has always been around but it seems to have gotten somehow easier and more widespread because of social media and the Internet. People can say something about somebody without having to look them in the eye or see them walk by, and so I think we all need to be aware of the pain and the anguish that bullying can cause. I really do think we need more love and kindness in our country. I think we are not treating each other with the respect and the care that we should show towards each other. That’s why it’s important to stand up to bullies wherever we are…”
 


 

Clinton added she has felt the pain of being bullied: “You are looking at somebody who’s had a lot of terrible things said about me and I am well aware of the fact that it’s really easy to do that. Luckily, I’m old enough where it doesn’t particularly bother me, but I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be you know a young person in today’s world where that’s coming at you all the time.”
 

All of this finally brings me to my point…

 

The reason why this story was so touching and moving for all of us was because of how extensive and terrible bullying has become. I’m sure each of us have felt the impact of bullying. Either someone bullied us, someone we know has been impacted by bullying, or we’ve heard about someone being bullied. It’s relevant to us all.
 

We have allowed it to be issue that is discussed and witnessed, but I feel like we have yet to really put a stop to ending it. Sometimes I feel like we talk about it more than we are doing things to stop it. It’s become a trend to be against bullying, but it’s need to become an every day action. I am so thrilled and proud of all of the organizations that remind us why we individually need to help end it. But we also need to individual take action to stop it, too. I believe that is when the real change will begin.
 

It’s time for less talking and more doing. That’s what we need in the next president (whether that’s Hillary Clinton or not) and that’s what we need from ourselves.