Teddy Wahles on Bully

Did you know that 160,000 Kids Stay Home From School each day to avoid being bullied? Due to this, as a monthly theme, we decided to have November be bullying awareness month. While researching this topic, we came across a youtuber who had made a Slam-Poetry video about bullying called Bully.In the spirt of bullying awareness month we decided to include Teddy Wahle’s video in this months paper, with his permission to use his video of course. I had emailed him a few questions and he responded quickly and efficiently.

The questions I included during our emailed interview were some that were typical you would ask someone. I emailed him thirteen questions and not all of them applied to him, so Teddy couldn’t really answer them.

The answers I had received from Teddy were for the first four questions. When he was asked “why did you make the video?” Teddy had responded with, “The video was a way for me to disseminate my perspective on bullying. I felt like bullying is always portrayed as this like high school lunchroom cliché, but it has its roots in family history and mental health.”

The second question that was asked to Teddy was “Were you ever bullied and that made you want to bully?” His reply was one that threw me off guard, just because he wrote a poem called bully, doesn’t mean he was a bully. In fact his reply was this, “No, to that extent the video was fictional. I have never been the bully. I have been bullied, but it’s never something I have discussed with anyone. I just was lucky enough to be able to see from the perspective of other bullies. A lot of bullying has its roots in insecurity, not hate.”

The third question he had received was, “If you were ever bullied at what age did it start?”

Though he never stated the age, he did state the grade, so it gives you the rough estimate of around what age he was. Teddy’s response was, “I would say around 7th grade. Puberty and coming of age starts to differentiate kids in all aspects of their lives. It’s those differences that cause some folks to become bullies.”

The final question he could respond to was, “If you were to give advice on people who bully, what would you say?” Teddy’s reply to this was simple and sweet, “I would say just get help and perspective. Talk to people about your issues, and never assume you’re the problem.”

In the words of Teddy and many others, “you are never the problem” This has been a highlight on Teddy Wahle creator of the poem “Bully”. Please leave feedback on what you all thought of this article and stayed tuned for more upcoming events and themes. Thank you.