October 29, 2010
Michelle Obama addresses problem of bullying
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Michelle Obama says adults can address the problem of bullying if they lead by example.
"Kids will follow our lead. They will follow our example, but we've got to set it," she said in a television interview broadcast Thursday.
Her comments came days after President Barack Obama addressed the topic in a video posted on the White House website.
In the message posted last week, Obama said he was shocked and saddened by the recent suicides of several young people who were bullied because they were gay. He also said it's time for society to dispel the myth that bullying is "a normal rite of passage."
Mrs. Obama said young people need to know that they shouldn't let the challenges they face in high school or college "eat them up."
"All of these young people regardless of their race, their sexual orientation, they are gifts to us," she said. "They have so much to offer and it's just terrible to find out that kids are letting this part of their life define everything about who they are going to be."
The first lady said she tells daughters Malia and Sasha that they have a responsibility to speak up when they see someone being bullied.
Mrs. Obama was interviewed on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
