To the editor — I am responding to the April 3 letter to the editor calling for action against bullying. He is right — now is the time to take a stand before bullying-related suicide reaches someone you know and love.
What can be given can also be taken away, and too many young people are turning to suicide as a way out because their cries for help often fall on deaf ears. If support systems were working, youth suicide rates in Washington wouldn’t have risen nearly 500% over the last decade.
This issue continues to be minimized until it is too late. I experienced bullying in school myself, and today it extends into social media, where cyberbullying causes serious emotional, mental and physical harm. We must begin holding bullies — and those who support or enable them — accountable for the damage they cause. No one is unaware of the harm they inflict when they intentionally target another person to the point that suicide feels like the only escape.
Suicide does not end pain; it transfers it to families and communities. We must practice what we preach, treat others with respect and teach these values to our children so this cycle doesn't continue. All lives matter!
CANDACE COOMBES
Granger
