On Tuesday Nov. 28, an 18-year-old girl from Texas City, Texas committed suicide due to bullies tormenting her and threatening her on social media. Brandy was a senior at Texas City High School. The bullying began over a year ago when someone started using her picture online to torment her. They continuously posted things about her, one including an account that posted she was soliciting sex. These accounts would be taken down only to be put up and re-emerged days later.

It didn't stop there.

She would get constant calls during the night to the point where she could not sleep.

Help never came to the girl who constantly cried for it. Brandy and her family even went to the authorities and would speak to absolutely anyone who would listen, and yet, no one did anything about it.

On this devastating Tuesday, Brandy sent an email out to all her family members saying that she was going to end her own life. The family rushed home to find her alive and still breathing, but no one could convince her to put the gun down.

She then proceeded to end her own life in that moment.

According to kvue.com, the Texas City Police are still investigating what happened as a cyber-bullying crime. Yet, so far, no one has been arrested.

According to stopbullying.gov, there is no federal law that specifically applied to bullying. Only when bullying is based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or religion is when bullying overlaps with harassment and then schools are legally obligated to address it. BUT ONLY when bullying overlaps with harassment.

Here's the thing,

Bullying: unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to do so over time. In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive, an imbalance of power, and repetitive.

Harassment: the act of systematic and continued unwanted actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands. It is aggressive pressure or intimidation.

I don't know about all of you, but those are pretty similar; unwanted actions/behavior, aggressive, etc.

I looked up the difference between the two, trying hard to understand why one has a law against the action and one does not. Right away these words popped up: " Harassment is different from bullying in that is is a form of discrimination." Last I checked, discrimination is being treated differently due to different categories of people or things; like race, age, or sex. Bullying does such that.

Brandy is just one example. An example of someone who did not get the help she screamed for.

When is enough, enough?

What's it gonna take for our world and our society to end the suffering of bullying and the consequences of people's actions taking so many peoples lives? How many lives are going to end before we start realizing there needs to be a change?

Stand up for what is right. Make a change. Help others.

http://stopbullying.gov

http://stopcyberbullying.org

National Suicide Prevention line: 1(800)-273-8255