Emilie Olsen's Bullying Analysis
Emilie Olsen from Fairfield, Ohio, committed suicide at age thirteen. She was an excellent volleyball player, intelligent, and had a sweet spirit, but she was bullied for years which precipitated her death. The sad thing is, her death is something that could have been prevented.
The bullying all began in the beginning of fifth grade. Emilie wore camouflage print clothing and cowgirl boots to class one day, but since she was adopted from China, her style provoked her classmates to jeer at her. They told her “Chinese people don’t wear camo” and called her “fake country.” The bullying continued in school and it got worse. She became a target on social media. A fake Instagram was created called “Emilie Olsen is Gay” and other accounts continued …show more content…
Even though they were easily noticeable, nobody, not even a teacher, reported the messages.
Through all of this, Emilie lost her connection to her old self. She lost her motivation in school and her grades dropped dramatically. Her search history also showed she was asking strangers if they were ever feeling the way she was feeling. Emilie even dyed her hair blonde to blend in with white people. Two weeks later, on December 11, 2014, Emilie killed herself with her father’s gun.
These events in Emilie’s life seem quite obvious she was very serious about committing suicide. However, a police report showed her boyfriend and best friend had never heard Emilie mention she was being bullied. It is a complicated case, but her community should have been prompt with getting her help as soon as they noticed one of these actions towards Emilie or her difference in behavior. I believe this report doesn’t encourage cluster suicides, but it places an idea of suicide in the heads of her friends. The grief of her death and wanting to be with her again might tempt them to follow Emilie’s
The bullying all began in the beginning of fifth grade. Emilie wore camouflage print clothing and cowgirl boots to class one day, but since she was adopted from China, her style provoked her classmates to jeer at her. They told her “Chinese people don’t wear camo” and called her “fake country.” The bullying continued in school and it got worse. She became a target on social media. A fake Instagram was created called “Emilie Olsen is Gay” and other accounts continued …show more content…
Even though they were easily noticeable, nobody, not even a teacher, reported the messages.
Through all of this, Emilie lost her connection to her old self. She lost her motivation in school and her grades dropped dramatically. Her search history also showed she was asking strangers if they were ever feeling the way she was feeling. Emilie even dyed her hair blonde to blend in with white people. Two weeks later, on December 11, 2014, Emilie killed herself with her father’s gun.
These events in Emilie’s life seem quite obvious she was very serious about committing suicide. However, a police report showed her boyfriend and best friend had never heard Emilie mention she was being bullied. It is a complicated case, but her community should have been prompt with getting her help as soon as they noticed one of these actions towards Emilie or her difference in behavior. I believe this report doesn’t encourage cluster suicides, but it places an idea of suicide in the heads of her friends. The grief of her death and wanting to be with her again might tempt them to follow Emilie’s