disABILITIES Film Fest: A Call to Stop Bullying
Posted November 1, 2012 at 7:00 pm
By Osiris Gomez, ContributorThe 8th Annual disABILITIES Film Festival and Speaker Series on October 4, 2012, hosted by the Museum of disABILITY History and People Inc., turned out to be a night to remember! We packed the house! Our attendance was nearly 500.
After some mingling and light refreshments in the lobby, we all headed to the Mainstage Theatre at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts. The feature film was Bully, directed by award-winning and esteemed documentarian Lee Hirsch. This touching documentary film focused on the issue of bullying in America, capturing the devastation done to middle and high school kids and the collateral damage done to their families.
It was a clarion call for people to unite against bullying; an “epidemic” that has caused suicides of great kids who were mercilessly tormented with violence, hateful language and neglect. And unfortunately, bullying is an issue that has been not been substantially addressed by the vast majority of school administrators. Many administrators have the perspective that bullying is a “rite of passage” or that it’s “just part of growing up.” But the emotional damage done to kids like Alex, 12 who just wanted a friend, and Kelby, 16 who was ostracized for her sexual orientation, brings serious doubt to such dismissals. I could tell by sitting in the middle of the audience that people were indignant about the plight of our children during school hours and their bus rides home.
After the sobering but hopeful message of the film, our main speaker, Jesse Saperstein, took to the stage. He is an author, activist, and motivational speaker who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism.
Jesse was charismatic, funny, and daring during his talk. While peppering his presentation with humor and witticisms, he also shared some dark moments. He told his own story about bullying. He told a vivid story of a girl he met on the web that he fell in love with. They exchanged emails and chatted on AOL Instant Messenger. It brightened up his world to chat with her and gave him cause to wake up in the morning. Until one day the emails and the IMs stopped; as Jesse eventually discovered that he had been the butt of a cruel prank. There was no such girl. It was all a lie and he was the laughing stalk. One thing he stressed was that bullying doesn’t stop after secondary school; it just takes a different form. Upon entering college, Jesse wanted very badly to have a prom date. After asking several women on campus to go out with him, he was eventually known around campus as the weird “Sketchy Jesse.” This hurt him tremendously. Thus, he was keen in emphasizing that one of the bigger ongoing battles of his life includes being misunderstood and prejudged by society. But despite his battle with Asperger’s, he keeps his head high and moves forward, loving people along the way, sharing positive morsels of wisdom he has learned along his journey. It is a higher calling for all of us.
Upon meeting and talking with Jesse, you will quickly learn that he is one of the most sincere, humble, loving people you will ever meet. He values and cherishes connection and relationships with people. And despite being the author of a best-selling book and giving scores of presentations to hundreds of people across the country, he will authentically invite you to add him as a friend on Facebook!
Our team had the privilege of spending some time with him before the disABILITIES Film Fest, as he paid a visit to the Museum of disABILITY History!
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