In all those bad 80s movies, bullying is represented by a bunch of lame, name-calling and fistfights in hallways.  But in reality, harassment is much more secretive, subtle, and devious.  It is hardly ever seen clearly, but it is always present.

I came to this conclusion when I was last helping with a musical.  My tech director, gathered my fellow stage crew members and me up on the end of the stage.  “So, there have been some rumors going around the actors,” he began with a disturbed air about him.  “You know what they are.”

The other crew members shifted uncomfortably -- it was known that some drama kids had said some nasty things about one of their own behind her back, but it seemed all too usual.  We had many other things to worry about… but I had seen her looking down the last few weeks.

“And guys,” he went on, “The gossip stops here.  You know better than that, and if you hear something, shake it off -- don’t go spreading it.”

I’d honestly never before thought that adults would care about another teen’s life being disrupted by the everyday rumor, but I found that Arrowhead staff actually did.  If anything could inspire me to make sure I followed this doctrine, it was the fact that someone really truly cared rather than the situation being shoved into some normalized version of our high school lives.

From then on, we invited the girl to eat dinner with us rather than listen to the people bully her.  For the first time in a while, I saw her smile, and knew that just a few words really could change a life.