Katie Goldman does not live in a galaxy far, far away. She lives in Illinois, where she faces the dark side when she is teased at school.
The first grader loves “Star Wars” and carries a water bottle advertising the science fiction saga with her to school. But a few months ago Katie asked her mother, Carrie, for a different water bottle.
Confused, Carrie pressed the issue until Katie tearfully confessed that the boys in her class claimed that “Star Wars” is not for girls, and they made fun of her for liking it.
Katie, who was adopted and wears glasses and an eye-patch, was tired of being an outcast. She was ready to sacrifice the way of the Jedi for the way of conformity.
This was the “The Empire Strikes Back” part of the Katie Goldman saga. The bad guys win; the good guys left in shambles. Luckily, there is a “Return of the Jedi” chapter.
Naturally upset, Carrie wrote about the dilemma on her blog. Then, Katie got a lot of attention.
Support poured in from thousands of people, many of them women telling Katie that they loved “Star Wars,” too. People sent so many toys that her family asked people to start donating to charities.
Voice actors from “The Clone Wars” series also showed their support. Katie even met Tom Kane, who voices Yoda on the series.
Katie is happy now. Things are better in school, and she reads words from her supporters every night before bed.
I tell you Katie’s story not just because of the uplifting ending. It is a reminder about the problem of bullying.
Last fall saw many members of the LGBTQ community who had been bullied committing suicide. Those events were horrendous, but in the aftermath we need to remember that bullying happens when no prejudices are involved, as well.
Bullying and its effects seem to only get attention when we attach a bias to it, like homophobia or racism. It would be easy to attach sexism to Katie’s story, and perhaps that is appropriate in some contexts. However, there were teens last fall that committed suicide because of bullying not based on the types of biases we talk about. Their stories received little attention.
These prejudices are important to combat. However, even if we eliminate bullying based on prejudice, there will still be bullying.
The little girl who likes “Star Wars” over Barbie; the middle school boy who would rather read Tolkien than play baseball; the teenage girl who wears black and does not talk much; the college boy who goes to “Star Trek” conventions on the weekends; all will still be bullied.
Geeks, nerds, and dorks are the everlasting target of bullies. We emphasize combating bullying based on prejudice, but we tend to ignore bullying against those who are different by choice rather than by nature. It remains a phantom that we are complacent to live with.
I realize that Katie’s saga has a much happier ending than the stories of those LGBTQ teens we heard about last fall. I wish not to trivialize those events; Katie’s experience is just a reminder. Others are bullied without any connection to prejudice and do not have a happy ending. It is not fair to forget that.
As we combat prejudice, we must not forget to combat bullying itself. May the Force be with us.