Mike Huckabee: All Kids—and Their Parents—Should See ‘Bully’

I bookmarked an article in The Daily Beast by Mike Huckabee - whom I typically regard as a religious extremist and for whom I hold little respect - last week. I forgot about it in the blur of other things going on, but it's worth note. What's most amazing is that Huckabee endorses the movie "Bully" which is now rated PG-13. Indeed, Huckabee states that parents and children need to see the movie. Why do I find this endorsement so surprising? Because the number one obstacle to passage of meaningful anti-bullying laws and policies is the Christian Right and its members who want free reign to abuse and bully LGBT students and adults alike. Here are some highlights:

The feature documentary Bully is anything but a “fun night at the movies.” It’s a disturbing, hard-hitting exposé of an issue that faces countless thousands of young people throughout this country and it’s a gut-punch. What makes Bully so powerful is that it’s a film featuring real individuals who are dealing with one of our nation’s tragic untold stories—children being beaten, denigrated, taunted, and psychologically assaulted by other kids. Equally if not more shocking is the cavalier attitude some educators and school administrators have about those kids who are mercilessly bullied under their watch—at the school where those same kids are coming to be educated, motivated, and nurtured.

Regardless of the motivation—race, religion, physical aptitudes, or some otherwise—no child in America should be subjected to harassment, humiliation, or violence while in the care of a public, or for that matter, any school.

Frankly, I wish all parents would take their kids to see the film and have a candid conversation about it afterwards, regardless of whether their child is more likely to be the victim of bullying or an instigator—and hopefully many will.

For those of us who grew up as “baby boomers,” bullies today are not the mischievous Eddie Haskell from Leave it to Beaver or Butch from Our Gang. This is about violence and hostility at a level that has led to suicide among numerous victims.

Bully is compelling. It’s not a pretty or pleasant story, but needs to be told. The message is not a “horizontal” message of left vs. right; liberal vs. conservative; Democrat vs. Republican. It’s a “vertical” message that says we’ll either get better, or God forbid, we won’t learn from this and it will get worse.

Surely this nation, so divided by almost everything, could unite behind the notion that the youngest among us should be treated with dignity and respect. Bully helps achieve that goal. Keeping kids from seeing it does not.