Maisie Kate Miller, far right, and some of the girls in her photography class who showed pigtail solidarity.
Maisie is a 15-year-old sophomore at Marblehead High, right here in Massachusetts. She was being bullied, though was commonly bullied though she didn't usually let it bother her. On a particularly hard week, one her classmates made fun of her hairstyle - pigtails - stating “Who wears pigtails still? What is this, kindergarten?” Maisie’s mom, Joanna Miller, told her to just let it go: “Don’t give it any energy.”
Instead of fighting the girl back by returning the mean-ness she received, she decided for a more passive approach - she decided to wear her hair in pigtails for the rest of the week. She posted her plan on Facebook and headed to her after-school job. When she came home she was surprised to see that she had over 500 hundred notifications and friend requests supporting her plan.
Tons of kids at her school - girls, boys, even a teacher or two, plus a dog! - all decided to wear pigtails. The bully didn't show up that day, but backed off from bullying Maisie anymore. Maisie even got messages from people saying this girl had been bullying them as well but because of her pigtail movement, hasn't been bullied since.
Maisie is “someone who sticks up for people,’’ said Loren Weston, the counselor who leads the anti-bullying group at their High School, “and that’s why this response.”
Cyberbullying has only upped the ante, making it possible for Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers freshman who set up a webcam to catch his gay roommate making out, to disseminate his handiwork in a way that led to Tyler Clementi’s suicide. But here Maisie has shown us that social media can also be the bullhorn that amplifies the word “no” and stops the intimidation.
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