CHICKASHA, Okla. – One teen says that after enduring bullying for around three years, she took to Facebook to raise awareness.
Baylee Ogle is a student at Chickasha High School and says a group of girls have been bullying her for the past three years. From cursing at her, to starting rumors and even vandalizing her car, says Ogle.
Not long after her dad passed away and the comments and behavior continued, Ogle says, she decided to take the opportunity to start a conversation about how to stop bullying and the post has been shared more than 1,000 times.
Read it below!
I haven’t posted about this because I didn’t want to be “one of those people” posting about personal problems on social media. But I can’t not talk about this anymore. I want to help bring awareness to the situation and help people to realize the affect their words have on others.
Since my freshman year of high school I have had a group of girls who have tormented me. They would stand on chairs in restaurants to take pictures of me during lunch, flip me off, call me very rude names, and cuss at me in the hallway, and they even came to my house one night and vandalized my car. There was a rumor going around that year that I killed myself. And then people were posting on social media “good I hope she did”. The group of girls got suspended that year and when asked why they were tormenting me their response was “I don’t even know her, I just don’t like her”. I didn’t feel safe anywhere. I was scared of what would happen next.
This year the drama started again. When my dad was in the hospital for a pulmonary embolism that 9/10 people die from, they tweeted and texted me saying I was being a “Victim” about my dad. They made me feel like I didn’t have a right to be scared or sad about anything going on. They post on social media about my voice, my laugh, when I wear makeup, when I don’t wear makeup, about my lips, my hair, anything and everything you can imagine. And with group dynamics- when a couple people start hating, it turns into wildfire and becomes a huge group of people all hating on one person.
As the group of girls walk past me at school they give me death stares and laugh at me and continue to call me rude names and cuss at me. They have started Twitter conversations with 10+ people tweeting about how much they hate me and all the things that are wrong with me. It doesn’t just last for an hour or a day- it’s lasts for multiple days. There is even a group text called “The Baylee Haters” where all they do is pick me apart and hate on me. I can’t even sit in the student section at school sporting events because these bullies and their friends yell rude things at me. I am afraid to be alone at my own school.
Some of the girls have texted me saying I deserve all the bullying BECAUSE I wasn’t a support to my Pom team September-November. Well, I had 6 major knee surgeries at once and physically couldn’t walk, then when I could walk I had physical therapy 3 days a week for two or more hours a day in Norman. And the other two days of the school week I had to go home and watch my dad since he was 24 hour care while my mom went to pick up my sister from school. (All of this was approved and okay with my pom coach). The girls moms have even told my mom that I deserve the hate because their daughter has physical therapy too but she still shows up to pom. Well, she has a sprained ankle and can go to to PT in Chickasha for 15 minutes. But I have to see a specialist in the city.
When I got into wrestling homecoming they started saying “how did she get in homecoming” “still pissed Baylee is in homecoming but I can’t be in it with my boyfriend” and the tweets would get 30 plus favorites. They would also tell people not to vote for me.
And worst of all… When my dad was in the hospice house, they texted me saying they hope my dad dies. My mom and I couldn’t even be on our phones to tell loved ones where we were or give updates because our phones were being blow up with hate and heartless comments.
Then my dad passed away 3 days later… Two days after he passed was wrestling homecoming, I didn’t want to go because dad had just passed but he would’ve been very upset with me if I hadn’t gone.. So I went. I didn’t want sympathy, I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. All I wanted was some respect, peace, and quiet. But of course that didn’t happen. They then started telling people they hoped I don’t win because of “sympathy votes”.
Today- Just a couple of hours ago, I posted the details for my dads funeral on Twitter because I have friends and family who wanted the information. Within 3 minutes of me posting the info- one of the girls subtweeted me and said “nobody cares”.
Nobody cares? Nobody cares that a human being died? That a husband, uncle, friend, and DAD, died? Truly, my heart breaks for the girls and boys who have put me through so much these past three years. I have been very good at sucking it up and pushing forward even with all the hate. But to say that no one cares that A DAD died is just sickening to me. They have to be so miserable with their life that they feel the need to hate on someone so much. The saddest part is that they think it is cool to bully.
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. And for those of you who favorite and retweet negative posts about someone- you too are a bully. You NEVER know someone’s breaking point. So why even push the limit?
Parents, I beg you- please teach your children to be sensitive to others. If they don’t like someone then they don’t have to be around them but DON’T harass them and make their life miserable. Hold your children accountable. People bully because they know they can get away with it without any consequence. So hold your kids accountable and teach them to treat others the way they want to be treated. For instance, if your child doesn’t want someone to say they hope their parent dies and that they’re happy once he does. Then teach your children not to say it to others.
Peers, if you see anyone being bullied- don’t fall into the immaturity of the bully. Stand up for the bullied. If enough people start defending the bullied then it won’t be as fun for the bully to bully. Bullies keep going because their friends think “it’s funny” and it makes the bully feel cool because all of the attention is on them. I can tell you personally it is very lonely being bullied because people don’t want to stand up for you because they’re afraid of the person who is bullying or that then they will start getting bullied as well.
I do not want sympathy for anything that has happened in my life because I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Maybe I have gone through all of this so that I could share my story with you today and bring awareness to adults and teens about the affect of bullies. The school system and society makes the bullied feel so alone and wrong for even being bullied. When in reality it is not the fault of the bullied. The one who is wrong is the bully. No matter what “reason” you have for bullying someone- it is INVALID. And DO NOT EVER tell someone they deserve to be bullied. Because they don’t. No one does. Have compassion for others and remember- if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
Please share this to raise awareness Thank you & God bless.
Baylee Ogle
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