Be More Heroic Club goes to Museum of Tolerance

Saba Mahmoudi

 

Bullying is a weapon filled with anger, pride and hurt. People tend to say reckless words while ignoring their effect on others.

Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) students who are part of the school’s Be More Heroic club took a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance on Jan. 30 that transported them back to the time of the Holocaust.

It also taught them about different aspects of bullying and how the effect of what the Nazis did are still alive for many.

Students on the Museum of Tolerance field trip read booklets about people who experienced the Holocaust. Photo by Hailey Pohevitz.
Students on the Museum of Tolerance field trip read booklets about people who experienced the Holocaust. Photo by Hailey Pohevitz.

“I learned about the effect that it had on the world, how Jewish people got rejected because of what they believed in,” freshman Adi Nagary said.

The concept of bullying is still the same as it was in the time of the Holocaust. In that time period, almost the whole world stayed silent. They saw what was happening, but they chose to ignore it.

“If you see a case of bullying, speak up because you can make a world of difference,” museum tour guide Moses Weir said.

This willing silence still happens today according to Be More Heroic. The people who are getting bullied are being rejected by others and only a few stand up to object about what is going on around them.

Be More Heroic also makes the point that  bullying is not a random act, but one with purpose and intent.

People bully for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they do it because they may not feel good about themselves or perhaps they want to feel strong about who they are. Also, sometimes it’s because they were themselves were victims of bullying.

“In my interview with my stepfather, he said he treated us like that because it was something his dad used to do too,” Be More Heroic founder Justin Chase said at a Jan. 30 assembly for DPMHS.

Students who went on the field trip left with a new level of understanding about bullying and how to prevent it.

“If you don’t know the culture, if you don’t like it, you don’t need to harm it,” junior Yarden Amiram said. “Everybody is a human being at the end of the day.”