What if your story could launch a movement 200,000+ strong?

Every movement begins with someone's story

One such story is that of Katy Butler, a Michigan high school student who was bullied when she was 12 years old. One day when she went to shut her locker, bullies pushed her against the wall. Then they slammed her locker shut on her hand, breaking her finger.

On Thursday, March 8, Katy delivered a petition to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), asking them to overturn a decision to give the movie “Bully” an R rating as opposed to PG-13. The film received an R rating for “language.” The truth is, many teens use bad language – often – so hearing it in a movie about bullying is not going to have a negative influence on them.

“Bully” is a documentary that followed and filmed kids dealing with the effects and after-effects of bullying during the 2009-2010 school year. The documentary also covers the increase in child suicides due to bullying. The Bully Project is a collaborative effort that brings together partner organizations committed to ending bullying. You can learn more about the film, which is being released March 30, at www.thebullyproject.com.

The goal is to encourage middle and high schools to show the film and open a dialogue about bullying. An R rating will scare some schools away from showing the film. “I can’t believe the MPAA is blocking millions of teenagers from seeing a movie that could change — and, in some cases, save — their lives,” Butler wrote. “Think of how many of these kids could benefit from seeing this film, especially if it is shown in schools?”

Change.org recently sent an email, asking readers to sign Butler’s petition. Almost immediately the web site briefly crashed from so many people trying to sign at once. Imagine the sheer number of people who instantly stopped what they were doing to reply to this call for action, causing a traffic jam on that website.

When I was finally able to sign the online petition Feb. 27, the goal on the change.org website was 25,000 and they had over 19,000 signatures. As of 5:00 pm Feb. 28, they were just under 100,000 signatures with a goal of 150,000. On March 2, they had over 186,000, and were averaging 500 signees every minute. The petition Katy is deliverying to the MPAA on March 7 has been signed by almost 220,000 people. In a little over a week.

As a parent featured in the film “Bully” says, “Everything starts with one and builds up.” Be the one. Tell your story.