Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

 

 A few weeks ago, I received an email from PEN America informing me that Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult had been banned in some places. The notification piqued my curiosity, so I requested the book from my local library. In the story there is a school shooting in which several people die. However, the book is not about gun legislation. The novel focuses on an issue that is often neglected: bullying.

  After reading the beginning of the novel, I wondered if I would be motivated enough to finish it. Why? The reason for my skepticism was that the behaviors of the teenagers showed an astounding degree of shallowness and frivolity. Their relationships were superficial and devoid of empathy and curiosity about the world around them. Their purpose was to be popular and to denigrate those who were different from them.

 The teenagers at Sterling High School behave in ways that follow a tyrannical set of social hierarchies in which a few students are considered "popular" and of higher status, and the ones who do not fit in are abused and treated with disrespect and contempt. Bullying is normalized as part of this “culture.”

   My thirst for justice along with Jodi Picoult’s captivating writing style held my interest, so I finished the read with a flow of reflections and the motivation to research the topic of bullying further, to support those who are trapped in this horrifying pattern. 

   My thirst for justice was not quenched when I reached the end of the novel. 

  The read left me with a sense of hopelessness.

  Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes deserves attention and can be used to share honest discussions on the issue of bullying in schools and everywhere.

  Peter Houghton was only five years old when he became the target of school bullies, on his first day of kindergarten. It was heartbreaking to learn that his Superman lunch box was thrown out the school bus window. No adult cared to intervene to help him. Peter was bullied on a daily basis for many years:

 “From that first day in kindergarten, Peter experienced a daily barrage of taunting, tormenting, threatening and bullying. This child had been stuffed into lockers, had his head shoved into toilets. He had been tripped and punched and kicked. He had a private email spammed out to an entire school. He’s had his pants pulled down in the middle of the school cafeteria. Peter’s reality was a world where, no matter what he did—no matter how small and insignificant he made himself—he was still always the victim. And as a result, he started to turn into an alternate world: one created by himself in the safety of HTML code. Peter set up his own website, created video games and filled them with the kind of people he wished were surrounding him.”

  Somehow his creative skills and sensitive nature were not valued by the standards of the school he attended. 

   It was shocking to read how the parents of the teenagers portrayed in the novel were detached from their own children. The communication between parents and teenagers lacked authenticity. It was as superficial as the relationships with the teenagers’ school friends.

  The teenagers did not communicate with their parents in genuine ways; a false sense of independence appears to cloud the potential for honest conversations between parents and teenagers. Hiding away issues from their parents is considered an acceptable indicator of their sense of independence. This detachment stems from the false notion of providing that state of the so-called independence. It is used to excuse, ignore and/or condone all kinds of behaviors that taint their process of growth and maturation. Some of these teenagers become sexually active at age 15, drink alcohol, take drugs and/or resort to all kinds of senseless behaviors at school. In some cases, their parents seem to condone or ignore these behaviors; they even seem to consider them acceptable or inevitable.

  At school, these teenagers did not have any kind of guide on how to behave toward one another. In fact, the school environment resembled that of a prison. It reminded me of John Taylor Gatto’s book Dumbing us Down, which I read over ten years ago, in which he compared schools to prisons.

  The fact that school staff are complicit in the bullying or even choose to punish Peter when he defends himself and never advocate for him leaves a very distressing feeling in the reader.

    For example, the gym teacher has a very distorted view of bullying. Dusty Spears, the gym teacher at Sterling School, understands bullies and is on their side. He thinks that bullying is a normal part of growing up and that bullies are supposed to be rewarded. This is clearly stated on page 656 of the large print edition, “Dusty Spears understands kids like Drew Girard because he had once been one. The way he saw it, bullies either were good enough to get football scholarships to big ten schools, where they could make the business connections...”

  One of the main characters is Josie Cormier. Her behavior changes through the years. She used to be Peter’s best friend, but during her teenage years, her behavior shifts in unpredictable ways as a result of a toxic relationship with her boyfriend and her motivation to be one of the popular girls. She becomes the girlfriend of one of the most violent bullies: Matt Royston. The most disturbing aspect of their relationship is that he abuses her emotionally and even threatens her physically. Everybody thinks they have an ideal romantic relationship when this is not the case. Matt and Josie are sexually active and Josie’s mother appears to be okay with that.

  Picoult exposes the abuse of Josie by Matt Royston by showing it through various unsettling situations, but Picoult does little to discuss the matter openly through the characters in a direct way to avoid the normalization of such a toxic relationship. I feel this is a weakness of the book. 

  The relationship between Josie Cormier and Matt Royston calls for a thorough discussion about respect in romantic relationships.  I was expecting that would happen at some point, but it never happened. The way I see it, this void in the book requires the work of mentors, parents, teachers and counselors.

    I was hoping and expecting that Alex, Josie’s mother, would have an insightful conversation with Josie on this, and that there would be a reflection on the relationship that was masked as “love.”

  The book was published in 2007. Has bullying changed since then? Are schools doing more to address it?  As I researched the topic to write this blog post, I was shocked to find an endless list of children and teenagers who committed suicide after they had been bullied. You can check this link yourself to verify my statement:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=cases+of+children+who+committed+suicide+after+being+bullied&ia=web

 If you come across people who underestimate and dismiss the serious effects of bullying, I encourage you to educate the deniers on the impact that bullying has. First of all, bullying is not a normal part of growing up. Bullying can lead to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other consequences. It can lead to suicidal ideation, and even suicide. It can rarely cause what Peter did. Peter followed the pressure of the social context in which he grew up and ended up doing what he did…

 There is a twist at the end of the novel that could have been fleshed out to shed light on the abusive relationship that Matt had with Josie, but not much is said about it.

  As explained in an article published by Frontiers in Public Health in 2019 bullying may include verbal hostility, teasing, physical violence and social exclusion, and the consequences of bullying can be severe:

 “Many studies have found that bullying is the root of severe negative psychological and physical consequences, including depression, anxiety, reduced self-esteem, decreased school attendance, somatization, as well as suicide, suicide ideation and attempts.” Some researchers claim that school bullying can cause symptoms such as those experienced by survivors of child maltreatment and abuse. It can even hamper bio-psycho-social growth.

 

 When bullying happens there is an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and victim, which can lead into a sense of helplessness and weakness. The pattern of bullying can undermine a victim’s sense of self and can cause short-term and long-term consequences.

 Why do bullies bully? They bully because they can. Lea Page says that it takes a village to make a bully… and it takes a village to stop one. Nineteen Minutes elucidates the roles that bystanders play in the social dynamics of bullying. I am now referring to those who witness the bullying without standing up to the bully. Some of the onlookers feel fear and guilt due to their own lack of response, so it is important to discuss this topic and to address it. Banning a book that deals with the topic is not the solution. Some bystanders celebrate the bully. They even support the bully and act in ways that perpetuate the pattern of bullying. I noticed that the “popular” girls had a positive attitude toward the revolting behaviors of Matt Royston and Drew Girard. They celebrated them.

When dangerous behaviors are normalized and celebrated, the pattern of bullying is established, creating an atmosphere where respect and kindness no longer matter.  

 In 2016 somebody said that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and his supporters would still support him. Take a moment to reflect on this comment. What does it imply? This comment was made by a presidential candidate: Donald Trump. It implies that violence is acceptable in the eyes of his supporters. It implies that as long as he is responsible for the violence, his supporters will condone it and normalize it. This is dangerous. How can we teach ethical behaviors to children and teenagers when a pattern is set to make it acceptable for a man to do this?  How is it acceptable to make him president?  There is no way we can live in a civilized society when we empower a bully. In fact, one of his own 2016 supporters even tried to shoot him recently, which proves my point. (What goes around, comes around).

  The girls who cheered Matt Royston are not different from the adult women who celebrate and support a bully trying to become president, so I can see a pattern that needs to be addressed, because the ways adults behave are not ignored by teenagers, and they will make a difference in the way we live our lives.

   I hope this blog post will be a helpful resource to raise awareness on the topic of bullying. Bullying awareness month is coming up, so this is an opportunity to work to both prevent and address bullying in schools and everywhere.

 

 Supplementary links:

 https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/what-you-need-know-about-school-violence-and-bullying

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/202010/us-high-school-bullying-rates-arent-going-down

https://hr.nih.gov/working-nih/civil/national-bullying-awareness-month

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daughter-bullied-school-adult-bystanders_n_664fcce1e4b058247fa22914#

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6465416/

 

https://time.com/4191598/donald-trump-says-he-could-shoot-somebody-and-not-lose-voters/

https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/23/politics/donald-trump-shoot-somebody-support/index.html

 https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/15-year-old-boy-cyberbullying-suicide-latin-school-chicago-lawsuit/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-child-died-suicide-online-game-cyberbullying-authorities-said-rcna129247

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adriana-kuch-new-jersey-online-attack-video-four-charged/

https://wsbt.com/news/operation-education/rio-allred-bully-anxiety-depression-suicide-behavior-prevention-cyber-bullying-report-schools-respond-rios-rainbow-elkhart-indiana

The Creative Lives of Animals by Carol Gigliotti

 

  How do non-human animals’ creative processes contribute to the diversity of the planet we share? This question guided Carol Gigliotti through the maze of writing The Creative Lives of Animals. I had this book in my reading list before it won the 2023 Nautilus Book Award in the category of Animals and Nature, so it was a pleasant surprise to learn about this recognition.

  The author examines the scientific research on the multiple ways non-human animals create, blending into her narrative  insights, reflections and memorable personal experiences.

 Based on her detailed work of research, Gigliotti asserts that animals are creative in ways that are similar to humans and decidedly unique.

 Before delving into the examples of creativity in animals, she explores the concept of creativity, acknowledging some of the qualities that make up the mosaic of creativity, such as flexibility, curiosity, intelligence, persistence and comfort with complexity. Her book also reflects on how creativity intersects with empathy, cooperation and morality.

 The creative process engages emotional aspects as well as cognitive ones.

 “If you created anything, whether that something is a favorite recipe, a garden plan, or a new app, you know that thoughts about the past, the future, and the feelings of others often arise in the creative process you used to make that dish, plan that garden, or design that new app, and may influence it.”

  Traditional views of creativity used to be restricted to focus on the most celebrated human artists, scientists and innovators, but the concept has expanded to appreciate the creativity of ordinary individuals and the cooperation among groups of people. How can creativity play a role in a community and impact a culture? How does creativity manifest in the world in ways that go beyond the human contribution?

 “The creativity of animals exists on the individual, group, species and ecosystem level, and the loss of an individual animal is the loss of that individual’s contribution to those interactions.”

 We are only one species out of millions of species who inhabit the earth. The chapters of the book describe acts of creativity in various species of animals. 

 Over the last five years research has evolved considerably in the field of animal behavior. Non-human animals are no longer viewed as automatons that follow natural instincts but as complex individuals with personalities, intelligence, emotions, and even aesthetic sensitivity.  There is still a lot to be learned about their complexity.

  “I made the decision to focus on the creativity of animals not in comparison or in contrast to human creativity but to see both as part of a ‘deep source’ of encompassing creativity. “

 One of the most memorable experiences she shares in The Creative Lives of Animals takes us back to a remote mysterious place where the lives of humans are deeply intertwined with those of animals. Respect and knowledge are at the core of their coexistence. Her days there “opened her eyes to animals as members of families and cultures”. Gigliotti stayed with the Kitasoo/Xai’xais in the village of Klemtu on the island of Princess Royal in northern British Columbia, home to the Spirit Bear. There are still no roads there. “The ratio of humans to land is quite low and so, compared to many places on earth, untouched by humans.” The unemployment rate was reduced from eighty percent to ten percent. Money is used to protect the people and the animals, and to sustain their communities. The Coastal Guardian Watchmen protect the wolves, bears, raptors and other animals from trophy hunting.

 Gigliotti spent many hours talking to the people at Klemtu to understand the relationship between the community of indigenous people and the animals who inhabit the tribal lands.

  Animals that are considered “ferocious”, evil” or “hunting trophies” by other human cultures are treated with respect in Klemtu. Doug, a former chief leader, as well as other bandmates are very knowledgeable about bears and other animals in the region, and their curiosity and understanding of bears contribute to a peaceful coexistence.  For example, they understand the bears’ reactions to different colors. They’d researched this by wearing different-colored clothes on different days.

  After an interesting journey by tugboat through glacier-carved fjords, a visitor asked Doug about a case he had been carrying. The visitor was convinced it was a gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. The case contained a camera. Guns would have made things tense; bears and other animals would have treated them with distrust if Doug had been carrying a gun. Those were not needed.

  Perhaps her book will inspire humans to embrace ideas and actions that appreciate and respect the unique lives of animals as contributors to the diversity of the world. This intriguing book will hopefully encourage the newer generations of people to open up in the direction of new paths of cooperation and empathy not only toward non-human animals but also toward each other.

 I am sharing a couple of videos about the region and culture I mentioned in my post: Klemtu.

This one is about bears in Klemtu:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTD4-FfRf3I

This one is about  how they have addressed unemployment and so much more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3JLBcLXnNA

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, you may be inclined to read my reviews on the following books:

The Wisdom of Wolves by Jim and Jamie Dutcher.

Sweet inTooth and Claw by Kristin Ohlson.

Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals

 

  

 Soon after I wrote my post on “Unforgotten” an interesting synchronicity took me by surprise: I came across the book Second Nature: The inner Lives of Animals, by animal behaviorist Jonathan Balcombe, in which he points out that referring to animals to insult humans is rooted in deep-seated prejudices and lack of knowledge. It is also an act that debases both humans and non-human beings.

  With clear evidence, Balcombe shatters the prejudices that have dominated the minds of people for centuries, and this makes me wonder why this book did not get the attention it deserves.

 

Are you aware, for example, of the altruistic behaviors of vampire bats? Balcombe’s book details how vampire bats share and help each other in times of need. You will probably be astonished to learn that rats restrain themselves when they know their actions would cause pain to another individual.

 “Research has shown that rats would stop pressing a bar to obtain food if doing so delivered an electric shock to a rat next to them. Another experiment confronted rats with a fellow rat who was strapped tightly into a suspended harness. By pressing a lever, the witnessing rat could lower the other to the floor. This is what the witnessing rats did.”

    The facts he shares afford us the chance to reflect.

  

  It is not uncommon to hear stories that vilify sharks. Yet there are less than ten attacks on humans by sharks worldwide per year, whereas humans kill between 26 million and 73 million sharks per year.

   You may have been told that animal groups are autocracies. Evidence is mounting to prove the opposite; animal societies tend to function as democracies. Studies by Tim Roper and Larissa Conradt from the University of Sussex found that when a group of animals makes a decision to move somewhere, they respond to the “vote” of a majority (about 60%). In deer, the individual vote is expressed by standing up. African buffalo vote with the direction of the gaze. Whooper swans use head movements.

  Democracy also guides actions in social insects. For instance, when honeybees decide they need to move, the decision is democratic in nature.

 The mainstay of the survival of species is based on cooperation, not competition. When Jane Goodall discovered the behavior of sharing among chimpanzees, she awakened a new perception in scientists, who, from that point on, began to acknowledge sharing behaviors in other animals. You can learn more about this from Jonathan Balcombe’s book Second Nature.

 

 Balcombe sheds light on the ways animals cooperate with each other,  express gratitude and are prone to choose peace over violence. He gives examples of compassion among animals and on how they do  selfless acts for no tangible benefit to themselves. Their individual experiences, emotions and feelings play a role in their lives and in the ways they interact with each other.

  It has always been convenient for human beings to consider animals as irrational and savage to excuse the exploitation and abusive treatment of them. (Indeed, people may choose to believe what they want to believe, but this does not make humans morally superior).

  If you encounter people who think that cruelty against animals has nothing to do with societal human violence, you can let them know that various studies have shown there is a link between the two. Research done at Yale University has shown that there are strong associations between adult criminal behavior and childhood histories of animal cruelty.  Secondly, when cultural anthropologist David Levinson surveyed violence against women in ninety different human societies around the world, he found that victims were significantly more likely to be permanently injured, scarred, or killed by their husbands in societies in which animals were treated cruelly.

  Last but not least, “an extensive analysis of 581 American counties with and without slaughterhouses found that, compared to other industries, slaughterhouse employment increases arrest rates for violent crimes, rape, and other sexual offenses, presumably because the worker is desensitized to violence and cruelty.”

  Are humans morally superior? Jonathan Balcombe, animal behaviorist, does not think so. 

  Second Nature offers research and entertaining anecdotes that illuminate the inner lives of animals and inspire human beings to open their minds and hearts to the paths of wisdom, empathy and curiosity, and to become humble in this process of discovery.

  “When we make compassionate personal choices according to how they affect another, we are practicing Second Nature. The distinguished American biologist Edward O.Wilson coined the term biophilia to describe the connections that human beings unconsciously seek with the rest of life. Biophilia is the natural affinity—literally the love for life—that we may feel for a forest, the sound of ocean waves rolling onto a beach, the open sky or a butterfly.”

   Second Nature is a conscientious form of biophilia that happens when we extend this affinity to all individuals, recognizing that they have lives of value and that they want to live as much as we do. In Balcombe’s own words:

 “Extending our empathy and concern toward all who experience the ups and downs of life is neither strange nor radical. It is, after all, Second Nature.”

 This is the kind of book that leaves you thinking long after you finish it.

 

 I am horrified by the atrocities Vladimir Putin is causing in Ukraine. I stand with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom, life and liberty.