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After enduring online harassment and name-calling multiple times a week because of the shape of her nose, Nicolette Taylor, a 13 year-old from Long Island decided to take drastic action: plastic surgery, Nightline reported.
With her parents' blessing, Taylor went under the knife ... and got a new nose.
I find this appalling. What lesson is being taught here?
I find this appalling. What lesson is being taught here?
I would do the same thing for my kid! Lessons learned? For whom? While your kid is suffering, maybe suicidal, you are teaching other people a lesson? Kids who probably don;t give a damn anyways. No, I am all for it.
People are mean and sometimes you have to do something drastic to be able live a "normal life". As much as it sucks, that just how it is.
I think I'd rather be outraged by the bullies, than this girl.
Absolutely.
This girl had broken her nose twice BTW, which is what led to the bump in the first place. Why should she have to live with the after affects of an accident?
How does that build character?
I broke my nose when I was about 5/6/7 years old. I lost control going down a hill to the falls behind my house and my face hit smack into a pine tree. I didn't even brace the impact with my hands.
Nobody teased me but I sort of regret never getting it fixed at some point in my life. I did have one person comment on it when I was a young adult. I couldn't even imagine what a younger child would feel like if they had to endure that type of thing on a regular basis.
I agree with Mattie. This is correcting an injury from an accident. I view it no different than splastic surgery for a child who is a burn victim.
It shouldn't be appalling that a girl gets plastic surgery to correct an injury. It should be appalling that people were constantly harassing her about her nose. It's all great talking about standing up for yourself and being happy with your looks but who actually wants to endure that kind of teasing day after day if it's possible to stop it? Braces are cosmetic but usually people aren't condemned for straightening their teeth.
I would help my daughter not so much because of the bullying, but because of the self image issues. If it would help boost her self esteem, then yes I would have the nose job done.
I think it's sad that the girl felt forced to do this because of bullying, and the worst part is that I'm not convinced this will really change the situation at all. The sad fact is that she's already become a victim, and kids that age are cruel and are not quick to change their behaviours - once someone's been ostracized as an outcast, it's not easy to change that status. Is it really as simple as she'll come in with a new nose and automatically be welcomed in? Unlikely; it's much more likely that she'll be teased even more for having done the surgery in the first place. They'll prey on the fact that her nose was so bad in the first place that she needed surgery. It'll be like she has publicly admitted her weakness, which is what bullying is really all about - it's not about looks for the most part, much more so about power dynamics and confidence. A bunch of the more popular girls in our school weren't even pretty, if not downright unattractive, chubby, big noses, you name it. Didn't stop them from being queen bees - they had the confidence or whatever it is. We had a new girl transfer in grade 11 who was extremely pretty, beautiful face, playboy-type figure, very nice and friendly, not stuck-up, bitchy, mean or slutty at the least - she got hell for a while from jealous girls who spread insults and rumours, and even the boys who openly sexually harassed her with each step and progressed to dirty insults when she wasn't interested in being an easy lay. It's not about looks, brains, athletics or anything else - it's that kids aren't being raised properly and can be truly disgusting beings. I really hope things will turn around for Nicolette; but I think her best option is to switch schools and communities if she wants to truly make a fresh start with her new look and hopefully the confidence that stems from it.
I too worry that this will certainly not be the end of the bullying for this kid, but I would not hesitate to have an injury corrected. I agree that the bullies' behavior is what is appalling here, not getting the corrective surgery.
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