Bullying is Never Okay Especially on National TV
Ms. Lara Spencer Good Morning America Laughs at Prince George
When I was in grammar school I was the only dark-skinned Latina in my Catholic grammar school. My parents worked hard to provide their only daughter with the best education they could. But I didn’t fit in. I had two friends in grammar school that I played with; they were both Cuban but light-skinned, blonde and brunette. Whenever our classmates saw us they called us the black and white tv. “Why tv”? I’m not sure. But it broke all three of our hearts. Thankfully this did not carry through high school or college; I was glad to leave this stigma behind. I managed to graduate college and work in the real world.
In a high-risk hospital, I encountered a professional stigma, nurses against aides and techs. I wanted to do a good job and help my patients. I worked with everyone, but yet, the nurses said, “you are one of us, you should not socialize at lunch/dinner with the techs or aides.” The techs/aides would say “you are a nurse but you are Latina and you need to be with your people and the African American staff.” As for the doctors, well, they were in their own world-but I got along with them, they were too busy for stigmas.
I quickly learned life’s lessons in the business world. I took on jobs where women were in power struggles: some of the older women had no respect for younger women and vise Versa. The level of your position made a difference as to who you socialized with. People forgot we were there to take care of the sick.
And then it happened, I was thrown into the world of Pageantry. What me? I’m the shorts and flip flops girl!
I became a mom of a preemie, gained 50 lbs. due to the stress of a boss who said she hated people, thought there was something wrong with my learning ability, had no respect for people, and thought reading books was a waste of time let alone writing one. I cried daily at my desk as a result of the bullying and stress this woman caused me. Until one day my doctor said “You need to lose weight, lower your blood pressure and change your eating habits or you may find yourself in an early grave. This started a healthy journey for me. I had to live for my son, my husband but most importantly, me. I had to love myself because God loved me and He had a plan for my life.
Most of my close friends knew I was never a public speaker nor did I desire to share my testimony publicly. I was actually very shy. I used to sing as a child and through my teens until one day someone said to me, “you look silly singing in the church choir.” I allowed someone’s criticism to ruin my privilege to serve the Lord through worship. I hid behind dance because I could express myself and not use my voice to speak to others about Jesus and what He did in my life.
He took control of my life. I went through trial after trial until one day He inspired me to write my testimony in my very first book, titled A Story of Faith. I thought that was sufficient, but it wasn’t. He continued to give me test after test and each one became a testimony. He gave me divine appointments to speak to women who were going through difficult situations. I started to seek the Lord’s guidance, asking Him to fill my mouth with the right words to empower young and older women.
I thought to myself never will I lose 50 lbs! But through eating properly, training with a trainer, and God’s motivation, someone noticed. An acquaintance said, “You know if you get involved in a pageant you can reach a diverse audience that will learn about your charity and help you spread the word about the Gift of Life.” I thought, “No one cares about pageants” (I certainly didn’t) until I tested out the theory.
I emailed a hotel the year prior to becoming a pageant queen asking for a donation to the Gift of Life and received a reply, “we don’t have any donations at this time, but try again next year”. So the next year I sent an email, copying the same email, but signing my name as Mrs. Windermere. This was the start of a shift in favor of people. This time around, I not only received approval for a donation, but the donation was more than I expected; a weekend getaway package to auction off at our Gala. The pageantry gave me (“just Rosie Moore”) celebrity status almost overnight.
My first ever competition was an eye-opener. I felt alone amongst women who were beautiful, wealthy and eager to push any competitor out of their way. I once again experienced exclusion because of my skin color and heritage as a Latina. I was done with pageantry, one time was enough for me.
Someone in the audience noticed me at the pageant with all the bad experience. She saw something beyond my heritage; she saw that I had a platform plus a genuine love of people. She convinced me to try again so I prepared for a year and qualified to be Mrs. Windermere International.
This time things were different. My peers voted me Mrs. Congeniality and I received the Community Service Award. The following year, I went on to represent Mrs. Michigan International of which I had the opportunity to not only crown my successor but to share my testimony regarding the Gift of Life.
Today, I am the reigning “Mrs. Southern States International I have the ability to share my testimony, the Gift of Life and my faith in Jesus! What I learned is that there is only one winner in the eyes of man. But, in the eyes of God, we are all winners.
It’s easy for us to fall into the same treatment we receive from others and although it hurts and we want to hurt others with the same measure, we must resist hurting others with criticism because of our own wounds. We will have a great reward as long as we believe God has us in His hands.
This is why it pains me to hear on national television a grow woman Good Morning America” host Lara Spencer, bullying a 6-year-old boy and eliciting laughter from the audience and co-hosts because he is taking ballet. What is so funny about that? Would she have had the same sarcastic remark had it been a little girl? Prince George will be able to make that decision as an adult for himself one day when he decides what his career path should be. As a dancer who has taken ballet and danced in ballet productions, I know the importance of this being the foundation for any style of dance. I encourage Lara Spencer to google famous ballet dancers and what they have brought to the world of entertainment, Mikhail Baryshnikov is one that comes to mind. Ballet is the foundation of any style of dance, a dancer is recognized by his or her training in ballet because the way that they carry their posture stands out. Football players take ballet not only to help them be flexible in their sport but ballet improves their focus by helping them concentrate on precise movements needed in football. Ballet has been proven to boost the concentration, improve memory, and helps people to understand music and rhythm which ultimately can improve body awareness and physical control. If you have a tendency to be clumsy, ballet training can help improve that. Not everyone who takes ballet or any style of dance will become a world-famous dancer, but the opportunity to allow someone to express themselves through dance does wonder. That is why in a major study it has been proven that when you stimulate your mind by dancing, it can increase cognitive ability, therefore, decreasing the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia.
So to Ms. Lara Spencer of Good Morning America, choose your words wisely the next time that you are sharing news or a story because your words are a double edge sword that can be hurtful to someone who is listening. I used to like watching Good Morning America and hearing the stories that were shared, but now I am appalled that Good Morning America would allow this type of bullying of a child to take place on national television.
If you missed the story, here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e27c3JmlbNM
