This story makes my heart ache. High school wasn’t easy for many of us, and Whitney Kropp’s recent experience reminds all high school survivors that cruelty will always exist within a school’s walls. Apparently, some girls from a small Michigan town didn’t figure out that whole moral thingy to Carrie‘s story. Instead, they went ahead and jokingly voted for the unpopular Kropp for Homecoming court because they cannot grasp the concept of tasteful humor. Read Kropp’s story and what the community did in response to her humiliation after the jump.
Earlier this month at Ogemaw Heights High School, sophomore Whitney Kropp heard her name on the morning announcements for Homecoming court nominations. Being as unpopular as she was, she was totally shocked but still very excited. But her initial sentiments became heavily tested throughout the day. Classmates in the hallways started pointing and laughing at her. And then she heard that her male counterpart withdrew his name from the court because he felt uncomfortable being named next to her. Fighting the negative energy surrounding her, Kropp kept her head up and managed to maintain her joy.
That night, she updated her Facebook status:
“In the Homecoming Court!
” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Little nervous but this is going to be fun
“Probably not with Josh though,” wrote back a sophomore girl.
“He couldnt do it cause of football plus he never goes to homecoming,” said Kropp.
“That’s not what he told everybody,” said the girl.
“what did he say?” asked Kropp.
The other girl didn’t respond.
“Oh. Well it don’t matter to me anyways,” Kropp wrote four minutes later. “I thought it would be awkward anyways.”
That night, Kropp’s mom found her crying in her bedroom. She no longer wanted to do it.
Isn’t picking on the unpopular friggin’ HILARIOUS?!
Whitney Kropp’s mom encouraged her daughter to show the bullies that they failed. Go to Homecoming and have a blast! Whitney then updated her Facebook status to : “”Going to homecoming to show them that I’m not a joke… Im a beautiful person and you shouldn’t mess with me!”
Word spread of Whitney’s humiliation but ultimate courage to rise above the cruel joke. The town then created a Facebook support page which amassed a huge following in no time. Local businesses offered to treat her for her big Homecoming night: nails, dress, dinner, pictures, you name it. Now Whitney is embracing the support and happy she had the guts to stand up to her bullies with the entire town to back her.
The school says it is investigating the incident.
I feel for this girl. Being a chubby, pimply and oftentimes stuttering mixed race girl, I had my fair share of bullying from my hometown’s aspiring beacon of snobbery. Thankfully, school administrations across the country are finally acknowledging the deteriorating disgrace that is bullying. I mean, have you seen Carrie? All that verbal abuse can make the wrong person crack, so you better ease off, mean girls.
What do you think of this story?
[via Jezebel]
Image source, Image source
hydrangea / 64 posts
It is absolutely disgraceful the things that people do to each other in order to get a rise at the other person’s expense. It is wonderful, however, that the town was able to rise to the occasion and show her that not everyone is that heartless and self-involved.
Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise – moment of immense self-affirmation in the guise of a terrible high school prank. I hope she is able to go on from this experience an even better person than she was going into it.
guest
People can be so cruel. I’m glad she’s keeping her head up.
guest
It never ceases to amaze me how immature some high school kids can be. Then there’s people like Whitney who are strong and rises above that. The jokes on them, because she’s got millions of supporters backing her up. I hope she has a wonderful time at homecoming, and I hopes she sees that high school is nothing but a fish bowl compared to the ocean that the rest of the world is. There’s going to be a lot more opportunities in the ocean for kind, strong women like her than for the scumbag bullies (and their weak followers) once they leave high school.
guest
I would love to kick those mean people in the shins.
guest
Every year, the freshman boys vote for the girl as a joke. The sophomores did it this year, too. Just goes to show how immature people are.
guest
Bullying absolutely sucks! I had a daughter who went through it most of her school life. She was not very popular, and was the first of her classmates to develop breasts. She would come home after school crying about her day. After the school was contacted many times about the problem, her mother and I were told that she would have to learn to deal with it.
By the time she graduated high school, she dealt with her problem by hooking up with a loser drugged out boyfriend. A few months later she had died of an overdose.
She would be around today, if it were not for bullying. (My other daughter is doing just fine)
rose / 786 posts
It all comes down to the fact that this world is a cruel place and we all need a savior.
guest
It’s mean, but wouldn’t it be obvious if it was a joke if you were already so unpopular? And it’s nice what the town did, but it’s also kind of babying her, in my opinion. I know bullying sucks but I feel like everyone should fight back for themselves. They shouldn’t have to rely on the adults of the town to save them.
guest
@SexyTall@xanga - Ermmm…not sure how you came to the conclusion the town was babying her. It’s called having the back of a young kid and showing her that while yeah, the world can be tough and have some rude, poorly raised people out there – there are many who AREN’T like that. The actions of the people in the town show her that it’s only a small, really dumb portion of the population who are so insecure that they need to humiliate others for entertainment. And it’s not her fault for not realizing it was a joke. Once again, she’s a kid. It’s likely she was just flattered and excited and didn’t even entertain thoughts of it being a cruel joke. Oh, and she did “fight back” for herself by taking a stand and still going. That’s when people started showing their support of her.
guest
high school is so petty. good for her!
guest
well things worked out in her favor!
God doesnt like ugly and while all the other people who were involved had to pay out of piocket for their prom services,
i bet this girl got everything for free!
you should soooo contact her and see what happened !
guest
This is a very inspirational story. I’m glad this girl decided to keep her head held high- it takes so much courage to do so. She is a fantastic, brave, and lovely human being.
guest
Good for her! I was bullied, and it was harder to deal with than I could possibly express in a short comment. The town getting behind this girl certainly won’t heal all the scars she probably has, but it’s at least a step in the right direction, and I applaud her for standing her ground.
guest
This almost happened to me during my senior year. Four girls in the senior class were picked every year to participate in the homecoming king and queen crowning ceremony. I just missed the cut at #5. A bunch of guys in my class were clearly bummed out about it, because they thought it’d be hilarious to see me up on stage next to the “popular” girls.
When I heard I was possibly in the running, I immediately decided that if I did make the top 4, I’d ask to be taken off the list because I knew it was just a huge joke. Huge props to this girl for not letting her classmates bring her down! I hope she has a great night.
guest
@lloydkuhnle@xanga - that is so sad
I wish schools dealt with this problem better!! This makes me so angry!!!! 
guest
@mkz@xanga - It made me so angry also. It’s something you really never get over.