You will want to listen to this.
Pork chop.
To this day, the unwanted nickname given to Shane Koyczan by childhood bullies is still an emotional trigger.
“I don’t think you grow out of things like that,” said the Canadian slam poet in response to naysayers who believe kids can “grow out” of bullying.
“Their idea of growing out of it is to push it so far back into the closet that it’ll only be dealt with from time to time.”
Bullying — not just on the playground, but in life and beyond — is the topic of Koyczan’s latest work, titled To This Day.
The poem and its accompanying video were released Tuesday, a week before Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 27.
The video was created using 20-second clips submitted by animators and artists from across the world, and illustrates Koyczan’s and other’s experiences with bullying.
When the 36-year-old spoke to The Province on Wednesday, the video had already sparked a flurry of discussion and had amassed some 75,000 views on YouTube.
According to the B.C.-raised poet, the video was meant to be a concise and direct look at the harmful, lasting effects of childhood bullying.
In one storyline, Koyczan highlights a young girl who was bullied for her appearances as a child and how that has become a part of her identity later in life, even as a mother and a wife.
“When things go viral, it really means that the world is scratching below the surface,” Koyczan said of the response to the video. “It tells me that [bullying] is not a Canadian problem, this is not a North American problem. This is an everywhere problem.
“If it’s happening everywhere, then everyone needs to come together to do something.”
One heartbreaking response Koyczan received following the poem’s release was from a mother whose nine-year-old daughter admitted to contemplating suicide.
“Nine! How do you arrive at a decision like that?” Koyczan asked.
“[The bullies] don’t care that she’s the school’s best artist, this incredible singer — they don’t know any of that because all they see is what they see.
“No one sees beyond anymore, no one cracks the book open.”
The poet also noted it’s important to not get caught up in “cute” words such as bullying and to acknowledge when bullying becomes a more serious matter such as assault.
For now, he hopes the poem and video will be a lightening rod for discussions.
“I just want people to see that they’re connected in more ways than they are,” he said.
“If you feel alone, there’s someone probably just down the street who feels the exact same way. That’s what connects you, that’s what makes you human. In a lot of ways, us being fragile is what gives us strength.”