Biography
Early life
Halligan was born on December 18, 1989, in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of John P. and Kelly Halligan. His family moved to Essex Junction, Vermont, where Halligan attended Hiawatha Elementary School and, later, Albert D. Lawton Middle School. He was described by his father as a "gentle, very sensitive soul," who experienced some developmental delays affecting speech and physical coordination in his early school years. Although he overcame those difficulties by the fourth grade, "He still struggled; school was never easy to him, but he always showed up with a smile on his face, eager to do his best," said his father.Bullying
2000–2001
When Halligan was in 5th grade, he started to suffer bullying at the hands of a group of students at his school because of his learning disorder, his passion for music (drums and guitar), and his love for drama. His father said that when Halligan told him he was being picked on, his initial response was to ignore the boys, as they were just bullying him with words. The family later said in a short documentary that Halligan enrolled in counseling, with little success. After that he moved up to middle school, where the bullying continued when Halligan was in 7th grade.2002–2003
In December 2002, Halligan told his father that the bullying had started again. He asked for a Tae Bo Kick Boxing set for Christmas in order to learn how to defend himself. At first, his father wanted to go to the school principal and sort things out, but Halligan insisted that he wanted to learn how to fight, believing that complaining to the school about the boys would make things worse. After Christmas, Halligan and his father developed a routine of practicing downstairs in the basement for 2 hours every night. After he had learned to defend himself, his father told him not to pick fights at school, but said that if any student ever touched him aggressively, Halligan had his father's permission to defend himself. In February 2003, Halligan had a fight with a bully, which was broken up by the assistant principal; after that, the bully stopped bothering him. Halligan's father said that he was proud of his son for sticking up for himself. Toward the end of 7th grade, Halligan told his father that he and the bully had become friends. His parents warned him to be careful about the friendship, because the bully had been harassing him for a long time. The two boys were friends for a short amount of time. After Halligan told the bully about an embarrassing examination required after he had stomach pains, he learned that the bully misused the story to spread a rumor that Halligan was gay.Summer 2003
According to his father and news reports, during the summer of 2003, Halligan spent much of his time online, particularly on AIM and other instant messaging services. Halligan did not tell his parents about this. During the summer, he was cyber-bullied by schoolmates who taunted him, thinking he was gay. Halligan was also bullied at school about this; his father later learned that on one occasion, Halligan ran out of the classroom in tears. As Halligan had unintentionally archived these online conversations on his hard drive when he installedDeath and subsequent cyberbullying scandal
On October 7, 2003, Halligan's father was away on a business trip. Early in the morning, when the other family members were still sleeping, Halligan hanged himself with a bathrobe tie that belonged to his older sister Megan, who later found his body. Although Halligan left no suicide note, his father learned of the cyberbullying when he accessed his son's computer. He checked his son's yearbook first and found the faces of the bullying group scribbled out. Halligan had scribbled over the face of the ringleader (the same boy who bullied Halligan, befriended him, and then started the gay rumor) so aggressively he had torn the paper. Halligan accessed his son's computer and first learned of the cyber-bullying when his son's friends told him. When he learned that Ashley was being blamed for Halligan's suicide, Halligan had her brought over to his house. He reportedly said to her, "You did a bad thing, but you're not a bad person." She appeared with Halligan on ABC's ''Primetime'' to speak out against bullying. Although the Halligans moved out of Vermont, she still maintains contact with them. He later confronted the bully who had started the gay rumor after finding out that he made fun of how Halligan killed himself. At first, he was so angry that he wanted to go to the boy's house and "crush that little jerk," but had time to think about it while stuck at a junction. Halligan reportedly said to the boy, "You have no idea the amount of pain you caused my son. And you're still bullying him now even when he's defenseless and you are still lying to your parents about it. I refuse to believe that you are so cruel and that you don't have a heart." Shortly afterward the bully broke down in tears and repeatedly apologized for what he did. Halligan wanted to file charges against the bully but the police said there was no criminal law that covered the relevant circumstances. Halligan forgave the boy as well as Ashley. After learning the name of the pen-pal, Halligan's father went to his house and talked with his parents. Halligan said that he did not want the pen-pal to use the conversations for "something dark." While at the pen-pal's house, Halligan learned that the boy's father never received any hard copies of the conversations. The pen-pal's mother came and pulled out the hard copies from under the sofa, showing them to the father for "what appeared to be the first time." While the father was looking at the copies, the mother threw Halligan out. Halligan said that he never got a satisfying response from the boy or his family. He still visits the boy's website, which contains several references to death and suicide. Halligan soon began lobbying for legislation in Vermont to improve how schools address bullying and suicide prevention. He has also given speeches to schools in various states about the story of his son and the devastating effects of cyber-bullying among teens. Vermont enacted a Bullying Prevention Policy Law in May 2004 and later adopted a Suicide Prevention Law (Act 114) in 2005, closely following a draft submitted by Halligan's father. The law provides measures to assist teachers and others to recognize and respond to depression and suicide risks among teens. Halligan's case has also been cited by legislators in other states proposing legislation to curb cyber-bullying. Halligan's story was featured on a ''Frontline'' television program entitled "Growing Up Online", produced in January 2008, by WGBH-TV in Boston and distributed nationwide over PBS. In it, his father recounts his shock upon discovering the extent of the abuse his son endured, saying he believes that bullying on the internet "amplified and accelerated the hurt and pain he was trying to deal with, that started in the real world." Halligan's story has also been featured on '' Oprah'' in a report they did on a rise in homophobic teasing in schools. In addition, he presented his powerful assembly to many schools across the country. Halligan's story was also featured in Max Hechtman's 2018 documentary, ''Stories of Strength and Hope: Preventing Youth Suicide'', supported by an on-screen interview with John Halligan. Today Halligan visits other schools to inform students about his son's death and how it has changed his life.See also
* Harassment by computer *References
External links
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