Unfortunately the realities depicted in our latest music video “Fragile” are all too common. One Technician who stood up to bullying identified with the story very clearly.

Kyle Thorn, 21, from Cooperstown, New York, wasn’t the type to stand by silently while others were receiving treatment similar to the main character in “Fragile”. Unlike most, he’d often take a stand, even though it made him a target for the very thing he was taking a stand for: bullying.

Is Kyle a saint? Like Tech N9ne, no he’s not, he’s just a human being that stands for what he feel is right:

“Honestly it’s just like, I think everybody’s unique and nobody should be picked on for their quirks or their differences. It’s just something I do. I don’t know. It’s compassion, just being nice to another human being.”

Kyle recounted an instance in which this occurred, an incident that also confirms the still present problem of racism as well.

“One instance happened when I was really little. There’s this one kid that I used to sit with on the bus and they used to pick on him a lot because he was black. I told the older kid to stop. My brother rode the bus and he was friends with this older kid bullying him so he didn’t stand up for me. I’m the one who got picked on after that. As I got older though it generally stopped because I stood up to a lot of people.”

Kyle went on to tell how “Fragile” took him back to the school days he’s referring to.

“I tried to stop bullying a lot, because no one stood up for me and I always stand up to people and it was just crazy to see the Fragile video show that. That video hit really close to home, especially with the girl comforting that guy and giving him the violin and stuff. That meant a lot. That was something special.”

Even outside of the school setting, Kyle notes that he sees bullying at his current job just as much as he did back then. When hypothesizing on why bullies are the way they are, he hits the nail right on the head: “They have their own bad things going on in their life and maybe they distract themselves by taking it out on other people, which I think is wrong.”

What’s the solution? Surprisingly Kyle suggests that the intervention not only occur with victims of bullying, but even more importantly, with the bullies themselves.

“I think schools should have counselors, that if a teacher sees it, I think those kids that are bullying should have to talk to somebody and just figure them out and why they’re doing it and what they could do to solve it to make it stop.”

Kyle’s message to Tech for the song and video is simply one of thanks. To him and many kids experiencing the effects of bullying and all the other real life subjects him and Strange Music touch on, the music speaks volumes.

“Thank you for being not afraid to be real and put out something like that, especially with today’s music, how it is. To see something like that surface is just beautiful. Thank you.”

• – How has bullying affected you? Do you stand up to it?
• – Do you find the “Fragile” video to be relatable? How so?

Leave a comment below or e-mail fans@strangemusicinc.com. We want to hear your story!