It's National Bullying Prevention Month. Around Las Cruces, students are filing into school gyms for anti-bullying presentations, led not by coaches or counselors but a local celebrity with firsthand experience of the issue.
If you're a fan of Breaking Bad, you may remember this scene from the pilot. Walt Jr., a high schooler with cerebral palsy, is out shopping for new clothes and needs his dad's help to try on pants. Nearby, a few boys snicker and taunt him.
It's a fictional scene. But it hits close to home for RJ Mitte, the actor who played Walt Jr. for five critically-acclaimed seasons. Mitte was born with cerebral palsy, which affects muscle coordination. Growing up, he wore leg braces and, in his words, appeared slower than others.
"People viewed that as a weakness," Mitte says. "And I dealt with my fair share of bullies. I had my hand broken. I was called names."
That bullying motivated Mitte. "Every time there was someone that placed a limitation on me, I confronted those limitations," he says.
Now he's sharing his story with schools around Las Cruces.
On a Monday afternoon, hundreds of students pour into the gym at Picacho Middle School. They take their seats in the bleachers, leaning forward, elbows on knees.
Mitte says the sort of things you expect to hear at an anti-bullying assembly. It's important to believe in yourself. Don't let anyone else define you.
But he also shares his own experience, and how he responded when kids teased him in school.
"When people would talk about 'Oh, why are you walking like this? You look stupid. You got issues, man!' I'm like 'yeah, I got issues. But your issues are worse than my issues, because I do not put my issues onto other people.' And that's what bullies do. They take their doubts in who they are, and they project it onto you."
Then Mitte opens it up for questions. Some are on topic, like "what are the best strategies for dealing with bullies?" Others less so, like "how much did your suit cost?"
The same scene plays out at schools across the district.
Mitte doesn't define bullying in his presentation. But many experts agree it has three key elements: it's verbal or physical aggression or abuse that gets repeated over time, and there's a power imbalance.
"Almost 14% of Doña Ana County students and 18% of all students throughout New Mexico have been bullied," said Las Cruces mayor Ken Miyagishima at a recent press conference. "So that's almost one out of five."
The county is taking steps to change those statistics. There's a county-wide Coalition Against Bullying, which works with local school districts to address the problem.
For his part, RJ Mitte says the bullying might not ever go away, fully.
"But what we can do is help prevent it," he says. "Being there with peer-to-peer support and showing our students that you have the ability to protect yourself. You have the ability to protect others."
Mitte hopes his story can help students develop their own strong sense of self-worth.
