Frank Rendo’s “Don’t Laugh at Me” Addresses Bullying

Have you ever teased another person because they were different from you? Or judged the homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk because you believed that his destitute situation was his own fault? Have severe judgments from others left you feeling like an outcast? Bullying hurts. When we refuse to look another individual in the eye because we feel that person is beneath us or believe that it is okay to make fun of someone because he or she is “weird” what we are doing is actually a form of abuse. It is never okay to invalidate another human being, and our negative words and actions could linger in the mind and soul of that person for the rest of his or her life.
Issues like these are addressed in Frank Rendo’s “Don’t Laugh at Me.” The song was originally recorded by Country artist Mark Wills, and was introduced to Rendo by his friend Samantha Tetro. The Long Island born musician admits that taking on the project was an emotional endeavor.
“I can identity with it in a very great way,” says Rendo. “We all can.”
The song is featured on Frank Rendo’s 2009 Deliver Me album. It has had significant airplay on some local radio stations, including WHLI. This year Rendo’s friend and publicist Timothy San Paolo created two music videos for the recording. The first project, which was released in April, mostly features images of Rendo. Its purpose was to give the song more publicity. The newest video was released three weeks ago and includes a compilation of poignant images that are appropriately fitting to the content in the track. The images in combination with the lyrics and Rendo’s emotional interpretation of the song are sure to bring any person to tears.
“Frank puts so much feeling into his read of this song,” adds San Paolo. “He feels the story deeply.”
Rendo recognizes how easy it is for any person to be able to relate to the song.
“Seeing how we’ve all been laughed at, mocked, and treated cruelly by our friends, peers and society, I can’t help but think that everyone can be touched by the message of this song,” says Rendo. “Let’s face it, we’ve all been on both sides of this message: the laugher and the laughee!”
In an age where individuals are being bombarded with negative messages from our social media and young people are taking their lives due to the recent phenomenon known as “cyber-bullying” the present could not be a better time for the message heard in Frank Rendo’s “Don’t Laugh at Me.”

For more info on Frank Rendo’s music, check out the following websites:
http://www.CDBaby.com/Artist/FrankRendo
http://RamblingsRegardingRendo.blogspot.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/frankrendo

Originally written for examiner.com in 2010.