Bullying is dehumanizing, both for the person who bullies, and for the person being
bullied. Unfortunately there is no age limit for bullying. It happens by and to students. It happens by and to prejudiced groups of all ages, sexes, politics and social economics. It happens all too often in today’s work force by employers, who know they can push people more because they know jobs are so hard to come by, to employees who allow themselves to be bullied for fear of losing their jobs. It happens on the political stage when the top political bulldog uses bullying to threaten and manipulate the political underlings to do the bully’s bidding. Bullying happens face to face, while cyberbullying relentlessly continues online. What can we do to stop it?
Stand up to the bully.
First, be smart. This does not mean turning everything into a fist fight. If you are the student being bullied, no matter what the bully is telling you, tell your teachers, your guidance counselors, your principal, your parents and in politics tell the press.
Bullies only continue to bully when they are allowed to keep bullying.
Bullies only continue to bully when no one stands up to them.
Know that you are not alone. It is state law that teachers must report the bullying to their superiors. Schools are improving their programs to address this kind of attack on students. If it keeps happening, keep telling. Never give up. There are some things you can do for yourself, beginning with bolstering your self esteem.
Just because someone says something about you, does not make it true. You are made in the image and likeness of God. God does not make junk. God made you and you are perfect, just they way you are. You will not be perfect if…, or when … you are perfect now.
Second, grow in character. Realize you are a whole person no matter what sexual orientation you are, no matter what gender you are, no matter if you are underweight, no matter if you are overweight, no matter what, you are perfect the way you are, right this very moment. Do not agree with every negative thought, word or idea that comes from a bully’s mouth. Just because someone says something negative does not make it true. Understand that there are people willing to help you.
We may have thought that prejudices were a thing of the past, but unfortunately they are not. We’d like to think we are so advanced these days, but it seems on many issues we are still in the caveman era. There are many kinds of prejudices that play into the hand of bullying. The person bullying decreases in character development by bullying. Seemingly good people, even Christian people, with not so good intent, harm others psychologically by badgering them, instilling them with fear if they are not like-minded people, whether it’s for gay rights, birth control, immigration, wealth equality/inequality or any other difference in belief.
Bullying makes people less human. Bullying makes people less spiritual. No matter what our religious belief system is, bullying is not the way to get the message out. Attacking someone’s character either privately or publically is not a spiritual practice.
Can you see Jesus or Buddha now, diminishing a person by personal attacks? That would be a twisted and perverted belief system.
Lady Gaga said on twitter, “Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime.”
Young people are not alone on the bullying front. Adults are also bullies and are victims of bullies. As sad as it is when young people get bullied, it is pathetic when adults get into the bullying game. It is pathetic because we should know better. It is particularly sad because we know what we say to our children when they get bullied. We tell them, “STAND UP TO THE BULLY!” But it seems as adults, we have become poor role models for our children when we show them how to cave in to the whims and wiles of the bully.
Why do adults cave in to the whims and wiles of adult bullies? We want to keep our jobs. We want to put food on the tables for our children. We want to advance in our careers. We want to be re-elected to public service, supposedly for the greater good of our nation. However, if we do not stand up for injustice and bullying when it happens to us, we will never be able to stop greater injustices and bullying tactics within and without our families, neighborhoods, states, nation as well as internationally. We are now seeing this playing out on the world stage.
Anytime we act out in ways that are beneath human dignity, we diminish our growth, mentally and spiritually. The first thing to do is the same first thing to do for a young person. Tell someone. If it is a prejudice hate crime, tell a police officer. If you are being bullied at work, go to your human resources department. If you are being bullied in your political party, tell the press. Do not remain silent.
You have a right not to be bullied.
Bullies only win if we let them.
Bullies don’t really want to fight. They want to get their way. They have ulterior motives. They only want to torment, as a diversion and cause fear, in order that they get their own way, much like a two-year old. Pure motives have nothing to do with bullying. Bullies are weak. They are vulnerable. As more and more people, young and old, stand up and refuse to be tongue whipped by inferior, manipulating mortals, it will become easier to stand up for truth.
Standing up for truth, honor, and integrity does not have to be done viciously. Anger and hostility do not need to be present. We simply need to say what we need to say. Bullies know how to push emotional buttons. That’s part of the game. But if we can stay level emotionally, that will be one less battle they will have won.
As more and more of us stand up to private and public bullies, the growing consensus of truth, integrity and honor will finally be able to hail freedom and liberty as once intended for all of us in this great country, extending to all human beings in our human family throughout the world.
You are a wonder-filled creation of God. You are filled with God’s spirit by the very breath you breathe. Stand up for truth. Stand up for integrity. Stand up for peaceful solutions and peaceful resolutions. You are not alone. We are all One.
Namaste.