Bullying

Bullying is getting so much attention on the news lately – almost as if this generation invented it.  Even the President had some comments on the issue.  True, there have been some reported suicides due to the peer pressure and harassment; and there are faster means of distributing misinformation, threats and insults, so the problem seems worse, but is it really?  And if it is, could it be another consequence of our societal behavior?

The truth is, bullying has been around for ages.  It’s not a recent invention.  It was dealt with in the past by parents and teachers.  Generally they worked as a team, rather than the parent automatically siding with the child.  They had more tools at their disposal for punishing miscreants and the person being picked on was encouraged to ignore or resist before adults became involved.  Still, children felt bad and had their feelings hurt and some people today carry psychological scars from being singled out or picked on.  Were there suicides?  Perhaps, but they were not broadcast nationwide as they are today, so we don’t know.  I do know that when I was picked on in school, President Eisenhower was too busy building an interstate highway system and fighting the cold war to worry about it.

Bullying is about power.  Part of that power comes from being bigger and stronger (and insecure).  Part of that power comes from parents and teachers who are too busy or distracted to supervise the children, too hamstrung by rules and regulations to take appropriate action, or too irresponsible to care.  Part of the power comes from the way other students cowardly keep the ball rolling after the bullying starts, believing, much like their parents that being “cool” and “in” is a top priority (see blog dated 10/17).  Part of that power comes from the person being bullied who has been brought up in a society where victimhood has been popularized, used by various advocates to gain a platform at the expense of their constituency.

In a society that promotes celebrating diversity, students who are different (and aren’t we all?) should be made to feel special and not inferior.  Unfortunately the institutional definition of diversity continues to be restricted, mostly not recognizing different talents and relevant experiences.

If bullying is becoming a bigger problem, it is very possible that the cause is largely related to societal failures in responsibility and our lack of perspective passed along to our children.