Bully

bul·ly1
ˈbo͝olē/
verb
gerund or present participle: bullying
  1. 1.
    use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.
    "a local man was bullied into helping them"

On the Day of Pink, we wore pink shirts, and for a day, we might have been nicer to each other than the day before.  I am just going to come out and say it.

One day and one pink shirt is just not enough.  I am not saying it is a waste of time to dedicate a day to anti-bullying. We do need a day.  We need more of them:  364 more to be exact times all the people in the world.

Instead of crying about the presence of bullying and its effect, we need to recognize the reality that there are bullies in the world and that no amount of pink shirt days will change that. What we need to change is the way we react to this behaviour.

People who bully others have a profound lack of emotional intelligence and disregard for themselves and others.  In other words, they are broken ducks.

The act of bullying occurs when one person asserts power over another with an intention to hurt another person.  If you have been bullied at home, at work, at school or even on the street, you know what I mean.  And let's face it, we have all been bullied.

There is a lot of emphasis on bullying in schools, but bullying also happens at home, in families, at work and on the streets. Children who exhibit this behaviour on the school ground grow up to be adults in the workplace. In the workplace, bullying tends to be more sophisticated, and less overt, but it is happening.

My position is that people who demonstrate these behaviours should not be allowed to hold a position of authority or power over another living being, including a dog.

Instead of dedicating a day to pink shirts and personal empowerment slogans, we need to recognize the true nature of the problem, which is that we not only tolerate this type of behaviour, we promote it, and look away when we see it.

We need to stop making excuses for those who exhibit these behaviours, and instead stop hiring them and placing them in positions of authority over others. We also need to remove them from these types of positions.  So on pink shirt day, I wonder, what is changing?

That's my view, informed by research and life unfortunately.  So I ask you to be aware of your own reaction when you witness someone being treated badly, and change that first.  It begins with us.





Comments

  1. I did comment.Where did it go.Here goes.I agree but no one wants to get involved.So sad as bullying can lead to suicide or be killed by the "bully" and his or her associates.If you supect bullying,contact the authorities.

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  2. Thank you for your comment. I agree that the impact of bullying is devastating and that authorities be called. However, the "bullied" needs to show evidence of having been bullied. This means documentation of what happened, when, how, who heard it, and the impact that it had on the person being affected. Quite often, addressing bulling behaviour requires a lawyer, because in my experience, documentation is not enough if it is tolerated and encouraged (by way of tolerating) at the leadership level.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I would love to hear your comments. Thanks and have an awesome day. - Lynn