On the Current Influx of Bullying in the News, Lately...

Most of us have experienced it in some form. Some of us still do. Bullying is a problem associated commonly with middle school and high school. However, I think many would believe that bullying is not really a problem after formal education. Of course, the news most commonly highlights cases in which the stories (again, mostly of high school and, more recently, college students) have extreme endings. Perhaps the stories don't even become considered "newsworthy" until death in some form is involved. I think, given my prior points, it's arguable to say that that makes people tend to think that bullying without violence is not common, or is not truly problematic. But I think a fair assumption to make would be that that kind of bullying is perhaps the most detrimental. Thought it doesn't lead to a death per se, I don't think it'd be easy to talk about people teasing you without getting a, "Just man up," "Learn to laugh at yourself," or, I've even gotten a "You're in control of how people make you feel."

First of all, what does "manning up" even mean? I think it's mostly the fossilized remnants of a lost, chauvinist generation that valued the hiding of feelings over their expression, condemning them as "womanly" or "girly," as if there is something inherently feminine about the expression of emotion. Nothing against the members of the generation itself, because a group of people is always worth more than their ignorant (or in this case, backwards) ideas. Also, laughing at yourself only helps in the short term. If you have to laugh at yourself for a lifetime, you're eventually going to wonder what exactly is so funny about yourself. If your differences become a joke to everyone else, you're eventually going to want the laughter to stop. Even in joking, the person making the joke professes that they somewhat believe what it is they are saying. That's why they make the joke--it carries some kind of meaning to them, even if it's something that seems insignificant (or not exactly politically correct). Lastly, the final quote is only a good one to tell someone either greatly confident, or greatly arrogant. Everyone has insecurities that people can play on, and not everyone has the power to accept those insecurities. So, I find that quote highly disrespectful of that fact, and, at times to be just an inconsiderate, thoughtless greeting card-caliber quote.

I feel I should leave this topic with a quote, one that I find particularly meaningful, by Alex Karras:

"It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind."

Why this quote? Because, I think it addresses quite well why bullying is wrong, if you are looking for a reason. Bullying is an attempt to dominate ones peers for their own benefit, and that domination is a form of violence. Violence in any form does not solve anything permanently, if at all. That temporary solution, more often than not, breeds even more problems. Maybe not for the aggressor, and if not, then for the other people in the lives of the victim.

Links/References
Original Article
A Notice on Bullying in the Workplace
Six Principles of Nonviolence