Saturday, February 9, 2013

National STOP BULLYING DAY...

NATIONAL STOP BULLYING DAY
should be everyday!

As I realized that this is a day for awareness, I had just read of the latest case in the news of a child who was the victim of bullying, now laying in a coma in a hospital. The one responsible was suspended for two days and there has been no criminal charges filed as of this writing..
I have seen just this week the news and video that has gone viral of the kid on a school bus who walked to the back of the bus and beat another while someone recorded it, while no one stood up to stop it, while the bus kept rolling and the violent act was then posted on you tube, on Facebook. Yet I did not hear where the kid was expelled from the school or criminal charges were filed against the child nor against the one who made the video.
I am continually shocked, disgusted beyond words at the number of suicides secondary to acts of bullying, the limp consequences to those who bully, the continual pain inflicted on others and the ultimate price to society.
STAND UP TO STOP BULLYING
...
 Lives are being destroyed by acts against another, many begin by what is witnessed or how children are treated at home, in ways that brothers are allowed to treat brothers or sisters in their own homes and in the ways parent*s* respond. In ways that adults speak, respond to other adults, and to children, whether they are taught, hit, screamed out, and then step out into the world and treat others.
Yet, there are those that want to go out and act out and try to make themselves look big or better and think *often being right* that they can get away with it.
It begins with each of us to develop zero tolerance for bullying, to take a stand, to become active participants in life and what we witness and to report bullying behaviors, to step up.
Clues are visible if people know what they are looking for in children, in young adults, in working adults in Elders.
Bullying occurs in the young ones from others, even from family members or siblings.
It is seen in the ones that are made behind closed doors to do chores that the older one is tasked with; it is witnessed by behaviors and often things that are said in private and looks that "could kill exchanged in a hot second" and yet go unaddressed by adults.
It is witnessed in schools, on playgrounds, on school buses, and in rec centers and on the streets.
Straight, gay, black, yellow red and white; bullying is happening and people are being maimed, tortured, emotionally, physically. Some landing in hospitals, others taking their own precious lives from the pain and shame and feeling there is no way out.
AND
it is happening in colleges, in hazings, and even in the biggest and best corporations in the world, along with healthcare and hospice and nursing homes.
  From those who need protection, to those who are the protectors and the paid staff, we hear the stories of bullying, the acts of those who must have lived lives of "bullies" as youth and got away with it.
IT IS TIME TO DEVELOP ZERO TOLERANCE FOR BULLIES
and
to let them know it ends now.
...
There are many and varied types of bullying seen in people; from the young to the old; it is a behavior that is also seen in the workplace as people attempt to establish themselves and their worth and ability to fit in.

I'm sure you can thing of more, can remember some or have perhaps seen this in action:
  • Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes:
    • Teasing
    • Name-calling
    • Inappropriate sexual comments
    • Taunting
    • Threatening to cause harm/intimidating
    •  
  • Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships/school/job.
  •  Social bullying includes:
    • Leaving someone out on purpose
    • Telling other children/co-workers/peers not to be friends with someone
    • Spreading rumors about someone
    • Embarrassing someone in public
  • Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:
    • Hitting/kicking/pinching/beating
    • Spitting
    • Tripping/pushing
    • Taking or breaking someone’s things
    • Making mean or rude hand gestures
  ...
And the list and behaviors continue
and the outcomes are devasting
    
  Spread the word:
STAND UP

Walk in Beauty,
DRSES   

1 comment:

fluff said...

Thank you Dr. Sherry for your words today. I know from experience as a young child, all the way through my school years and even through adulthood. Bullying brings such sadness and hurt to ones life. That sadness lasts for a lifetime for many. Bullying needs to be address in all ways of life and needs to not be tolerated ever and Stopped! Thank you Dr. Sherry for bringing out the issues that need to be addressed. Have a very nice Saturday. /Sandy♥