The bullying we've heard about lately is really getting to a lot of us. A lot of us 50-somethings thought we'd evolved beyond that at this point in time.
In just two months, five young people have ended their lives because of one form of bullying or another. What's really going on?
The Oxford English Dictionary has two primary definitions of "bully" above the one we normally consider as bullying in common parlance: "A blustering 'gallant'; a bravo, hector, or 'swash-buckler'; now, esp. a tyrannical coward who makes himself a terror to the weak."
Let's look a little closer.
A bully is a tyrant.
A bully is a coward.
A bully terrorizes.
Is it only me or does this sound familiar to anybody else?
Have we noticed any tyrants, cowards or terrorists in our public spheres lately?
Gee, I'd have to say that Dick Cheney certainly qualified as a tyrant during the last political regime. Or how about George W. Bush and any of his minions, and their cowardly refusal to take any responsibility for lying to the American public.
WMDs, anyone?
And terrorists? How about the pundits of all stripes these days? Think Howard Stern, Bill O'Reilly, even Chris Matthews on occasion.
My friends, for as long as there are tyrants, cowards, and terrorists in public life, young people will take it as license to bully.
For as long as we need scapegoats, there will be those who are scape-goated.
For as long as we refuse to look at our own lives, refuse to own our inner tyrants, inner cowards, and inner terrorists, and the ways in which we each participate in bullying, there will be a license to bully.
Who can stop it?
On a personal level, I can. You can. We can. First, we can refuse to bully. Second, we can refuse to witness bullying of any kind. Third, we can speak up when we see it or hear it.
Who can stop it?
On a public level, anyone who has a platform. I challenge everyone who has a public aspect to their lives to call for an end to bullying, and to make the personal choice to end their own bullying behaviors.
How long would Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh remain on the radio if we simply stopped tuning in to their bullying?
All of us have the capacity to bully; we also have the capacity to stop bullying.
The bully stops here -- when we say so.
For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso's website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and friend her on Facebook.
Follow Dr. Susan Corso on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PeaceCorso
Maezeppa Commented 1 hour ago
"What accrediation does your Doctorate have?"
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I'd like to know too.
So if you're aware of his support for the gay community; why mention him in an article about gay bullying?
I'm underwhelmed.
And then, of course, there's the empty-headed knocking of the very bright and very eloquent victim of childhood bullying - Howard Stern.
I don’t quite know what a self-proclaimed “omni-faith spiritual expert†is, or how they earn a living, but it sounds more than a little Christine O’Donnellish to me.
By the way, Howard is very pro-gay. He's had on his show Rossie O'Donnel, Thea Vidale and recently one of his channels hosted an hour show about coming out of the closest (or something, one of the wack packers who recently came out hosted it and Rosie was on it). The only thing you might be able to nail him on is his anti-lower Manhattan mosque stand, which is the same as about half the country. Even years ago, when his show was out there compared to what else was on the radio, I never thought of him as a bully. Outrageous? A little mean? Tasteless? Yes. A bully? No.
The real problem is that most children who are bullies have parents who do the same. I have learned that many adults are bigger bullies than anything I dealt with growing up. How hard is it to teach respect? Respect yourself enough to respect others.
www.puzzlepieceprincess.com
If we promote such obnoxious behaviors as entertaining and humorous, why would our children behave any differently?