Bullying
I was driving down a road in town the other day and I'm 99.9% sure that I witnessed "bullying". I saw three teenage (I'm guessing) boys on one side of the road throwing "things" at a younger (maybe 11/12?) boy on the other side of the road. As I got closer to the situation, I realized that the single boy had his shirt off, was sweating and appeared to be/have been crying. He was walking almost in my lane. I slowed down (almost stopped) and looked over at the other boys and it looked as if they had small rocks in their hands. I looked over at the "bullied" boy and my heart felt for him. He looked at me and I looked at him and it was like time just stopped for a second. I kept driving. As I got just out of site, I wanted to turn around. Why didn't I help him? What could I do? I had Colton with me, so I wasn't going to risk putting him in danger - maybe that was the reason I kept driving. Or maybe those boys were all friends and I totally misread the situation. Maybe it was just a prank and all was fine in the world. I don't know. I just had a terrible feeling. Later, I felt so bad for doing nothing.
I've been thinking about that situation a lot over the past couple of days. Bullying. I know that there are now T.V. shows, Internet sites and other organizations trying to bring awareness of bullying, but it's been around since the beginning of time. Most people focus on the kids because it does seem to run rampant in adolescents. Teenage years - what difficult years those are without people bullying you. Ugh. Not a time that I would like to re-live. Most kids are trying to find their place in the world, figure out who they are and who they want to be. I think bullying stems from lack of self-confidence so if a person can make somebody else look bad, in their minds, they look better. It's sad.
Bullying doesn't just happen with children - I see adults bullying others all the time. One example, online "social media". Sure, Facebook is supposed to be a "social utility that connects people with friends" but on an almost daily basis, I see posts/comments/pictures that are rude, hurtful and full of bullying material. I think that people are way more vocal in typing than they would be in saying words to some one's face. Yes, we all have a bad day now and again and we might post a "rant" or "rage". In my opinion, that is not bullying anybody, that's just a bad day. But when comments/status updates/pictures are posted with the "someone is going to hear this" intent, or to "prove a point", or to "show them" or "get back at them" - that's actually bullying. Just because it's in written form, doesn't make the words any less powerful or hurtful.
I guess I just wish that we would ALL take time to think before we speak and think before we post on media sites. If adults are acting out in a bullying fashion, how can we expect our kids to act any better? We have enough negativity and hurt in this world, so why would "friends" on Facebook need to add to the chaos? Once something is said it can be forgiven but may never be forgotten. Just think is what I'm about to say true?...is it necessary?...is it kind?
I've been thinking about that situation a lot over the past couple of days. Bullying. I know that there are now T.V. shows, Internet sites and other organizations trying to bring awareness of bullying, but it's been around since the beginning of time. Most people focus on the kids because it does seem to run rampant in adolescents. Teenage years - what difficult years those are without people bullying you. Ugh. Not a time that I would like to re-live. Most kids are trying to find their place in the world, figure out who they are and who they want to be. I think bullying stems from lack of self-confidence so if a person can make somebody else look bad, in their minds, they look better. It's sad.
Bullying doesn't just happen with children - I see adults bullying others all the time. One example, online "social media". Sure, Facebook is supposed to be a "social utility that connects people with friends" but on an almost daily basis, I see posts/comments/pictures that are rude, hurtful and full of bullying material. I think that people are way more vocal in typing than they would be in saying words to some one's face. Yes, we all have a bad day now and again and we might post a "rant" or "rage". In my opinion, that is not bullying anybody, that's just a bad day. But when comments/status updates/pictures are posted with the "someone is going to hear this" intent, or to "prove a point", or to "show them" or "get back at them" - that's actually bullying. Just because it's in written form, doesn't make the words any less powerful or hurtful.
I guess I just wish that we would ALL take time to think before we speak and think before we post on media sites. If adults are acting out in a bullying fashion, how can we expect our kids to act any better? We have enough negativity and hurt in this world, so why would "friends" on Facebook need to add to the chaos? Once something is said it can be forgiven but may never be forgotten. Just think is what I'm about to say true?...is it necessary?...is it kind?
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