Bullying: Someone You Know Could Be A Victim.

Chances are you know someone who has been bullied. Perhaps you have been a victim of bullying yourself. I know I have been. It is a disheartening truth that bullying is alive and well.

It strikes terror in the heart to know that bullies are everywhere.

In the playground, at the office, in cyber land , at home, in the streets.

Bullies could be your boss, your spouse, a co-worker, the bigger or richer kids at school, or even a sibling.

It could be a warped unjust system.

You could find yourself being bullied for being too thin, too fat, too tall, too short, too quiet, too vocal, too smart, too withdrawn. Or for no reason at all because bullies are twisted messed up people.

One thing is for sure we are bullied for being different, for not fitting in.

For being non conforming or for choosing to forge our own path.

One thing else is for sure.

Bullying is all too common, pervasive and dangerous and many young people, broken from being bullied, have either killed themselves or turned the gun on others.

In your run of the mill nine to five bullying has given its victims  ulcers, grey hairs and a sense of dread for the workday.

It contributes to absenteeism, depression and forces people to quit their jobs or go about them half heartedly without morale.

At home a bullying parent, spouse or sibling can cause such damage that the victim is left, often if not with physical bruises, with low self esteem, unexplained health issues  and withdrawal from people.

Good people, there is no such thing as good natured bullying. Bullying is cruel, and degrading however you describe it.

I have known teachers, unfortunately, to be some of the biggest bullies.

You might have heard it said that kids need a certain amount of conflict and confrontation to help build their character and strengthen their backbone. I have heard it said that all kids go through bullying-that it is a part of growing up.

Bullying isn’t what all kids go through- it shouldn’t be what any kid has to go through. Or an adult for that matter.

There is nothing redeeming about it, not even one, there is nothing to be gained by it except misery and despair. Believing that one learns toughness from it is hogwash.

We need to call out bullies-perhaps even give them a taste of their own medicine.

Or maybe let karma do its job. After all, what goes around comes around.

More importantly we need to listen and observe our children and our other loved ones, reach out to them, giving them a safe judgement free space where they can speak without fear of repercussions. Sometimes, heartbreakingly, we tend to make the victim feel like they deserved it.

No one deserves abuse. Which, when we look at it with an objective eye and honest heart, is what bullying really is.

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.