In my opinion, bullying is generally a deliberate attempt to hurt someone emotionally, mentally, spiritually, physically. It has to be a deliberate choice with a personal focus for it to actually be bullying.
Heated discussions, rough-housing, or just not getting involved - this isn't bullying. It's when things slide into personal attacks (including name calling), the desire to hurt, or gossiping behind the back that bullying comes to the scene. I've seen the word overused on rough housing, but underused on name calling.
I think one of our biggest problems is that we are focusing too much on how to stop bullying. I think we need to control it, but we have to be real - unless you separate people from each other and put them in their own little worlds with absolutely no contact with others, you are going to have bullying. It's just the way things have always been - like it or not.
What we need to remember is the flip side - teaching people how to deal with bullying. I was bullied through most of public school, emotionally and mentally, and I never contemplated suicide because my family gave me the foundation and the background to stand up to it. We need to teach kids to have the internal wherewithal to stand up to bullies. Bullies are cowards - people who try to pick on the weak, the lonely, and the vulnerable.
no subject
Heated discussions, rough-housing, or just not getting involved - this isn't bullying. It's when things slide into personal attacks (including name calling), the desire to hurt, or gossiping behind the back that bullying comes to the scene. I've seen the word overused on rough housing, but underused on name calling.
I think one of our biggest problems is that we are focusing too much on how to stop bullying. I think we need to control it, but we have to be real - unless you separate people from each other and put them in their own little worlds with absolutely no contact with others, you are going to have bullying. It's just the way things have always been - like it or not.
What we need to remember is the flip side - teaching people how to deal with bullying. I was bullied through most of public school, emotionally and mentally, and I never contemplated suicide because my family gave me the foundation and the background to stand up to it. We need to teach kids to have the internal wherewithal to stand up to bullies. Bullies are cowards - people who try to pick on the weak, the lonely, and the vulnerable.