Bullying in any form is harmful

By Marlene Bohr

At home one day during the holidays, I was listening to the television while wrapping gifts, when I heard the America Now broadcast of different informational items. They reported on a mother telling of how her daughter was bullied at school. The mother said she wanted go and talk to the people at school, but the daughter begged her not to. It wasn’t long after that conversation, the mother found the girl dead; she had hanged herself. She had no warning that day her daughter was going to take matters into her own hands.
Bullying does exist and exists in so many forms.  With the advent of the Internet and social media, cyber bullying has been added to the list of physical and verbal bullying.
Lee Gill, school health consultant with Region 8, has presented several programs on the subject of bullying. Mr. Gill has said this is the number one problem in education today. He said he calls it terrorism at the local level.  Mr. Gill said girls are four times more likely to be the victim of cyber bullying and are four times more likely to be the perpetrator.      
Bullying can happen on social media and also by texting others. I think it is easier for people to hurl insults at others electronically. They would never face someone and insult them as viciously.
Are we as adults watching what we do in order that we can teach our children to behave better?  Teaching should begin in the home and church, with schools picking up the slack to make sure everyone is aware of exactly what bullying is and what can be done about it.  I would not want anyone or anyone’s child to feel so hopeless because of bullying that they take their own life.
It isn’t just with children that bullying occurs. People on the job at work can and do bully co-workers. If they are allowed to get away with it, it will continue and could lead to aggressive behavior by the victim.
I would hope we teach our children if they are bullied, to tell an adult, whether it be a parent, a pastor or a teacher in school. Students need to be taught they should have support of other students and band together when one is the recipient of bullying. Students sticking together for what is right will most likely cause the bully to stop the behavior.
If you are the object of a bully, say on social media, do not respond. The bully is looking for a response and by giving them no response you don’t allow them to have control.
I am always amazed at some of the hurtful things people say to each other on social media. Apparently there is a lot of drama and typing and then people are hitting ‘send’ before even thinking of what they have written. You cannot take things back once you hit that ‘send’ button and it is seen.
Lately we have seen a lot of bullying by people who do not like what someone’s opinion is. People ask for an opinion and when given, they disagree. Then the bullying begins. Maybe some do not think that is bullying, but it sure is.
If we all make an effort to be kinder to people and teach this concept to our children, perhaps we can get a handle on bullying. Before hurling hurtful words or texts, think of how you would feel if you were on the other end of the situation. Another New Year’s Resolution this year could be ‘be kind to others.’
That would leave no room in anyone’s life for bullying.