My Thoughts on Bullying

Name calling is one aspect of bullying, maybe one of the first steps to demeaning disrespect.  We recognized it quickly in the video of the bus monitor and were appalled by it.  Have you ever considered that the word "Obamacare" carries that same aspect of bullying--renaming and demeaning, in all probability intentionally chosen as a derogatory commentary?  But we are so accustomed  to this use of language in the media and in our conversations that we are personally reluctant to take responsibility to curtail it.    


A bullying culture surrounds us--intentionally renaming and demeaning; threatening violence whether we mean to follow through with it or not; fear mongering; trash talking; finding and using the weaknesses of the other person to our advantage....  We see it in the media and we repeat it in our conversations.  Radio talk show hosts' rants fill the airwaves.  Political campaigns are built on these principles.  We live in a bullying culture and we are blind to it!

We bully without even realizing it.  In the case of the bus monitor the first reported response was to bully the bullies!  Multiple death threats against the bullies were taken seriously.  We want to place blame outside ourselves.  We name the parents, the absence of God in the classroom, and some even put the responsibility on the monitor!  She should have stood up for herself, they say. 


Why are we as individuals so reluctant to admit our compliance and contribution to this bullying culture?  Even those of us who remain silent and let it happen contribute to the bullying atmosphere in our nation.  Can we begin to identify the bullying aspects of this society and take steps to correct them?  A word from the Hebrew scripture seems appropriate here.  

"Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.  It may be that then your prosperity will continue."  ~ Daniel 4:27