Difference between revisions of "Bullying"
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| − | '''Bullying''' | + | '''Bullying''' can be accurately defined as either the use of force to get one's own way, typically for a selfish purpose at at the expense of others, or [[Sadism|sadistic]] harassment of individuals for the express purpose of inflicting suffering for fun. A person who perpetrates bullying is known as a [[bully]]. |
| − | + | == Bullying by Children and in Schools== | |
| + | [[Children]] in [[public school]]s are not encouraged to bully other, weaker children, and many schools have strict rules preventing bullying. Those who do choose to break the rules can take the form of teasing, hitting, extortion ("Give me your lunch money"), and so on. Children who engage in this type of bullying tend to do so as means of acting out due to problems in their home lives, such as parental abuse or being in poverty. | ||
| − | + | Educators have been known to countenance the practice by saying that as kids grow up, they simply must learn to deal with bullies.<ref>[http://www.crimeprevention.gov.au/agd/WWW/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(1E76C1D5D1A37992F0B0C1C4DB87942E)~Bullying+Parents.pdf/$file/Bullying+Parents.pdf] </ref> The implication is that they can learn this on their own, while academic subjects such as arithmetic and English must be learned from books and teachers. | |
| + | It is also commonly said that bullying is "simply part of growing up" or part of "the rough and tumble of childhood."<ref>[http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/bully_info.html]</ref> | ||
| − | + | Most students who are bullied either do not report the bullying to adults, or they wait a very long time before doing so. The reasons include feelings of shame, fear of retaliation for reporting, and fear that adults cannot or will not protect the victim in the settings where bullying usually takes place. Many teachers and parents tell children not to "tattle," and to resolve their problems themselves.<ref name="lfcc">[http://www.lfcc.on.ca/bully.htm]</ref> | |
| − | + | Many academic approaches go out of their way not to mention using any kind of adult force (let alone [[punishment]]) to stop bullies. One [[Canadian]] program is an exception: | |
| − | + | :If the bullies will not change their behavior, despite concerted efforts by school personnel, the bullies, and not the victims, should be the ones who are removed from the class or school, or transferred to another program. Consequences for the perpetrators will be of considerable interest to all students, and will set the tone for future situations.<ref name="lfcc" /> | |
| − | + | Bullying in schools, can also be used, potentially even by adult authorities, to punish students in or outside of class for doing or saying something that is [[politically incorrect]]. An example of classroom bullying is for students to ostracize a fellow student based on a viewpoint expressed by that student. | |
| − | + | ==Bullying by Adults== | |
| + | Immoral acts committed by adults are generally far more inexcusable than equivalent acts by minors on account of adults having no excuse not to know better, and nowhere is this more true than with bullying. Adult bullying on a personal level tends to be far more expressly sadistic and aggressive than child bullying at school. One major form of extreme bullying of this nature is known as [[Cyber-bullying]]. | ||
| − | + | ==Political Bullying== | |
| + | Bullying can take the form of "anti-bullying" laws that [[censor]] speech and activities claimed by proponents of such laws to be bullying or otherwise illegal, but constitute in themselves forceful suppression of speech and can be used as a way to increase government control to excessive levels. An example is [[liberal]] suppression of criticism of [[homosexuality]]. | ||
| − | + | In college and at many [[public school]]s, bullying takes the form of intimidating students to prevent them from expressing or defending certain views; see [[professor values]]. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | Even the [[Office of the President]] has notably been misused to bully and collectively impugn the major opposition party in the United States when President Barack Hussein Obama openly accused the Republican Party of seditious acts by "encouraging our enemies".<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/senate-votes-avoid-default-open-government-20593201 Obama Lashes Republicans as Government Reopens], October 17, 2013, By DAVID ESPO AP. abcnews.</ref> | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
==Response and Prevention of Bullying== | ==Response and Prevention of Bullying== | ||
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# Staying active and participating in sports (team or individual) and/or martial arts. Athletic and strong children are much less likely to be bullied. | # Staying active and participating in sports (team or individual) and/or martial arts. Athletic and strong children are much less likely to be bullied. | ||
# Parents teaching kids proper social skills so they are less likely to be bullied. | # Parents teaching kids proper social skills so they are less likely to be bullied. | ||
| + | # The best tactic for quelling [[Cyber-bullying|online bullying]] is generally to ignore (not respond to) hateful content under any circumstances, and to report it to site authorities for removal wherever possible. | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| − | |||
[[Category:Sociology]] | [[Category:Sociology]] | ||
| − | |||
[[Category:Bullying|!]] | [[Category:Bullying|!]] | ||
[[Category:Military Strategies and Concepts]] | [[Category:Military Strategies and Concepts]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Crimes]] | ||
Revision as of 00:44, October 18, 2015
Bullying can be accurately defined as either the use of force to get one's own way, typically for a selfish purpose at at the expense of others, or sadistic harassment of individuals for the express purpose of inflicting suffering for fun. A person who perpetrates bullying is known as a bully.
Bullying by Children and in Schools
Children in public schools are not encouraged to bully other, weaker children, and many schools have strict rules preventing bullying. Those who do choose to break the rules can take the form of teasing, hitting, extortion ("Give me your lunch money"), and so on. Children who engage in this type of bullying tend to do so as means of acting out due to problems in their home lives, such as parental abuse or being in poverty.
Educators have been known to countenance the practice by saying that as kids grow up, they simply must learn to deal with bullies.[1] The implication is that they can learn this on their own, while academic subjects such as arithmetic and English must be learned from books and teachers. It is also commonly said that bullying is "simply part of growing up" or part of "the rough and tumble of childhood."[2]
Most students who are bullied either do not report the bullying to adults, or they wait a very long time before doing so. The reasons include feelings of shame, fear of retaliation for reporting, and fear that adults cannot or will not protect the victim in the settings where bullying usually takes place. Many teachers and parents tell children not to "tattle," and to resolve their problems themselves.[3]
Many academic approaches go out of their way not to mention using any kind of adult force (let alone punishment) to stop bullies. One Canadian program is an exception:
- If the bullies will not change their behavior, despite concerted efforts by school personnel, the bullies, and not the victims, should be the ones who are removed from the class or school, or transferred to another program. Consequences for the perpetrators will be of considerable interest to all students, and will set the tone for future situations.[3]
Bullying in schools, can also be used, potentially even by adult authorities, to punish students in or outside of class for doing or saying something that is politically incorrect. An example of classroom bullying is for students to ostracize a fellow student based on a viewpoint expressed by that student.
Bullying by Adults
Immoral acts committed by adults are generally far more inexcusable than equivalent acts by minors on account of adults having no excuse not to know better, and nowhere is this more true than with bullying. Adult bullying on a personal level tends to be far more expressly sadistic and aggressive than child bullying at school. One major form of extreme bullying of this nature is known as Cyber-bullying.
Political Bullying
Bullying can take the form of "anti-bullying" laws that censor speech and activities claimed by proponents of such laws to be bullying or otherwise illegal, but constitute in themselves forceful suppression of speech and can be used as a way to increase government control to excessive levels. An example is liberal suppression of criticism of homosexuality.
In college and at many public schools, bullying takes the form of intimidating students to prevent them from expressing or defending certain views; see professor values.
Even the Office of the President has notably been misused to bully and collectively impugn the major opposition party in the United States when President Barack Hussein Obama openly accused the Republican Party of seditious acts by "encouraging our enemies".[4]
Response and Prevention of Bullying
Besides telling an adult, there are other things kids can do to stop themselves from being bullied or prevent bullying in the first place. They include but are not limited to
- Learning self defense and not being afraid to fight back if provoked.
- Gathering up a large posse of friends to help defend yourself.
- Lifting weights and taking protein supplements to get bigger (this is only appropriate for high school students, before the age of 14 or 15, kids usually don't have enough testosterone to build muscle and weight training before 14 can be dangerous).
- Sticking up for smaller, younger, and weaker kids. This sends a message that bullying will not be tolerated.
- Tolerance of those who are different.
- Teachers taking a more proactive role and nipping bullying in the bud when it crops up.
- Ridiculing and shunning those who repeatedly engage in bullying.
- Longer suspensions and expulsions, or in extreme cases, criminal charges for the worst offenders.
- Return of classroom prayer and teaching of proper morals and why bullying is inherently evil and wrong.
- Parents punishing children who bully others.
- Staying active and participating in sports (team or individual) and/or martial arts. Athletic and strong children are much less likely to be bullied.
- Parents teaching kids proper social skills so they are less likely to be bullied.
- The best tactic for quelling online bullying is generally to ignore (not respond to) hateful content under any circumstances, and to report it to site authorities for removal wherever possible.