Bullying
Bullying. The very word creates fear in our day. It has been around for a long time. For reasons that are foreign to us today, it was seen in the past as something that should be ignored or excused. That may be some of what has contributed to the issue that we face today. The more that bullying is seen as accepted or tolerated by society, the more bullies there will be. For this reason, it is good that this issue has been brought to the forefront of our consciousness. Bullying itself can be defined as a variety of negative acts carried out repeatedly over time. We must refuse the impulse to label every bad or negative act as bullying or the word itself will lose meaning.
Bullying includes any behavior, verbal or non-verbal, that is intended to cause physical, emotional, psychological or social harm. Such behavior is intended to isolate an individual seen as unacceptable due to physical, intellectual or even social differences. Acceptance is a very powerful motivator, and, as a result, others who see such actions rarely stand up to the bully because of the fear that they might be the recipient of the bullying actions next. The result is that those who suffer bullying are isolated from their peers, and they experience a severe sense of rejection and damage to their sense of worth as an individual. This can lead to them harming themselves or others in severe cases.
