In case you're not aware, October has been named national Anti-Bullying Month. It's almost impossible to escape national or local news these days without hearing a story about bullying.
Most of the time, bullying involves kids or teenagers bullying other kids or teenagers, as in this recent story of Whitney Kropp, a Michigan high school student. She had been a victim of bullies for years when the bullies pulled a cruel "prank" by voting her onto the homecoming court. Well, Whitney got the last laugh when the community rallied around her in support donating her homecoming dress, services to have her hair & makeup done, and t-shirts for her supporters to wear. Even the opposing school made signs for the football game to display their support for Whitney! Get Whitney's full story here.
Another widely publicized story of bullying recently was when Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother who was working as a school bus monitor, was bullied by middle school-aged kids. Thankfully, this story also has a happy ending: Karen got a nice little vacation thanks to good samaritans who wanted to show her their support and she is now using some of money that was donated to start an anti-bullying foundation. If you’d like to read more about Karen's story click on these links:
Sadly, many victims of bullies don't come out so victorious. There are countless stories of teens who commit suicide as the result of bullies. And many others who are diagnosed clinically depressed because of the mental and physical torture they endure. What's even more amazing to me is that bullying isn't isolated to "kids". I've been astounded at how often I hear instances of adults who are bullied.
I must confess that one of my guilty pleasures is watching several of the Real Housewives shows on Bravo - Real Housewives of New Jersey and Real Housewives of Orange County are my favorites. It's entertaining, mindless drama! But there are numerous times when the women will "gang up" on one of the others in a bully-like way and those are moments when watching becomes very uncomfortable for me.
I have a really good friend who was recently recounting his vacation trip story to me. He was so excited to finally go to Key West. After living in Florida for over ten years, it was something that had been on his bucket list for awhile and he was ecstatic to finally go! However, while we sat at one of our favorite oyster bars as he told me the story of his "horrid experience" in Key West with the group of people he was with, it occurred to me that he had been bullied that whole weekend! I got so angry hearing about the awful things these "mean guys" did, said, and how they treated my friend that I started to cry right there in the oyster bar. They were so cruel to him and one of these guys had been a good friend! All I know is those “mean guys” should be thankful I wasn't there, because I would NOT have let them treat my friend, or anyone else, like that! My friend ended up booking an early flight out of Key West and got out of that situation... and is no longer friends with those people.
I cannot understand why anyone would treat another human being so cruelly or disrespectfully. In most cases, bullies pick on someone who is weaker or different because it makes them feel more powerful. According to the Book of Donna, I believe helping someone, encouraging another or supporting them makes you feel so much more powerful! It is much more rewarding to help another person when you have the ability and choose to do it! And wouldn't this world be a much better place if we focused on lifting each other up, rather than knocking each other down?
Don’t be a bull, knocking people over... choose to be their wings and help them fly. ~The Book of Donna
For more information on bullying, check out this website.
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