OG My Little Pony fan!
That little ball of sunshine was relentlessly bullied her entire life. Like most people I was picked on, laughed at, knocked down, and tormented by some really nasty asshole kids. I can't believe the horrible pain that must have been brought upon them in their home life, also I have learned that these people don't just turn 18 and suddenly develop human decency. They also don't always go on to their poetically just place in life of grunt worker in some low rent shack, haunted by how they were such a bad person to you. Nerp, often they grow older along side us. Regardless of which areas you pursue they will follow.
I have witnessed, in large corporations with "anonymous" hotlines some of the nastiest, meanest, most intricate bullying I have ever seen perpetuated by business professionals in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and 50's. Of course this isn't all out name calling, we have banned certain words from polite conversation but that hasn't stopped work mates from making up new words and technology has made this one of the easiest things in the world to do at work, especially in higher tech savvy fields. Ever been in a private chat, on your phone, with a bunch of co-workers? We don't have water coolers anymore but we sure do have some cyber space we can manipulate into private group chats.
Name calling? Let's talk about this... What was the last adjective you used to describe Miley Cyrus? Oh, but she deserves it because she? What is different from you? Morally, ethically, fundamentally, just different than you? Even if it wasn't you, what was the last comment you heard? Did you stop that person and say something like "hey man, words like that are not necessary to describe any young woman. Though it is your right to say those things, it's my right to tell you that I'm offended and I have come to think less of you as a person"? We tell our kids that if they see bullying that they should "speak out" about it.
"First and foremost our schools take any allegations of bullying seriously and work diligently in all cases to resolve the issues in the best interest of students. We have programs in place to prevent, report and intervene to keep our students safe and protected,"
That's from the principal of the elementary school that banned Grayson Bruce's My Little Pony backpack. They did this after the mother was so overwhelmed with her child's bulling that she went to the school for help.
What his comment means is that they most likely have what all of our jobs have, an "ethics" hotline. Some number you can call to report the grown up version of bullying.... harassment. This, is an article from a manager of Target that outlines exactly what happens to people who calls these lines. I thought it was just the companies I worked for as I have watched victim after victim get let go for something after someone told them it was a good idea to call the "ethics" line. So what are we supposed to do then right? We all know that nobody should be treated poorly, I have always attempted to lead by building people up, giving them safe places for them to express themselves, and have never tolerated cliques.... look's like it's time for more TEAM BUILDING!
In order to get ahead in, or sometimes just tread water in, the adult world you must learn to cope with bullies and out right rejection. Every time you applied for a position at a company you got it right? AND! It was your dream job too huh? No, probably not. You probably where told something nice that really just was them saying they didn't want you. You were rejected. Did you curl up in a ball and cry in a corner? I hope not, that's not healthy, but the point is you probably learned coping skills, that allow you to move forward in a positive way. This, is an inspiring story of a woman who was rejected so much that she redirected her life and is now happier than ever after she gave up her childhood dream.
I'm not advocating bullying. I'm not saying that with the proper coping skills and attitude towards rejection, adversity, and flat out assholes you could take all that negative energy thrown at you and make yourself an even stronger more capable human. I'm saying that it doesn't actually ever end. In the adult world we will face these things constantly and it's how we handle them that determines what kind of person we are and how successful we become. Just look at motivational quotes.
If we want to talk though, about an all out stop to bullying. I would love to talk about that.
The bullying was so bad that Grayson was afraid to go back to school. "One kid told him to go home to kill himself," she said. "Things I can't believe 9-year-olds are saying to each other."
That's HORRIBLE! What's even worse is that you can't believe it. I play a good number of online video games, on my phone, on my computer, I am exposed to your children daily. One major complaint about some of the video games I play, especially the free ones, is that adults are tired of being told horrible vial things by 10 year olds. The worse interaction I have ever personally had has been a 12 year old who insisted I wanted to suck his dick and oh the things he said about my mother when I told him I was disgusted by this. America.... these are your kids. Don't just say it shouldn't happen. It shouldn't, I know, We all get it. But it does. That little girl up there with the My Little Pony, when she was 5 a little girl told her that parents were never coming back to pick her up from her first time at kindergarten because they hated her. Kid's have always been mean!
So we have a problem with both kids and adults in our society. We changed the name from "bullying" to "harassing" but it's the same thing. We need to stop as adults talking poorly about people in front of our children. We all know somebody or maybe multiple somebodies who either bullies their kid out right or is nasty about other adults around them. You want society to be better for your kids? STAND UP TO THEM! Do it in front of your kids and show them how to do deal with a bully.
The mother of Grayson Bruce, said that after her child had been bullied to the point that he did not want to get out of the car to go to school she asked a counselor for help. She didn't like that they gave her the common sense response of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down". It's not a pretty answer, it's a horrible reality, that's why that saying exists. Welcome to the human race conformity is expected. For those of us who dare to be different we make a choice to do so. I would however like to one day live in a utopia were differences are celebrated and no child or adult has to suffer at the hands of a bully. I would like to do this without having laws created that force lifestyle choices (like not wearing My Little Pony backpacks) on us and that's exactly what the case of Grayson Bruce is an example of. Telling someone that they need to stop being unique for their own sake. This is why schools adopt dress codes and is the most viable solution for a stop to be put to the bullying.
Instead of letting schools perform their mission statement of educating children in things like math and science it is now their job to make children adapt to some sort of moral code. I.E. not bullying others. In this case, the mother's response to her child being bullied to terror was to go to the school. Most likely this kid was bullied by multiple kids, probably even the kids who are bullied by other kids. Unfortunately, Grayson Bruce was probably that kid that was so beautifully unique that even the nerds picked on him. How do you stop such school wide attention? Having been this kid once the answer is simple, I don't think you can. I think the only thing you can do is get the nail ready for the hammer or dedicate your life to knocking on every bullies door and having a sit down with their parents.
There are other saying's that subtly suggest you should fit in all over the world. This is a human issue that spans every culture. It's not something that is going to get better without a group effort on all of our parts. Stand up to the next person you see who is slut shaming a celebrity. Tell those parents who are berating their kids that what they do as a parent has lasting consequences for everyone. Do it because we tell our children daily to stand up against bullying. We say it so much it's become a movement. Why tell your children to do something that you are unwilling to do yourself? It's simply just another "ethics" hotline. If you're not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
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