Diversity and Bullying

Unfortunately, bullying has been a problem for many people for years upon years. There is no easy answer to stop the stigmas attached to bullying . Bullying not only makes victims of it feel horribly about themselves personally at the moment which the mal treatment occurs, but it also means that they will have to deal with the residual scars of this treatment for years and perhaps decades to come. I was bullied from the time I was seven years old until about eighteen. I’ll be the first to tell you that it still affects my well-being. Yes, even fourteen years later. No matter how many times family or loved ones tell you that you are worth it & the world needs you to survive, the devil in your head always pops up and tells you otherwise. Those people who haven’t travelled this road may think it is rather simple to just “turn off that other voice in your head that arises with the negative thoughts. To those of us who have been victims of barrage of tumultuous treatment, it is not so simple. We have been told these terrible things so our psyche begins to believe them, and in many ways, can’t let go of those feelings. Bullying leaves you in your own mental version of prison. Now that I have grown older and have a degree in social work, I realize that bullying is indeed a form of projection. That means that the bullies take what they feel is bad about them and project it on to you to make themselves feel better. Perhaps they are doing it because of their home background. Maybe they grew up in a house where verbal abuse was second nature. It is important to remember that many children emulate or imitate what they see being done by their parents. I am by no means making excuses for people that are cruel to other people. I am just stating that the above reasons are considerations for the reasoning behind the behaviors. They should really think before taking action. Maybe there would be less people inclined to leave this Earth if people thought about the consequences of their actions. In today’s society, there is pressure to be perfect more than ever before. If you are too skinny, you get teased. If you are overweight, you get critized and shamed. If you are in a wheelchair, you get laughed at and mocked. If you are gay, you get told you are gross and disgusting. I often wonder what others expect of us, especially considering that it is 2017. You would think that the cruelty would be more lax, but alas, and sadly, it does not seem to be that way. I realize that some people may be like gnats and irritate you until you cannot stand it, but before you do something you regret, please consider the following: How would you feel if you were made fun of and belittled every day of your life? It is a pretty horrible thought to have to take into account. The mantra of being kind to one another seems so simplistic, but in today’s world, especially currently, kindness is needed more than ever. In a world of maclicious violence and increased turmoil, we just need to try our best to ultimately remember the golden rule: To treat others how you want to be treated.