Bullying by Stephen

Bullying by Stephen - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

An important topic I would want to give a school-wide speech about is bullying. This is a “hot” topic these days with regard to in person, as well as cyber attacks being made. School is a festering pool of abuse in the verbal as well as physical form. How do we curtail the “epidemic”? How does an individual deal with bullying? How do you avoid turning into a bully?
First, we need to begin nipping the bullying in the butt. As an adult, do not make snide comments and more importantly do not chuckle when taunts are delivered, even on television. Children learn more from what they see and experience in the world around them. If you laugh at “the fat boy”, the child will learn that this is an acceptable form of address that results in happiness. Not true. “The fat boy” is degraded, has a worthless feeling, experiences despair. It is time we begin to acknowledge the “victim’s” feelings. If we do, I believe we will have taken the first step towards a resolution to the problem. Remember, someone needs to be the initiator; someone needs to lead the trend.
If you are the bullied individual, hold your head high. There is no enjoyment or at least less enjoyment, when no reaction is given. For someone forsaken reason, people take pride in being able to belittle another. I believe it shows a lack of self-esteem on their part. Any individual, who truly cares about others and has a “heart”, could not and would not be able to verbally bully another being. When physical bullying is the issue, more times than not, the abuse is part of a vicious cycle. The bully has probably suffered through the same abuse. I personally experienced physical bullying in the fourth grade. When I complained to the teacher about being pushed and shoved or smacked on the back or head, for example, she responded that I, as an only child, was not used to how children play. When I “played” in similar style I was sent to the main office. In my opinion before we are able to stop the children we need to re-educate the adults around them as to what constitutes bullying.
If you are a bully, well, you probably don’t know it. If you ever saw the Big Bang episode where Penny pontificates that there was no bullying in her Nebraska town, you will recall the perfect scenario. Penny did not realize that what was “innocent” fun was mean and hurtful to the person involved. Once it was pointed out and explained, she tried to rectify the situation by calling and apologizing. Granted true life would not be that easy but nothing truly good happens without a lot of effort. We can make a change in the world but being the catalyst for the change. It all starts with “me”/”you”/”us”.