I know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and believe me, I'm wearing my pink ;) But it's also Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. In light of that, I thought I'd take a few moments and share my thoughts....
As a kid, I was tall, skinny and needed braces on my teeth..... we didn't have "bullying" laws....we didn't even consider the fact that bullying was a real issue among our generation, but if being called names, and being made fun of for your physical appearance is considered bullying, then I guess I was bullied. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming bullying for my less than stellar grade point average in college, I'm not trying to say that it took over my life, or depressed me to the point that I holed up in my room. I'm not blaming bullying for poor life choices, or low self esteem, I'm simply saying that, in reality, unless you were the most beautiful, or most popular, you have probably experienced some form of bullying.
Here's the way I see it.... even to this day, I have allowed myself to be bullied. I have, in the name of peace, allowed certain things to slide. I have learned to ignore, and I have grown a thick skin to name calling, screaming, yelling and intimidation. I am an adult. Unfortunately, there are people in my world who are bullies. One, in particular, but for the sake of peace, I won't name names. To this day, I am regularly assaulted by text, and internet. I am threatened and called names, whenever my bully takes a notion to do so.
In this day and age of Internet anonymity, bullying has become more and more prevalent. Cowardly people, under the cover of email and social networking are bullying our youth, and it doesn't stop there. I'm sure, by now, everyone has seen the video of the overweight reporter who was bullied by email. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLG5EmC2TsU She took a stand, and she made a good point.... if you are a bully, you are raising bullies. If you are home, using foul language, and calling people names, so are your children. If you are watching tv, saying, "look at that fat reporter" your children will go to school and call people fat.
I have seen this with students and children with whom I'm close. Admittedly, I have even seen this in my own children, at times. When children are raised in an environment where foul language, name calling, and intimidation are acceptable forms of communication, and a common way of dealing with issues and treating people, these kids not only believe that that is an acceptable way to act, but also do not even recognize that they are themselves becoming bullies. Children raised in homes where bullying is the norm do not even understand that what they are doing is bullying. How can they? They see dad yelling, screaming and name calling. It becomes the norm.
To teach children that if you don't agree with someone, it's ok to call them names is an atrocity. To teach children that they do not need to be tolerant of the differences they might have with others is reproachable. To teach children that the way to deal with issues is to scream, yell, and name call, is not only a disservice to them, but also to our entire world. Bullies raise bullies...what that means for us is that we won't have peace in our homes, schools, communities, or even the world, until we start living by example. We can't live and let live until we start practicing peace within ourselves. It starts with you. It starts with one person. It extends to all who you touch, everyday. When you have an inner peace, you exude that. You live it, your children learn it. They learn patience, peace, tolerance and understanding.
The ever elusive "world peace" that each and every Miss America Contestant longs for, starts with one person....you.
And while I do not claim to be perfect myself, with this problem of bullying becoming a national epidemic, I am making a promise to myself and to my children to try to set a better example. One of peace, love and understanding.....
Life is short. Buy the shoes ;)
