Schoolyard bullying has come to the national spotlight. Tragically, several youths have taken their own lives as a result of severe bullying. The topic of the ridicule was usually homosexuality. Some of the kids were gay and others were not but were called gay by their peers. This has prompted the amazing and inspiring It Gets Better movement, in which many gay and sympathetic individuals, including quite a few celebrities and public figures, have made public statements about growing up with bullying. The message, of course, is "It gets better;" young people facing overwhelming bullying do not have to feel alone, can believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So many people who have survived similar abuse have come out of it and lived rewarding and inspiring lives. This message is invaluable for all children, as well as many adults.
Some people are disgruntled at the attention being paid this phenomenon. What about when I was bullied, 20 years ago? What about the people who made fun of me? What about the kids who killed themselves so long ago and did not get any attention paid to the possibility they were driven to it by feelings of helplessness brought on by bullying? Kids today....
It's natural, I think, for an older generation to feel a little jealous of the advances made by the younger. Just as our grandparents apocryphally bragged of walking to school uphill in the snow, we too have faced obstacles that the younger generation might overcome. This is something to be valued, not derided.
Another objection is that kids always make fun of each other. It's part of the socialization process. Put briefly, those who conform are threatened by those who do not, and must lash out in order to reinforce their own commitment to the status quo. This is pack behavior dating back to time immemorial. Yet part of the greatness of the human condition is that there are those of us who do not fit into the status quo, who stretch boundaries and question assumptions. This is how progress is made, civilizations built, lives improved for later generations. This conflict between tradition and progress is also central to the human condition, and I do not propose to solve it here.
I think it's a great thing to have a newfound awareness of an issue such as bullying, so illusive yet debilitating. Bullying takes place in all walks of life, not just the schoolyard. In the workplace, people with fresh insights or different ways of looking at things are often ostracized to keep them in line. In America, intelligence is often poo-pooed by the mediocre of mind; the smart folks are forced to suppress their intellectual tendencies for fear of ridicule. This has begun to change with the new geek-chic that has emerged in the past few years. But nerds aren't the only ones bullied. People with racial or feminist agendas who try to deconstruct societal norms are frequently ridiculed for having 'radical' beliefs. For example, there is an old bumper sticker that says "Feminism: The radical notion that women are people." There are any number of issues that are suppressed from public discourse through bullying behavior of the majority, or status quo.
This is why the focus on bullying can be such a boon to the plight of progressive ideas. So many ideas are suppressed by the people who are afraid of the changes that might occur if the ideas are widely received. So very many ideas.
Yet, if history has shown us anything, it is that traditional or conservative movements will use the language of progress to counteract the very same progress. This is what I fear will happen with the bullying issue. I can imagine a situation where a pro-life activist will object to being overwhelmed and sent away from the abortion clinic, crying that they were bullied. I can imagine the congressperson unable to pass the wild life preserve oil-drilling law, declaring that liberal forces are using bullying to discredit these money-making schemes.
Truly, we have begun down a slippery slope. This issue, however noble, has the potential to bite us in the ass. We must redefine the meaning of 'bullying' and reinforce the idea that the majority and the powerful are not welcome to intimidate the minority or the powerless. Keep the public discourse about bullying in the realm of improvement of society. Don't let it be appropriated by those who would continue to exploit the earth and devalue humanity.
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