My Take On Bullying ...

I wrote the following in response to a recent media article written by a psychologist who blamed Mr. Trump for the post-election street violence that is taking place in some large cities … AND … claimed Mr. Trump will be the cause of an increase of bullying in schools and other areas of life. To blame Mr. Trump for perceived future bullying is IMO ridiculous. I mean the entire campaign was malicious and devious. The media did their best to create and inflame the news rather than reporting it and, in some cases, media ignored (a kind of bullying) candidates they wanted to push into the background, as in the case of Sanders.  In many ways, it was a very unkind election process.  But my thoughts on bullying are not politically influenced, as I was neither a Trump or Clinton supporter (I voted third party Green). 

We constantly hear about bullying these days. I think that to blame Mr. Trump or anyone for perceived "future bullying" is really off-base, as I am an elderly person and bullying was very alive and active all the while I was a child.  All it takes is for one individual (and his/her posse or accomplice if he/she has one) to pick on a child who seems "alone" or smaller or special in some way.  Both verbal and physical bullying are devastating to the recipient.  As an eleven-year-old, I was thrown from the sidewalk into the street twice by the same gang of teen girls, and as a very young pre-school child, was repeatedly thrown to the ground by a large boy in my neighborhood who sat on me and pummeled me with his fists until my mother would run out of the house in response to my screams (he later added putting one hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream and at that point, my mother talked to his parents about it). I also had a brother who once punched me in the face. The bullying that I was so conditioned to followed me into adulthood and marriage.  One day I responded to bullying by throwing a bag of garbage at the bullying person; I knew I was doing a dangerous thing but it was my moment of turning point.  And typing the word "turning" brings to mind an early conversation in which my father had given me some well-meant advice when I was a kid, but I hadn't followed it.  He said "don't act scared but if a bully starts chasing you, run away (to fool him/her), then when he/she has almost caught you, suddenly stop and turn and punch him/her as hard as you can wherever you can reach with good leverage.  So in essence, the garbage bag was my sucker punch and it worked. IMPORTANT -- This is not advice I'm giving on how to deal with a bully in today's world. I survived bullying because I learned and practiced avoidance techniques and because I have a guardian Angel who works overtime.  In today's world, bullied kids and adults have agencies and resources that can help -- if they know what's going on.  People who are bullied need to find the courage to get over their reticence to report it to proper authorities.  

There will always be bullies in our population because some humans do carry that gene or have been conditioned by their own bullies to pass it on. On a national and world level (bringing this writing back to where it began), I believe Mr. Trump wants to be a good president. Now we need to let the dust settle and stop the bickering and street violence in our country. I believe Mr. Trump and some of the other world leaders are awake to the fact that war is a huge mistake and peace is the prize we should all seek.

Herds (this is more interesting than it sounds)

The animal herd instinct to follow the leader is based on the desire to survive. Of course, animal leaders are chosen for their strength, courage, and ability to lead. Survival isn’t always the outcome though, if the leader doesn’t choose the right path of escape, the right location to breed, etc. In the face of danger, some of the herd might escape at the expense of the frail, infantile, or just unfortunate members. With humans, whoever the leader is has the ability to majorly impact every facet of our lives. This we’ve especially realized under the rule of the arrogant Bush team. A leader needs to know (and care) about much more than how to wage or continue war. So if Americans are swept up by herdism this November, our entire population can suffer the consequences. The "polls" being published are an affront to us. Their authenticity and credibility depend on their origins. For example, a poll that originates with Fox (even if elsewhere published) will reflect their strong Republican leanings. The intent of published political polls is not to inform, but to influence.

If McCain is really on a poll par with Obama, something is really askew. If we’re to believe that most Americans want change regarding war, economics, torture, and health care, how can we then also believe that many of those same people would vote for a man who is steeped in war, knows nothing about economics, and doesn’t have a plan for health care? Polls are propaganda tools being passed off as legitimate information. Mentioning the word "torture" above reminds me that I recently read the post of a fellow-blogger (and one whom I greatly respect) that says there are now reports of Rice being considered as McCain’s VP; the post also reminds us about Rice’s sanctioning of torture.

Getting back to my thought on herds and "herdism" (I was tempted to look that word up to see if it exists, but decided to just go ahead because you know what I mean), for the love of whatever we hold dear, please let’s be thinking people and not follow herds and pollsters.