Why should the school bullies change when we give them every reason to continue. From the halls of congress to the marketplace we show them that bullying is the way grown ups do things. But, let's face it, bullies are everywhere and we cannot solve the school problem while we continue to tolerate bullies in other sectors of life.
Anyone who has worked for a bully boss knows that intimidation does not stop or start at the school yard. I used to allow bosses to bully me when I was younger, but then one day I just decided that I would tell the next boss who bullied me, "I will be loyal to you and work hard for you, but I will not be abused by you." Thankfully I have not had to use that line yet.
Of course bullying is a constant experience on the road. I call some bad behavior a threat with a deadly weapon, and believe that it ought to be treated as such in the highway code. Even some of our Maryland State Troopers are out of control when it comes to bullying.
Bullying is also very much the norm in the political arena. As long as name-calling and school-yard rules apply in Washington politics we will always wonder why we name public infrastructure after these bullies.
Bullying is also the bad side of capitalism. When business leaders bulldoze over employees and make billions via the oppress the poor to enrich themselves then class warfare has already started and they fired the first shots.
Bullies are the worst of our society. They shout down those who dare to rise up in objection. They lie and intimidate and manipulate and menace and threaten. They come in every color and gender and income level and political persuasion and religion. As long as we allow them to flourish we will always have them in the schools as well.
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