This week is ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ and is there anything new I can actually contribute to it? Honestly, I doubt it. I wrote a page on all my thoughts of bullying – which I’ll link at the end of this post – but anything else I have to say I have already covered or someone else will have covered it. On the other hand, there is something I want to bring up and that’s the anti-bullying week itself.
Why does it exist? Why is there an anti-bullying week??
I agree that giving a day, week or month to certain topics gives it an opportunity to come into the spotlight for a bit. Take dyspraxia, it is still fairly unknown and so a week of sharing information and raising awareness for it is something that works out for the best.
Everyone knows that bullying exists. The damage it can cause is also known. It’s not like anything new is really made clear. There are potentially useful (and perhaps even scary?) facts to share that people aren’t aware of. But generally speaking, we already know the main points. I’m not saying that we should scrap this week as it does have its benefits. I’ll give an example of what I’m getting at;
During the early part of my secondary school life, I created a slideshow presentation on bullying. There was certainly a lot of anger and sadness being built up inside that I couldn’t properly communicate verbally. I was able to project these emotions through the passion I had for creating things on the computer. This had two advantages. For starters, I had kick-started a constructive way of dealing with my built up emotions. The main thing, and what links back to my point, is that people stopped bullying me after seeing it…for a week or two.
It’s probably safe to assume that bullying decreases during this week due to guilt-tripping or just because it would be ironic to actually bully during those times. Imagine the lecture someone would get for bullying during the anti-bullying week! I certainly saw a decrease first hand at school during the anti-bullying week only for it to go back to normal the following week. The week is worthwhile because it gives many people a week to breathe for a bit. But it does raise a question:
Does it really do anything for the long-term?
This question raises even more questions though. What can we do to stop it? Sure, if every person was mindful and thought of others before themselves more often, then bullying would disappear.
1) Can we stop people from bullying others?
2) Can we educate people in power, such as employers and teachers, to identify bullying and stop it?
3) Can we empower the victims to get through the bullying?
The answer to all the above is: maybe, nothing more and nothing less.
Hopefully, as time progresses, that maybe will evolve into a yes.
At the end of the day (or in this case week) it gives an opportunity to sit back and reflect on ourselves – how can we be better people? Are we a bully to someone and can we stop it? Is it that we’re in a position of power that can stamp out bullying? But finally, if we are a somebody who is a victim of bullying what tactic can we employ to handle it?
Thanks for reading my quick ramble! This post wasn’t planned but I am still working on my next one which is going through a re-edit.
Further Reading
My Stand Against Bullying Page: http://www.dyspraxicfantastic.com/bullying/
See you next post!