If you haven’t noticed, the blog has been on vacation for a while. We have both been busy with other things, and that’s going to be the case for the foreseeable future. We may write posts sporadically, but they won’t be as regular as they used to be. If you want to write something for us, send a note by clicking the link under “News Tips.” We will consider your idea and let you know how to proceed. Book reviews are always appreciated and get “hits” long after the date we post them; other ideas are welcome, too.
Since we won’t be posting local events directly, we are providing links under “Happening Soon” to organizations that post their own activities online. Please check those links.
Meanwhile, I want to leave you with two questions that follow on the discussion of the past two months. Who’s a bully? and How should schools or communities address bullying?
We hope you’ll consider adding a comment to this post telling us your definition of bullying, how you think schools should address the problem of bullying, and how and when you think the term should be applied to conflicts in society at large. Perhaps you have a great link about bullying that you’d like to share.
Six months ago, I had a fairly simple sense of bullying. I viewed it as essentially actions against a person with less status or power intended to intimidate and cause distress. Pictures that came to my mind were of a school-yard or neighborhood bully who picked on kids who were vulnerable to physical or psychological attack. Yes, I also pictured older teens and twenty-somethings keeping their turf clear of unwanted foreigners, gays, disliked religious groups, or any type of “other” who mucked up the scene. But there was always a personal element in my vision of bullying. I didn’t consider workplace harassment or activities related to political or social causes to be bullying. Now I see the term used everywhere, and I wonder if this is muddying the waters in a way that will complicate efforts of school districts to address the original problem of bullying that we have have asked them to address.
Let us know what you think!
by Lighten Up!
