I am CuTRis

Recently at my dad's funeral, I was reunited with some second cousins who I played with frequently when I was very young. Our families would get together sometimes. I haven't seen them since we were kids. I haven't thought much about them over time. But when I saw them again, a deep-seated memory arose inside of me. I can remember being at their house, in their neighborhood, when an older kid started picking on me. Instead of helping me or telling this other kid to stop, all of them joined together to laugh at my misfortune and call me names! I remember I felt quite alone and helpless and wasn't sure what to do at my young age. So as I said, I haven't thought about this for decades. But the memory arose shortly after I saw these two people. Apparently it was quite traumatic and stuck with me all these years even though it was buried. So if you think that bullying doesn't matter, I believe it does. I believe that calling people names, and vilifying certain groups...

As we try to teach our children about being kind, it seems that a lot of adults never learned this important skill. Or, maybe it's just too easy and alluring to some people, to become an Internet bully and reach out and hurt someone through social media. I have left the second Facebook group I ever joined, for the same reason I left the first. The conversation deviated from the group's subject, and it spawned attacks and bullying. I marvel at how viscous people can get behind the wheel of an automobile, and the ease of social media has created a bunch of adult bullies. My most recent transgression, was asking others to stop attacking each other. I know this was a risk on my part, but it is quite possibly the same thing I would have done if we were all in the same room face to face. Please be kind. There is too much hate and hurt. People who are hurting, are more likely to hurt others. We should be perpetuating joy and goodness instead.

This dad is paying attention to what happens to his kids. You have to like what he did; and you have to wonder about the people who caused him to have to do it. http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/01/21/prior-lake-father-calls-out-teen-daughters-bullies-online/

We may think of bullies in terms of adolescent boys, but over the years I've noticed that they can come in a variety of forms. One of these is the middle-aged woman with the nasty mouth. This person likes to make nasty comments and does it from some vantage point that feels safe. Often they look for positions with some kind of power; where they can satisfy their desire to make others uncomfortable. I'm fortunate to have nice bosses at my current job, but I did recently have a run-in with a bully from outside of work who exhibited 'classic' bully behavior. The interesting thing I've found out about bullies over the years, is that they are rarely actually 'tough.' If you stand up to a bully, they frequently run and cry and pretend that they are the victim. This is very typical, or what I consider to be 'classic' bully behavior. They are only comfortable when their victim is unable or unwilling to fight back. Often a bully who has been confronted w...