Crush bullying from the top down

Ian's Rural Ramblings

There are always, it seems to me anyway, antibullying campaigns, days, weeks, posters, stickers, marches, demonstrations, TV ads, radio ads, print ads and forgive me if I’ve left any out.

Has any of this stuff helped, yes, maybe, sometimes and no all apply I think in varying measures. As seemingly more intelligent beings than others on this planet, although sometimes I have my doubts, we have identified a nasty trait in our behaviour that we should be able to deal with.

I say should, when I prefer the word must. As adults at all levels of society we are supposed to set examples of behaviour for youngsters to aspire to and follow. Many don’t and bullying of all kinds is still rampant across the educational spectrum. Sometimes and some places antibullying strategies are better than others. Other times and places, and I have direct experience of this, there is no bullying problem because the powers that be either fail to recognise it is or it’s simply swept it under the administrative carpet.

I would not be surprised if bullies at school, if they are able to, become bullies in life. We see bullying on our newsfeeds every day, in government, in business and the workplace, in social media and more powerful countries pushing less powerful ones around. Is it ever going to stop? Seriously, I doubt it.

The only way I can see to stem the tide of bullying is for massive behaviour changes to take place amongst the wielders of power at all levels. Politicians can make a point without being nasty or scoring cheap sound bites that they think will help their party, can’t they? Shouldn’t they? Mustn’t they? I thought leaders and celebrities led by example. Well. It’s a fine example some are showing just now. Taking aside rudeness and intolerance there are some, perhaps many that are being less than honest in their financial affairs when they can well afford it. There are some, I will mention them not, celebrities that have apparently been engaged in sexual harassment and much worse apparently for years.

I’ve worked in management for nearly four decades and I cannot possibly see any circumstance in my wildest dreams that would make me think that it was OK to perform a sex act in front of my staff. I’ve read various assessments of this kind of behavior from experts that plain, don’t know to others that go on about it being an exhibitionist power thing. I’m sorry, to me, it’s weird. Even way beyond weird.

Has this kind of thing always been going on and it just hasn’t been reported or are parts of the human race going wacko?

How on earth are our youngsters going to get an example that is acceptable for them to follow? I see bullying as just as much a top down issue. Answers as to how to proceed on a postcard please.