Bullies’ victims

Andrew HN Gray sends a mixed message in his recent

letter about bullying at George Watson’s College (Letters, 8 May).

After informing us that he was belted every day by his class teacher, he tells us that it was the pupils who were the bullies, not the teachers. Many children who are subjected to violence by adults, whether verbal or physical, displace their anger and feelings of humiliation on to other

children – or onto helpless animals. Often both. CJ Sansom describes how some teachers mocked him in order to “get a laugh” from the pupils, to gratify their own egos.

I certainly wouldn’t promote William Golding’s Lord of the Flies as a realistic portrayal of young boys. This book was the product of a man who was, by his own admission, a “monster in deed, word and thought”. He had a self-confessed capacity for sadism, and said that he identified with the Nazis because he shared similar attributes with them.

Every child who is the victim of bullying, regardless of the status of the perpetrators, has to find a way to ease the psychological pain which is the inevitable result. Physical pain eventually eases, but memories can last a lifetime. Denial of the damage caused by bullying is a common coping strategy.

I hope for his children’s sake that things have improved since Mr Gray’s time there, though, judging by recent reports, bullying appears to be an ongoing problem.

CAROLYN TAYLOR

Wellbank, Broughty Ferry, Dundee