On Bullying, and violence in politics
May. 17th, 2016 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mary_j_59Fair warning, everyone - I am a Bernie fan. I think he's great! But not perfect. That said, I fail to understand why the man is being blamed for the (apparent) acts of a few of his supporters. He said, quite clearly, that he does not support violence and that nobody ought to be threatened. Could he have offered more sympathy to that poor woman in Nevada? Yes, I think he could. She by no means deserved this horrible treatment. No one does. Still, Bernie has never advocated violence against anyone, unlike the other two candidates. Which brings me to my main point.
The Donald, Heaven help us! How did we ever get to this point? Well. Here is one way. He's a bully. And-
We live in a country in which bullying is not only acceptable, but effective.
Here's what I mean. In every state in this union, workplace bullying is legal. You have recourse against a bullying boss only in very specific and limited circumstances. What's worse, far too many of us enjoy watching meanness and bullying on so-called 'reality TV'. How, after all, did many of us first hear of the Donald? It was through his reality show, the Apprentice. He was quite obviously a bully and a blowhard, but he was entertaining - and wealthy. The show was popular.
And now he's given free air time because he's still entertaining. And millions of Americans are actually voting for him! He advocates violence at his rallies (unlike Bernie), and people actually get beaten up, and still millions vote for him.
At the same time, we hold anti-bullying workshops in our middle schools. We deplore the cruelty of children to other children, and mourn young lives lost to suicide. But children are not stupid. They see that Donald Trump is a bully; they see that nevertheless, many, many adults support and admire him. In such a climate, what good are anti-bullying workshops? What good are any number of lectures? If we don't sanction Donald Trump for his bullying, why shoudl the children pay any attention when we try to discipline them?
Just a thought.
The Donald, Heaven help us! How did we ever get to this point? Well. Here is one way. He's a bully. And-
We live in a country in which bullying is not only acceptable, but effective.
Here's what I mean. In every state in this union, workplace bullying is legal. You have recourse against a bullying boss only in very specific and limited circumstances. What's worse, far too many of us enjoy watching meanness and bullying on so-called 'reality TV'. How, after all, did many of us first hear of the Donald? It was through his reality show, the Apprentice. He was quite obviously a bully and a blowhard, but he was entertaining - and wealthy. The show was popular.
And now he's given free air time because he's still entertaining. And millions of Americans are actually voting for him! He advocates violence at his rallies (unlike Bernie), and people actually get beaten up, and still millions vote for him.
At the same time, we hold anti-bullying workshops in our middle schools. We deplore the cruelty of children to other children, and mourn young lives lost to suicide. But children are not stupid. They see that Donald Trump is a bully; they see that nevertheless, many, many adults support and admire him. In such a climate, what good are anti-bullying workshops? What good are any number of lectures? If we don't sanction Donald Trump for his bullying, why shoudl the children pay any attention when we try to discipline them?
Just a thought.