How To Prevent Bullying: Spineless People Edition

YouTube artist fouseyTUBE has made a very interesting video about bullying, where he beats up a guy in public for not doing his homework for him. The victim (who is actually just an accomplice of course) cowers under him, but when you're being physically threatened by someone that is understandable. How the bystanders and passersby reacted, however, is not:

                                    Surprise, surprise, women are more courageous than men

As someone who suffered severe bullying for a great part of my life - and more importantly overcame it - I get sick to my stomach watching this video. There are so many anti-bullying campaigns directed at children, but children aren't the real problem - it's adults! In an attempt to shirk responsibility, we try to make it seem as if we have to teach children not to tease each other, when in reality most of the things that are said are just the children parroting their parents. Does that mean that Little Timmy who makes fun of Little Barry because he likes to play with dolls does so because his parents are raging homophobes? No, not necessarily. All it takes is for Little Timmy to pick up a doll because he wants to play with it, and being told "No Timmy, boys don't play with dolls". The next time he goes to kindergarten and sees Little Barry play with a doll he will simply state what his parents said "Boys don't play with dolls!". After all, if daddy said it, it must be true. In many cases this is how it begins. This is an easy one to prevent: let children be children! Let them play with the toys they want - it's not going to make a difference, and it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Another thing you can do is remember to parent. Too many people rely on kindergarten and school to raise their children for them, and this is wrong! They are your responsibility, and it's your job to make sure they grow up to be respectable adults. It's much more effective to stop bullying before it happens. Address the fact that everybody is different, but that doesn't mean they're any less worthy of love and respect. Teach them to embrace individuality, to nurture what is unique in others, and most importantly to love what makes themselves special. The fear of what's different in others is most typically a projection of the fear that we feel about what's different within ourselves. Prevent that fear from manifesting, so they don't have to fight it later. It's evident from this video that it stays with people into adulthood. How can we expect children to stop bullying, when even adults can't seem to find the courage to interfere? When it comes to birth control everyone can agree that prevention is easier than abortion - the same applies here! Unlike pregnancy, however, which can be a tricky business, preventing bullying really only comes down to a few simple things: respect, education, and acceptance. Teach your children to respect others (even if you don't agree with them), educate them on the fact that people are different, and that not only is it OK, but wonderful, and they'll come to accept other people for who they are all on their own. Ignorance spawns fear spawns hatred spawns violence. Let's make a conscious effort to educate our children before they turn ignorant, so they don't end up like the people in the video.

Before I go, I just want to share this other video by the same guy (fouseyTUBE)! Just so (hopefully) you'll leave with a smile.

                                            2:25 definitely widened my already huge grin

If you enjoyed this post, please like it and share it with your friends. If you want to receive updates about when I post new blog posts right away, like my blog's Facebook page.

Yours,