Let's think about bullying, a topic that has made national headlines in the past year as it has been regarded as an epidemic. Daughters and sons are sent to school each day to build a foundation for a happy and prosperous life. Rather than achieving that, many of these girls and boys are returning home physically, mentally and emotionally traumatized children. Why? Because they are raised to fear the different.
In many households, there is active effort to stop bullying. There's only one problem. Parents aren't aware of what bullying is. When you hear the term, a few key words pop into your head: name-calling, wedgies, swirlies, punching, biting, kicking, etc. Can you think of anything else? I've got one for you: apathy.
I grew up an only child— reserved, inquisitive and painfully shy. I didn't have friends, I had acquaintances. I was not relentlessly picked on like some poor kids; instead, I was overlooked and practically invisible. I made no effort to speak up and make conversation, so my peers made no effort to speak to me. For a while I thought, “But who could really blame them? If I won't try to come out of my shell then why should they even bother with me?” It was not until long after that I realized just how wrong my thoughts really were.
Apathy is defined by Merriam-Webster as a lack of feeling or emotion, interest or concern. This is the method of bullying that nobody talks about. People refuse to acknowledge that the next generation of children is being raised with love, but without being taught how to give that love to others. Parents have taught their children to fear what is not “normal.” However, in an attempt to stop what they see as bullying (aka the list above) people have foolishly decided that the only way to stop kids from bullying is by teaching them to ignore the different kids.
As one of those kids who was ignored, let me tell you that this is nothing but another heinous form of bullying. When we’re younger, we classify ourselves according to the number of people around us. A lot of friends means we’re popular, and no friends means we are weird. We judge ourselves based on how others treat us, on whether our peers accept us or reject us.
How are we going to end bullying? We stand absolutely no chance of abolishing this harmful behavior against children without raising our children to feel for the people around them. Do not teach children to fear those who are different. Teach children to love their classmates and fellow children.
Teach them to try pulling the shy kids out of their shells rather than shoving them further in by way of apathy. If we ever want bullying to end we have to teach our children to feel for the other individuals around them.
