Robert Reich It's time to fight back against America's bullies

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3. This might not be a popular opinion, but.....

I think we need to start instilling in our youth (school), workplace, and society in general, that turning a blind eye to any sort of bullying/harassment/assault is unacceptable.

It is extremely hard for a victim to fight back alone, for reasons we are all aware of. But it is rare that the victim is the only one present or aware when it happens.

I am in an executive-level position at a medium sized company, and encourage my employees to stay connected with each other on a human level as much as possible. If they ever are made to feel uncomfortable, or notice someone who is being treated inappropriately by ANYONE, I encourage them to let someone know immediately.

Think about it: If someone reports witnessed bullying to me, one of my mid-level managers, HR, or whoever they trust, the whole "he-said, she-said" stalemate is automatically non-applicable.

It may be a pipe-dream, since the human tendency is to "stay out" of other people's problems on the schoolyard or in the office, but looking the other way is a significant part of the problem. It saddens me to say that I am guilty of inaction myself, including pretending not to see bullying in the locker-room in Jr. High. That kid was never going to "tattle" on the bigger students, and all I would have had to do to help was spend 5 minutes doing it for him. I can only imagine how he felt in the pit of his stomach as the bell rang ending the preceding class each day, knowing it was time to go to Physical Education.