Those Who Don't Stand Up to Bullies Become Their Next Victims [View all]
Bullying isn't a "gay problem" or a "religion problem" or a "conformity problem." It's an abuse problem. It's practiced most often by people who - for whatever reason - want to control others. Chances are, most of us are subject to it at one time or another. We're labeled as too slow, too fat, too ugly, too flamboyant, too shy, too nerdy or too fill-in-the-blank. We're bullied by a spouse, a boss, a neighbor, a bureaucrat, a preacher.
Most of us have been targets of a bully, yet all too often we buy into the idea that the bully's view somehow represents the majority. The norm. And for a long time, society has bought into it by dismissing cruel behavior. It's justified by saying "boys will be boys" or "it's a rite of passage" or "the husband is the head of the household." For years, we've been brainwashed into thinking abusive behavior is somehow acceptable.
It isn't.
Bullies seek to sustain the illusion of their absolute authority by hook or proverbial crook. Perhaps their favorite strategy invokes the values so often championed by their enemies. One specifically: tolerance.
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