'Bullying' what exactly is it?
It is when someone is being hurt by words or actions done by a bully on purpose.
But what is it that makes bullying such a prominent issue?
To explain that, let me introduce you to Lara. Lara, was once a victim of bullying. At the age of 4, she had an experience that triggered her anxiety and as time went by it worsened for many reasons. The bullying began when she was 8, the bullies would call her horrible names and constantly try to put her down.
"This was just the beginning of it all. In senior school it all started again. I was purposely left out alone and had comments been made about me"
The pain and loneliness faced during that time by her was horrible.
In many unfortunate cases like this, it has been observed that victims have faced severe consequences of bullying. Those include, depression, anxiety, insecurity, fear, having anger issues, low self-esteem and even suicidal tendencies.
But then the question arises, why does the bully even do such a horrible thing when they already know its wrong?
It can have several reasons, and several answers. In some cases, the bully may be feeling powerless in their own lives and hence decide to take control over someone else's.
In most cases, they don't even know how to control their emotions and lack empathy and understanding.
A report by National Centre for Educational Statistics said that one out of every five students have been reported being bullied. The reasons most often included physical appearance, race/ethnicity, gender, disability, religion or sexual orientation.
Here, we see another fact-
The students being bullied are done so for the things they have no control over and which can't be changed!
This indicates us that we, as humans should know how to respect others and their choices without mocking them even in the name of ‘humor’.
At the end, if there is a way to control and eventually stop bullying, we need to spread more awareness about how the people can be taught to be a little more kindhearted, empathetic and respectful towards others. Because, Isn’t that what the bully lacks? If the bully of Lara would have been able to understand her pain, would they have bullied her? No.
We all need to realize the fact that everyone has their own struggles, problems and stories which not all of us can know.
All we can and should know is to be kind towards all.
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