by Ruth
A. Sheets
The
subject of bullying has arisen again with events in New Jersey. Everyone knows
that Chris Christi is a bully. He pushes people around, insults people who
don’t agree with him, and allows an atmosphere of bullying in his office. Yet,
he won a second term as governor and wants to run for President of the US. He
has high ratings among Republicans and some Democrats. So what if his people
closed entrances to a bridge or held up funds to gain concessions. We love his
“straight shooting.”
Roger
Ayles of FOX News is also a bully according to Gabriel Sherman’s new book THE
LOUDEST VOICE IN THE ROOM. He has a huge following and his on-air team is
extremely loyal despite knowing they could be fired at any time if they “step
out of line.” He has plenty of sponsors for his network’s
hate-mongering.
Tea
Party members of Congress use bullying too. They force their opinions on
America and back them up with threats of government shut-downs, sequesters, and
defaults on the US debt. Most of them will be re-elected in November 2014 and
beyond.
President Lyndon Johnson was a well-known bully who was
highly respected by the bullied. He managed to get all sorts of important
legislation through with his skill and is remembered fondly by many for
it.
Bullying used to be (and maybe still is) a way of life
in the military academies, upper classmen bullying the lower classmen,
supposedly to build character and leadership. Is it possible that the bullying
does not continue to be filtered down through the
ranks?
In the
school district where I work, we are told that there is a ZERO TOLERANCE FOR
BULLYING! Of course, when that is enforced at all, it is limited to the
students bullying one another. Administrators regularly bully teachers and
staff while sometimes, teachers and staff bully students. Parents also get away
with bullying whoever they feel is not making their child
#1.
Police
bully suspects into confessions. Conservatives bully women into keeping
pregnancies they can’t afford for health, financial, or other personal reasons.
Loud talk-show hosts bully their listeners into silence or support of positions
against their own self-interest.
As a
society, we tolerate the rape of our young men and women in the military. We
condone bank foreclosures even to the destruction of whole neighborhoods. We
allow organizations like the National Rifle Association to dictate who should
have guns and under what circumstances. In the guise of freedom of religion,
we permit religious institutions to threaten members in a variety of ways if
they do not tow the line on their particular doctrine. Governors can take over
cities and refuse to help their most vulnerable citizens. These are all
bullying no matter what term we use.
We
could stop this if we wanted to. The problem is, we admire the bullies. We
regularly say things like “ I don’t like his/her position, but I admire how it
was done.” or the old cliché “The ends justify the means.” It is almost as
though bullying is the American way. of doing just about everything. Bullies
are strong and have power. We want to be in their shadow so we can share a
little of their power.
Bully
lovers have bought into a series of lies. Wealth trumps common sense, personal
greed trumps others’ needs, hate is stronger than caring, fear cannot be faced,
change is more frightening than the status quo.
Those
of us who are disgusted with bullies and their bullying need to get the truth
out. Without their groupies the bully’s power would be gone. Being in
someone’s shadow is generally not a good thing. No one deserves to have so much
money that they corrupt our Democracy. Every TV has a channel changer and an
on/off button when the hate speech begins. There was no “Golden Age” when
everything was perfect. Today is what we have and tomorrow is what we can build
together.
