BULLIES
I do apologise for not having written a blog for over 3 weeks. The reason is I have had an ankle operation and been confined to bed. I really need to be at my desk in order to write my blogs. I am actually getting better and hopefully have only another 3 weeks in my glamorous plaster.
While in hospital I observed a bad case of a nurse bullying an old and frail patient. This was sad because it was an isolated incident and all the other nurses were extremely kind and patient. It started me thinking about bullies and in the 3 weeks since returning from the hospital ironically they have been in the news with the bullying that has taken place in the political parties. It set me thinking about the entire subject of bullying.
I once again turned to the Oxford Dictionary who defined it as ”coercing by fear, persecuting and oppressing by force and threats.” Unhappily this covers mankind’s behaviour since the beginning of time. We have lived with tyrants from Julius Ceasar to King John, the monsters who ran the Spanish Inquisition, and more recently so many more, including Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin and of course the latest horrors of the terrorists produced by ISIS. It takes combined armies and co-operation between countries to defeat these bullies.
But bullying is closer to home than that. Bullies have moved into every walk of life and particularly worrying is the cyber bullies and bullies on the social media, especially worrying for our children, many of whom are really suffering. Yes, their activities can make people ill and it can, in the worst scenario drive people to suicide.
Who are these people who take delight in causing such misery? I am no psychiatrist, but they must be those with low self esteem and a need to control and persecute in order to boost their morale and give themselves a feeling of power. The truth about most of these sad specimens of humanity is that most of them are cowards. Perhaps the best way is to expose the individual the moment they start bullying. This takes bravery but once these bullies are brought into the public consciousness justice can be meted out. This climate of bullying must be stopped and the example should come from the top, and first politicians and anyone in a position of power, should take action.
Next week I will talk about something more cheerful and more in keeping with the Festive time of year.