The topic of bullying brings up the question, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” In other words, what happens that makes a person a bully? The origin of the word is a good place to start.

Earlier, it was a term of endearment. Later, the meaning of the word changed. It has remained there since.

Bullying – Begins

The topic of bullies is huge today. For instance, October is now National Bullying Prevention Month. It started out as prevention week, and has since expanded.

Above all, education rules. It seems the more we talk about it the more it happens. For example, The War On Drugs. That brought us to the place of The Opioid Epidemic, which we will save for another blog. The point being, has it made a difference? I am a detailed oriented person, so, to me, we need to go deeper.

Growing up, I was the youngest of three girls. On account of me being the “baby” of the family; I was an easy target for teasing and picking on. And yes, at school I was bullied. Nonetheless, this did not have me be unkind to others.

Years ago, I volunteered for an abused women and children’s shelter. I assisted in the children’s center. Primarily, we were providing a safe space for these children to play and learn.

Undoubtedly, each child is different; including their experiences and how they respond. I observed two siblings behave differently. Specifically, one would play the role of the abuser (bully), and the other, the submissive one. As you can see, this works from the top down. It is well known, the abused often times becomes the abuser.

Workplace Bullies

Ask a nurse how the saying, “nurses eat their young,” came about. If that takes place in a “caring environment”; you don’t really think it’s not happening within our government or schools?

In fact, a great example is the *book, Why Meadow Died. It certainly hit home reading this book.

In conclusion, bullying is very often a symptom of what’s going on in the bigger picture. In the end, it can be getting your own way all the time at no consequence. Or can be a result of an abusive situation. Clearly, it’s a lot more complicated than telling kids not to bully.

As always, I welcome your comments.

*Disclosure: I have no monetary involvement with the sale of this book.