Bullying, Author Dalia098 (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
While the coronavirus has disrupted the normal school year, for some of our children this may actually have come as a relief.
“In American schools, bullying is like the dark cousin to prom, student elections, or football practice: Maybe you weren’t involved, but you knew that someone, somewhere was. Five years ago, President Obama spoke against this inevitability at the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. ‘With big ears and the name that I have, I wasn’t immune. I didn’t emerge unscathed,’ he said. ‘But because it’s something that happens a lot, and it’s something that’s always been around, sometimes we’ve turned a blind eye to the problem.”’
We know that we shouldn’t turn a blind eye: Research shows that bullying is corrosive to children’s mental health and well-being, with consequences ranging from trouble sleeping and skipping school to psychiatric problems, such as depression or psychosis, self-harm, and suicide.
But the damage doesn’t stop there. You can’t just close the door on these experiences, says Ellen Walser deLara, a family therapist and professor of social work at Syracuse University, who has interviewed more than 800 people age 18 to 65 about the lasting effects of bullying…”
[Continued at: https://slate.com/technology/2016/06/the-lasting-effects-of-childhood-bullying-are-surprisingly-not-all-detrimental-in-adulthood.html ]
FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: http://www.alawyersprayers.com
ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 
Anna, your writing is a bastion for the abused, the neglected, the suppressed. It is a window of hope for the countless who have suffered. Peace and light, my wonderful friend.
You bring tears to my eyes, Lance. My deepest thanks, both for your words and your friendship. ❤
You’re very sincerely welcome, Anna.
Dear Anna,
I concur with Lance! The convenience, connectivity and ubiquity of digital devices and social media have compounded bullying with cyberbullying.
Some have claimed that the POTUS has been the biggest and meanest bully of them all…
Thank you sincerely. Peace and light.
You are very kind, SoundEagle. In my view, bullies are small and insecure people, often attempting to shore up large but fragile egos. Child Abuse Prevention Services https://capsli.org/the-bullies/ has this to say about them:
“Bullies: like to have power and control over others; think they should always win; think they should always get what they want; intend to humiliate others; lack empathy; are very comfortable with their behavior and feel pretty good about themselves.”
I trust you will forgive me for having omitted the post you originally mentioned. Readers, I am sure, can find it on your website. I try to avoid discussing politics on A Voice Reclaimed. Abuse victims should feel welcome here, whatever their political beliefs.
Thank you, Anna, for your reply. Please kindly be aware that I was not so much discussing politics as bullying behaviours, one of which is demanding loyalty, attention and/or contribution from victims, which my cartoon has captured and depicted very well. In a heuristic cartoon, all is not as straightforward as it seems. One should be careful about misunderstanding the intent of certain materials, and also refrain from underestimating the intelligence of the abused to comprehend and be informed by such materials. After all, a decent cartoon or a good piece of writing can help the victim to contextualize and understand pertinent issues from new, fresh or additional perspectives.
I did not mean to slight you in any way. Nor was it my intent, of course, to underestimate the intelligence of the abused. I make a deliberate attempt to segregate political subjects (which, in fact, I write about on A Lawyer’s Prayers) because they can be so highly charged.
Thank you for understanding.
Dear Anna,
I understand your statements and intentions. However, as I have already mentioned, my inclusion of the cartoon is indeed not so much a political statement or posturing by any means as it is a graphical and succinct way of highlighting bullying behaviours, one of which is demanding loyalty, attention and/or contribution from victims, which my cartoon has captured and depicted very well, and which you have not registered in the first place, and therefore one of its main aspects and main significances was completely lost on you. Otherwise, you would not have made the decision that you did, as you clearly couched it under the political umbrella by what you stated in your previous comments, and by your truncating my comment to not reveal the source of the cartoon.
In any case, there are additional layers and meanings in the cartoon. Moreover, how viewers (including you) interpret the cartoon is also very much a good reflection and indication of their backgrounds, experiences, expectations and internal states, which certain well-designed cartoons or statements can elicit or uncover, regardless of their political persuasions.
Dear Anna,
Please kindly allow me the pleasure to inform you that I have since added three explanatory paragraphs to my heuristic cartoon so that nobody in their right or reasonable (frame of) mind will summarily, flippantly, unceremoniously or mistakenly treat it as just an instance of political statement or posturing.
Thank you very much for informing me of your concerns earlier.
Thank you for having gone to such lengths to clarify your intentions, SoundEagle. I am truly sorry to have hurt your feelings, and equally sorry to have misinterpreted or misrepresented your cartoon, if I have done so.
From your reference to Pres. Trump (and what seemed to me the reference in your cartoon to his slogan “Make Amercia Great Again”) I drew the conclusion he and the cartoon were related. The president, as you know, tends to elicit strong sentiments — some favorable, others adverse. I, myself, have written about him on A Lawyer’s Prayers. You, I think, have written about him on Twitter. I prefer to avoid that here, as I said. Abuse is a sufficiently complex and painful issue.
Whatever you may believe, my decision to omit the address of your post was neither summary, flippant, nor unceremonious. It would have been easier to withhold your comment without explanation.
If you would still like me to include the address of your cartoon, I will gladly do that. However, I will need you to re-send it. I hope this restores us to good relations.
Dear Anna,
Thank you very much for responding to me. As requested, the link to my cartoon is https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/the-quotation-fallacy/best-quotation-to-win-an-exclusive-loyal-contract-to-make-pig-boss-company-great-again/
As mentioned, apart from highlighting bullying behaviours such as demanding loyalty, attention and/or contribution from victims and allies alike, there are additional layers and meanings in the cartoon. I shall now reveal one of those to you, and you are the very first person that I reveal this to: the cartoon, amongst its many layers and meanings plus connotations and denotations, also pertains to (certain questionable or problematic aspects of) company culture, corporate culture and business culture.
There are still much more that can be deduced from carefully studying the cartoon. You are definitely very welcome to leave your thoughts or feedback at the comment section of my cartoon.
May you have a lovely Sunday!
I wish you well, SoundEagle.
Dear Anna,
Thank you for communicating with me and visiting my website, and for wishing me well. I believe that we have a number of things in common, including our caring attitudes towards other folks. This is one of the attributes that I particularly value and appreciate in you.
I would like to inform you that there is a very detailed post that I published at http://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/the-quotation-fallacy/
In the post, I have had to coin and define several new terms, including the “Quotation Fallacy”, the ramifications of which are very far-reaching.
May you find this post informative or beneficial to you in various ways. Though the post is very long and encyclopaedic, the navigational menu there can help you to jump to any section of the post instantly so that you can resume reading at any point of the post over multiple sessions in your own time.
In addition, hovering with a mouse cursor over a hyperlinked text or some stylized word(s) in the post will often bring up a tooltip showing descriptive information or instruction.
You may also click or touch a photo or image to view a larger version or to comment on it.
Dear Anna,
Thank you for your recent visit to a musical post of mine. Your feedback there is delightful and appreciated.
I would like to inform you that I have replied to your comment with a highly bespoke one at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/soundeagle-exploring-classicism-transcendence-reminiscence-and-infinity-via-art-music-and-compositions/comment-page-1/#comment-11251
Please enjoy!
This is beyond astonishing! Thank you from my heart.
You are very welcome, Anna. Here is the other bespoke comment from me to you in another musical post at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/soundeagle-in-art-music-and-ragtime/comment-page-1/#comment-11186
This one is signed off by me with an animated greeting.
Dear Anna,
Here is another bespoke comment from me to you almost two months ago with APRIL LOVE ❤ at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/soundeagle-in-april-love-and-dove-art-and-heart-game-and-puzzle-music-and-video/comment-page-1/#comment-11068
You have gone to far too much trouble. I apologize for not having responded to this earlier. I seem not have rec’d notice of its creation from WordPress. I will have to check into that, so the problem can be corrected.
Dear Anna,
The pleasure is mine. Moreover, I have been secretly hoping that you will grant SoundEagle with more elaborate thoughts or expansive feedback in your comments at SoundEagle’s blog, given that you possess considerable experience, maturity, sensitivity and wisdom, and that you have professed to like SoundEagle’s bespoke comments.
Sometimes, for no apparent reasons, a comment could be siphoned by WordPress into the spam or trash folder. This might explain your “not hav[ing] rec’d notice of its creation from WordPress.”
Thank you for the information, for your generous compliments, and for your kind invitation, SoundEagle. Unfortunately, health issues and other commitments limit my blogging. This is no reflection on you, of course. I am sure our paths will cross again. Meanwhile, I wish you all the best.
Dear Anna,
Here is the link that will give you access to all of SoundEagle’s posts and pages. You are the first to be given the link.
https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/about/contents/
Please enjoy a world of diverse and bespoke contents to your heart’s content!
Happy mid-June to you!
How wonderful! You can be sure I will use and enjoy this, despite the challenges of unreliable WiFi in a rural setting. 🙂
Dear Anna,
I have successfully updated the “Contents” guide, which is not spotting a new look. There is also a bespoke reply there waiting for you.
Happy Sunday to you soon!
May God bless you richly, SoundEagle. You can be sure I will visit your site. ❤
Dear Anna,
Thank you for your recent comments, to which I shall endeavour to reply in my usual bespoke manner when I have time, as I have been quite occupied lately, plus considerably expanding my post at http://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/the-quotation-fallacy/
This one has your favorite pink rice piggies 🐷 at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/soundeagle-in-chinese-new-year-celebration-spring-festival-lion-dance-traditional-culture-and-architecture/comment-page-1/#comment-10879
This bespoke comment at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2019/08/31/khai-khim-for-always-and-beyond-goodbye/comment-page-1/#comment-10464 is glowing with golden light and contains the Swan Princess.
And this special one comes with beautiful chocolate-coated snowflakes for you at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/%e2%9d%84-%e2%9d%85-%e2%9d%86-snowflakes-tell-me-why-you-are/comment-page-1/#comment-9665
Then, this nocturnal one brings you the full moon on a starry night at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/soundeagle-in-art-and-decor/comment-page-1/#comment-9551
And this one brings you music and lovely blue sky with SoundEagle asking you whether you have your favourite piece(s) at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/music/soundeagle-in-soundcloud/comment-page-1/#comment-9510
Dear Anna,
And now, the most recent and longest comment, no less bespoke than the others, is lovingly presented to you by SoundEagle at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2019/08/31/khai-khim-for-always-and-beyond-goodbye/#comment-11257
May you have a wonderful weekend!
I am truly overwhelmed, SoundEagle. I have done my best to respond to each of these works of graphic art individually on your website. Thank you again!
Blessings,
A. ❤
I was a victim of bullying in junior high school. The consequences are fatal especially if you aren’t strong mentally. Thank you for this…
My sincere pleasure. ❤
The teachers are responsible for the care of all the children in the school. I was bullied in the UK at school and one teacher did step in and stop it. It takes more than one teacher as often the bullies are the teachers. The become too powerful. My son was bullied at school from very young, I spoke to the parents of the children involved and all they could say well ours went through this. Not the reason to not stopping it. Sick minds perpetuate sick minds.
Without question, bullying is a serious problem.
👍👍👍
Great post Anna,
I believe there should be more attention in schools on how to treat others.
They tend to focus on sexuality and gender issues.. I feel there are a number of children treated badly in school, only to go home where are they face the same poor treatment.
You are all too right, Mary.