House of Eratosthenes

We have these radio PSAs from the Teacher’s unions about how “bullying has no place.” If anyone in a position of import were listening, I would humbly suggest everyone keep their ideas about bullying to themselves, unless they themselves had ever been bullied. We’d be headed off in a wholly different direction in our dealings with bullies if we were to successfully implement such a policy, and it would be better than our current one.

Haven’t you noticed; all the people complaining about being “prosecuted/persecuted by Trump who is going after his enemies/opponents” — are complaining about just desserts? They’re complaining about being legitimately prosecuted for crimes. And, about being put on the business end of various maneuverings that they had been doing, just a few years ago, themselves.

FAFO This is how bullies operate. They whine about being the victims. They make their targeted victim look like the “real bully.”

Bullying is a reflection of us all. People don’t think of it that way, but that’s what it is. People think of bullying as a bigger kid tormenting a smaller kid, and that’s it. Actually that’s 5th-grade bullying; bullying in elementary school. A bully in middle school has figured out our social fabric, how it’s woven, how to manipulate it. How to propound a narrative and then micro-manage it.

“Mr. Smith, he’s hitting me!!” No way you can be a bully if you’re an annoying tattle-tale, right? Oh yes you can. Absolutely. That’s how it works, how it’s done; tell your story, leave out the part about all the things you’ve been doing to earn what you’re getting. Just squeal like a sissy and hopefully your “real bully” will be marched off to the Principal’s office, and on his way past, you can smirk at him.

In the past few years, I’ve seen a concerted, grandiose effort to drive bullying from the planet forever.

It hasn’t work very well.

Oh, it sounds nice to intone, so forcefully, “Bullying has no place here!” But when you’re being bullied, what really matters is not the speech-making, but the situation in the aftermath of the speech. And the fact is that no one who resolves to eradicate bullying forever, has actually done it. No one’s even come close. They make their speech, then things go back to the way they were, bullying and all. That’s what has been happening, in the grade-school world as well as in the grown-up world. We can work hard to avoid admitting it, but that doesn’t change what’s true.

And this shrieking about “He’s hitting me!!” has ridden a crescendo, during that time, up to today’s constant and fevered pitch.

We who were bullied, know what that means.

What’s sad is, if you weren’t bullied, you don’t see the pattern and there’s a very good chance you’ve been consumed by it, and become the bully yourself without even realizing it. That’s why I say anyone who wasn’t subjected to it in the grade school years, should probably sit down, shut up…just work the crossword puzzles on this one while those of us who know something, work out the details.

Bullying is deceit. It is acting. Off-stage theater. “I’m so abused!” It is cowardice in its purest form, whether you’re being a coward by picking on a weaker guy, or being a coward by staging a theater-play to avoid consequences you’ve earned. It is swiveling, like on a weather vane. Aiiieee, why are you picking on me?? It’s all part of the same cowardly stuff. And it is us, because we’ve built a cowardly world.

The weather vanes are spinning. Spinning like mad, and everywhere.

Trump is “coming after his political enemies”…after…all that stuff we’re supposed to forget. All of it. Impeachment over a phone call. Impeachment ceremonies. Impeachment gift pens. Rigging the 2020 election. Attempting to assassinate him — twice. Raiding Mar a Lago. Sifting through everything, including his wife’s underwear drawer. Faked up photographs of “classified documents.” Steele Dossier. Lying about the server hardwired into the Kremlin, nestled deep in Trump Tower, remember that?

He’s hitting me!! The real bully!! The weather vanes spin. Middle-school bullying.

We can pursue justice. Avoid injustice. We can try that…which raises the question, what’s the difference between the two? How do we tell the real bully apart from the real victim? When is a sanction proper and when does it become real-bullying? This can be tricky. To demarcate correctly, we can ignore those who don’t care what justice is. Or who are trying to avoid it. That’s a good start.

Unfortunately, there’s not much to come afterward. This about the best we can do.

Apart from just one other thing: embrace “toxic masculinity.” Haven’t you noticed, since it became popular to treat masculinity as some kind of blight, the bullying has gotten so much worse? That’s because there are no protectors. No one nips bullying in the bud, on the playground, anymore. No one steps in to intercede. All disputes have to be elevated to the level of the administrators, for arbitration. Who do a terrible job.

But we’re not going to drive bullying from the planet forever, like it’s smallpox or something. It is a window into us. Humans are corrupt.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent

Items of Interest

Monthly Archives

What They Say

Links

Bullying Has a Place HereSunday, September 28th, 2025

Bullying Has a Place Here
Sunday, September 28th, 2025