I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s as a young gay boy who did not have the courage nor support to come out. I was the victim of bullying in a time when it was not nearly as prevalent as it is today, with very little awareness for it and even less support for eradicating it.
During my time in junior high and high school, there was one bully that was relentless in his verbal assaults on me and even with his occasional physical attacks. He intimidated me in ways that took a very long time to recover from; he was hateful and spewed ugly words at me in front of my classmates or alone.
I remember the terror that I felt when I got to school, knowing that we had a class together and that our paths would cross. I knew every day that he would direct some type of bullying at me and that I would suffer another blow to my self-esteem and self-confidence.
My experiences with bullying as a kid have made me keenly aware of it as an adult. I have healed from those experiences enough today to advocate for other people who are in the grips of being bullied.
Over the past many years, bullying has hit epic proportions and caused many people to stand up against it. Even with the massive support for ending it, it still goes on every day in the classrooms and board rooms. Both children and adults are the victims of intimidation and assaults.
Sadly, too many children have found it impossible to cope with the relentless bullying and have committed suicide. The same is true for so many adults. Every life lost to bullying was preventable.
The end of normalizing bullying will take a concerted effort on the part of parents and leaders. If you have any doubts about how you might step up and make a difference in the lives of those who are being bullied, here are three suggestions for being a part of the solution.
- Acceptance: Learn and model how to Accept those who might be different from you. Being different does not warrant being treated in ugly and offensive ways. Be inclusive of those who you might otherwise exclude.
- Beliefs: Look into your own Beliefs about people who might be different and find where you might be biased or ignorant about them. Be willing to learn more about other people and the things that make them unique.
- Compassion: Leave your head and go deep into your heart to find the part of you that can be Compassionate with others. Your fear about those who are different from you comes from your thoughts, not your feelings. Be open to opening your heart to others.
Develop an open mindset along with an open heart when it comes to doing your part to wipe bullying off the face of the earth while modeling it for others to emulate.
Ending normalized bullying has to start with every parent and leader taking a stance against it, showing others that there is zero-tolerance for any act of bullying against anyone.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
