Editor’s Note: Today, February 23, 2018 is “Stand Up to Bullying Day.” Jackie Glass, a contributor to Hope 4 Hurting Kids, asked that we publish this article from her about bullying back on Stand Up to Bullying Day in 2012.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have rooted for the underdog. And, this is not simply because I’m a Cubs fan. My “underdog” antenna always seemed extra sensitive. I remember feeling extreme sadness when no students on the bus would move over and let the boy from the farm sit next to them. I remember a girl being called “titanic” even though she was not overweight. I felt weird for crying when people I hardly knew endured pain. I had no idea how this seemingly silly sensitivity would continue to transform my beliefs about people’s value and equality.
Fast forward my life and here I am today, passionate about bullying—passionate about equality for people. Bullying is especially close to my heart because the definition of bullying is an imbalance of power amongst two people with a bully seeking to gain power and control (Garrett). This goes against the very belief that all people are created EQUAL and possess equal value.
However, we’ve been lead astray. We tend to believe that aggressive behavior trumps assertive behavior, and we see children repeating these behaviors in preschools, elementary and high schools, and brace yourselves…even in our workplace and families.