Pumpkin Center Charlie’s Girl: Bullying rears its head

There has been much verbiage and study about bullying in our children’s classrooms and on the playground. It is a problem today, but not a new challenge for children. It is one I witnessed firsthand on the merry-go-round during my elementary years at Guilford.

Recess is meant to be a time for children to exhale, run, play and rejuvenate their mind and senses. Instead, I recall certain boys who would terrorize certain girls during that 12 minutes. There is one particular episode that I can remember as if it was yesterday, even though it was over 50 years ago. The one cooperative piece of playground equipment we had was the merry-go-round. Some children rode, some children pushed and then jumped on and then some would push longer to get the ride going so fast they were not able to get on.

There were only a few girls on the merry-go-round when “those boys” came and the ride became vicious and mean-spirited. The girls were trapped and literally had to huddle together and hold on.

It seems those tendencies never leave children who are bullies. Instead, they grow up and bully anyone they can put down, belittle and “poke fun” to the point of hurting. I have witnessed this firsthand as I’m sure you can think of times when you have, too.

The level of bullying increases as the individual finds themselves leading people in their office or within their groups of associates. Some who watch from afar are enamored with their demeanor and their positive power. Other people realize the bully actually feeds off of others’ emotions. The worst aspect of this is the more aggressive power they drink, the less they think before they act.

The difference between the genders as bullies and those who are the recipients of being bullied is another statement on how society looks at bullying. A female who is assertive in the workplace is seen as negative to the point of being referred to as a #$&*; that rhymes with witch. A gal who is passive to bullying is viewed as someone who is weak, instead of someone who actually takes the high road and turns the other cheek.

Those in education will identify these personalities quickly. I would hope school principals could see bullying tendencies even when they are housed in a grown-up man.

I think that is enough to consume for this week.

Maybe just one more thought: An Enterprise Fund is defined as ”A government-owned fund that sells goods and services to the general public. Enterprise funds are common at the local level. They must abide by the same generally accepted accounting principles that private companies do.”