'Sticks and Stones Can Break my Bones'

PLEASE DON’T BULLY 

Most people have heard the subject of bullying in the news this past week. Bullying has been going on since the creation of Adam & Eve. I doubt it will ever end in this system of things. But, let me tell you the extent of damage that it can cause. With a friends permission, I will briefly explain.

You see, bullies were the contributing factor in what is now a lifetime physical/emotional problem for her and her two children.

She was relentlessly bullied by her peers as a youth to the point of fearing for her safety as she returned home from school each day. Due to an unique name that no one (including her teachers) could pronounce, and a slight weight problem; a diminutive group of boys continually called her names and threw pebbles at her as she walked/ran home from school. She was far too terrified to tell anyone what was happening until, one day, her girlfriend’s older brother found out about the harassment. He scared the living tar out of the boys! That put an end to the bullying — but the damage was done, leaving permit emotional scars on her.

She became withdrawn. To this day she is afraid to speak in public and afraid to be alone in a strange group of people.

She now has two grown children and a grandchild. She blames herself for what happened to her children during their school days. Talk about history repeating itself! Due to circumstances beyond her control, she was basically forced to move her children to a community that did not welcome strangers kindly. The kids in that town were the worst offenders.

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The oldest of her two children was in the final two years of high school. Her classmates were shameless. The harassment want on daily. As for her son who was just staring school; it was discovered he had a learning disability known as Dyslexia. He got a double dose. She made trip after trip, meeting after meeting, plea after plea, for help for the teachers, counselors and principals to put an end to the harassment to no avail. And again; to this day, both of her children show the effects of the bulling that they endured as youths.

My point to telling this story is to attempt to impress on the readers mind how horrific "being a bully" actually is. Remember the old saying:  “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.” WRONG!

Words can damage a person's pshyce — leaving a lifelong battle to achieve, socialize or just plain carry on any kind of a "normal" life at all.

PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU: Think before you speak! Talk to your children about the subject of bullying. Make sure they understand the lasting damage that can be caused by the words one speaks at the way they treat their peers.