The Importance of the Anti-Bullying Movement

Coming from a small town with limitations in regard to those I can choose as friends, it struck me just how important it is to get along with those around you. Everyday a person is bullied somewhere in the world as well as there is someone acting the bully. According to No Bullying (2016), bullying has become more prominent and cruel in more recent years, which has led to the importance of change. The anti-bullying movement is a movement that promotes better treatment of others so there are less victims of bullying. According to Stop Bullying (2016), this movement can help stop bullying at the source through education. With this in mind, potential bullies would be more aware of their actions and the consequences before they bully so that they hopefully make better decisions. The second goal of the anti-bullying movement is to stop bullying after it starts. Not everyone will be impacted by the message for prevention, and when that happens, it is important to stop bullying after it happens. Both of these tactics come in many forms, such as posters at schools that promote anti-bullying or even speaking up about being bullied. There can also be seminars and school assemblies that help educate others on the importance of the movement.

This is a very important topic to me not only because I have children who it impacts, but also because I was bullied at one point. I do not want others to feel the way that I did when I felt insignificant to others and did not want to go to school. Growing up in a small town did not give me many options for diversity among friends. As a result, we were all friends with everyone. A downside to that was when I was bullied; it was me against everyone else. I felt lonely and I felt that every name they called me or word they described my appearance as had to be true because everyone was saying it. I never went to my teacher for help because the bullying occurred obviously in front of the teacher and that teacher did nothing. I cried every day after school until I found a way to stop it, which was to kill them with kindness as my mother said. I see now that there are actions I can take to help others have more positive social interactions than I did. Any help that I can give in order to promote a more positive social setting for others, including my children, is very important to me. Some people may think that bullying is how children and adults create their social circles and show dominance over others, but to me it shows dysfunction within society as well as improper expectations of others.

 

References

No Bullying. (2016). Retrieved from http://nobullying.com/what-is-anti-bullying/

Stop Bullying. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/definition/index.html