My view on bullying and cyber bullying.

So, once I was out, with a friend, practising my walking, I have difficulty with my balance following brain surgery in 1974, when I was 3 years old. The operation was to remove a tumour which, sadly left me with no sense of balance - I have that problem with me for life - what you see now has taken years of practice! I am now nearly 50 years of age.

OK, back to what I was talking about - loss of balance. I’ve just mentioned that I was practising walking, this was in a park near to my home. All of a sudden, a teenage boy came circling around me on his bike, he was with two or three friends. They thought it would be a good idea to start teasing me about the way I was walking. Bullying me. 

Now, it’s not my fault that I suffered a brain tumour at the age of three. I didn’t ask for that tumour to infect me, the tumour didn’t ask me if it was al right to take hold of my brain. It wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, it just happened.

Before anybody bullies anyone, I would like them to stop and think - think very hard about what you’re planning to do. You are planning to tease someone about their appearance. That’s not very nice, is it? Would their parents be proud of them? If they found out, what would they think of their son or daughter?

What about their Gran and Grandad?

What about their Aunties and Uncles?

Brother and Sisters, Nephews and Nieces?

Cousins and second Cousins etc?

Friends?

Boyfriends, Girlfriends?

Husbands, wives?

Sons and Daughters?

Work colleagues?

The people who bully or, worst still, cyber bully may be respectable people - Individuals, married with children, people who are just about to get married, company bosses or people who are highly respected in the community and have respectable jobs, respectable lifestyles and have responsibilities. So why do you bully or cyber bully? Does it give you a sense of power? Does it make you feel good? What if the person you were cyber bullying was vulnerable? 

When the intended victim reads something that someone has written about them on the internet and then they feel insecure, victimised, scared because they don’t know who has written it, they lose their confidence. Would you feel good then? Well?

When you cyber bully, put things on the internet about someone you are not just writing on a computer screen just for you, if it’s on the internet, other people can see it! Worst still, if it’s on a website, the people who subscribe to that website may see it - lots of people!

I will say that I’ve bullied someone but I don’t feel proud of it. We’ve all done it - it’s part of growing up. But cyber bullying is different. You do it on line in the hope that no-one knows your identity so you feel safe.

BUT, turn the tables, try to think sensibly about it. If it was you who was being targeted, you were the victim - how would you feel? It’s time to grow up. If you want to carry on being a bully then go ahead. It's not wise - is it?