Alain Jeannot
30 October 2007
Port Louis — As a child Michael's physical disposition seemed to have worked to his advantage. He was more resistant to diseases and falls - he seemed to bounce up with no damage at all!
Yet this same asset turned into a sticky liability from the time he joined kindergarten.
He was immediately either ridiculed or excluded because he was different in size from his peers.
He learnt to put up with the teasing and name calling , but he himself still does not recall why on that day he went out of his way to punch this scornful high school mate when he called him "gros".
Michael's unexpected surge of violence cost him his place in that school, while his teaser's nose would never look the same again.
While it is understandable that there should be a strong signal of disapproval for such a significant physical assault , it would have been more digestible if the school had displayed a clear rejection of bullying while explaining its disastrous consequences for both bullies and victims.
In the case of Michael , the effect seemed to have been addressed in a blunt and expeditious way while the cause is still running free, unquestioned and trivialised, reinforcing the bullies in their misdeeds.
A joke told twice is not a joke! It is then meant to hurt the person, turning him into a misfit.
Continuous teasing or malicious name-calling is abusive behaviour. It is, together with sexual remarks, spreading of rumours, taunting, threatening, stealing and coercion a form of bullying .
Victims are usually vulnerable and lack social skills. Therefore they tend to mull over their frustration in silence; sometimes they feel so abysmally wounded in their self esteem that they commit suicide or suddenly become disastrously revengeful.
Regrettable Virginia Tech rampage
Bullying seems to have contributed to the regrettable rampage at Virginia Tech which claimed the lives of 30 persons including the perpetrator. According to reports, "His classmates recalled some teasing and bullying over his taciturn nature. The few times he was required to speak for a class assignment, students mocked his poor English and deep-throated voice. " (NY Times)
This neither means that all bullying ends up in such disproportionate tragedies nor justifies or explains Cho Sheung Hui's killing frenzy .It only shows that when it falls on the wrong number bullying may be a contributing factor to regrettable situations .
In any case bullying reaps its lot of mini tragedies everyday while bullies might be paving their way to more significant future crimes if they go unchecked!
In the US alone around 6 million teenagers are estimated to have been involved in abusive behaviour either as victims or perpetrators.
Revenge outbreaks are particularly bloody in that country where according to a bullying statistics website an estimated 100,000 students carry a gun at school. The Virginia Tech and Columbine High School shootings stand out as regrettably infamous examples while 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
Bullying is a serious issue, not a laughing matter at all! Therefore parents and teachers must treat it as such and not wait for the situation to get out of hand to take expeditious unilateral measures as in Michael's case.
Making sure playgrounds are supervised, intervening immediately when spotting wrong behaviour, encouraging victims to report cases while counselling accordingly, teaching vulnerable children to be assertive while avoiding character assasinating jokes are examples of simple measures that can be taken.
Clearly explained rules
An awareness campaign on the subject in all schools might prove worthwhile and a no tolerance policy would be most welcome but this should be accompanied with clearly explained rules and regulations.
A withdrawn child, whose performance is drifting downwards or who is losing interest in school may well be a victim of bullying.
Let's teach our children to accept and respect differences - it might be the first step towards preventing bullying, this evil we wrongly underestimate to the cost of our children's mental and physical wellbeing, until a blow in the face casts light on the bully who was always there.
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