Bullying - Workplace and Schoolyard
Is bullying as bad as ever? Does it still go unnoticed (except by the victims and the bullies) in our playgrounds, schools, colleges, and workplaces?
Were you ever a victim of bullying, or were you once a bully? Have Your Say!
Kim of Swansea says:
"I have also been bullied from the age of about seven years, so approx. nine years, as I am 16 now. I think that bullying is disgraceful, and there is no justified reason to bully anyone. I am just a normal teenager, doing good at school, but I always, for some unknown reason, get targeted. Don't let it happen to you, it is awful."
Christine Hillier of Morriston says:
"Bullying has been going on for years and will continue to do so. I was in school in the 70's, and was victimised for years because I was overweight and poor. The times might of changed but the bullying goes on. As long as children with low esteem or too much self confidence go to school then the problem will not be solved. There needs to be classes about counselling, and ethics should be introduced to children to have an understanding of people's feelings. Counselling skills so children can learn to help people and ethics to understand the difference of right and wrong. To learn that there is no right or wrong answer to people, we need to learn how to live with them."
Brian from Port Talbot remembers his childhood:
"I too was bullied at school, in the 1950's, my father wasn't interested. It's always done he said, you must fight back, at the ring leader. Take a hammering from him, like I did. I was never bothered again as it was known I would fight back."
Nathan discusses work place bullying:
"I have frequently witnessed people being bullied because they are Welsh! I was brought up in Wales but now work in England, it seems the Welsh are always the butt of jokes (particularily if there is reference to sheep!), in fact I've even heard the phrase "the Welsh are the new Irish" used several times. I think there is resentment towards the massive influx of Welsh labour into the area I work in, often fuelled by the negative Welsh attitude towards the English. "Most of the bullying I have witnessed occurs outside the workplace, but have witnessed an incident where an outspoken Welsh employee at my company was frequently derided for his origins, yet sacked when he made a derogatory comment about Asians. "It does cut both ways, though as I now have an English accent, I often experience a negative reaction when walking into my home town pubs, and have even had people switch to speaking Welsh when they hear my accent - this doesn't bother me, as I let them carry on in the mistaken impression I don't know what they're saying. I will also not even bother applying for any jobs in West Wales, as I know from experience my accent will prejudice the outcome of an interview instantly. "When I have worked in West Wales, I have found companies there frequently bully their employees on the basis that it is an employers' market - i.e. people are less likely to stand up for themselves because jobs are in short supply. Why people should have to put up with this is beyond me- isn't the poor level of pay bullying enough?!"
Will from Washington DC believes bullies are no different from criminals:
"Bullying in the form of assault (threats) or battery (hitting, etc.) is a crime and should be prosecuted. Why should children who commit these crimes be treated any differently from adults who do so?"
John of Swansea tells us about his school days:
"I was bullied from day one of school right the way through to the end of school although the bullying in the Lower Sixth was less because the bullies had mostly left. My theory is that the bullies were bored by school and took out their boredom on somebody else. Perhaps they (most of them didn't bother to sit their exams) would have been better taking an apprenticeship than wasting their and and everybody else's time in school. I can honestly say that I have done my best over the past 20 years since I left school to put it all behind me. It has left me with difficulties in dealing with people, which means it's almost impossible to get work."
Denise of Neath tells us about her son:
"I was sick and tired of my youngest son being bullied in and out of school. The final straw came when he was surrounded by a gang and one took a chain from her pocket and hit him across the face, narrowly missing his eye. With all other avenues failing, I insisted that the Police prosecute, which they did. She pleaded guilty. However, some of her friends took it out on him again. We decided that the only way to deal with it was to keep prosecuting as nothing else worked ... What do you do? The attacks have now stopped but it was a nightmare at the time. I did confront the girl (to my surprise) when she taunted us in the town centre. Hardly the sort of thing I would normally do ..."
David of Baden, USA has this to say:
"When I was a boy bullying was quite common. This would be in the late 1960's and 1970's when I went to school. We dealt with it. We fought back or we 'took' it. Back then no one would even think about talking about it or doing anything about it. If I told my father I was picked on he would simply state 'Fight back boyo, show those Yank's what a Welshman is made of'. Even though I was born in Pennsylvania."
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