Never argue with fools. Because, being an intelligent person, you'll try to deal with them on their level. But on their level, they'll beat you every time.
Words can hurt. Sticks and stones may, indeed, break bones, but words can hurt in far more insidious and destructive ways. And words can hurt forever.
Bullies seldom fight alone. And they don't fight fair. If they did, they would run the risk of pain. The modern style of bullying is done in cyberspace, an even more insidious and harmful method. It offers the advantage to the bully of distance.
On childhood streets, bullies have underlings in the gang who support them should the target victim be lucky enough to punch the bully in the nose, causing physical pain. This can be wonderfully effective, since bullies are very good at inflicting pain, but not at receiving it. They are, at root, cowards.
Meanwhile, the target victim also has the option of walking away, or seeking the support of friends.
In cyberspace, however, bullies can safely send out harmful and hateful messages day and night, with no risk of suffering a lucky punch in the nose.
In both arenas, bullies succeed when the victim reacts. By acknowledging pain, whether physical on the street or emotional from email harassment, victims reward the bully's action, thus encouraging the bully to inflict more pain. That is the bully's reward.
But by not reacting to the bully's barbs, the victim wins and the bully fails.
It's easy for an outsider to say, "Don't let them get to you." Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense, and this can be done by ignoring the pain and exposing the tactic.
An old saying in the newspaper business is, "Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel." In the Internet Age, the target has as much access to cyberspace as the bully.
Expose the bullies for what they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment