Bullying: Is it our nature?

Dharun Ravi, the Rutgers student sentenced to 30 days in prison after being convicted on multiple counts of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and tampering charges, apologized for his behavior yesterday. He said his behavior was “thoughtless, insensitive, immature, stupid and childish.” When Ravi’s sentence was announced last week it caused a hurricane of opinions, which got me thinking; is bullying nature or nurture?

Bullies are everywhere! People like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter get paid extremely well to bully anyone that has a different opinion from them. Employers, using the fear of unemployment, bully nonunion workers into working long hours for free. Many religions bully women into thinking they are subservient. Our own American history is filled with bullying: from our treatment of the Native Indians, to the treatment of African Americans, and, to the treatment of every group of immigrants.  And, it’s not just human history; bullying has been around long before humans.

It’s easy to see bullying in animals. There’s a pecking order in every community of animals. And, stepping out of the pecking order is not allowed and can be dealt with harshly. One might say that animals don’t bully each other; it’s just their nature, their need for survival. But I ask, what’s the difference?

Bullying is not just for earthly animals either! Black holes are bullies! Black holes populate the center of every galaxy, including our own Milky Way galaxy. Black holes are very, very attractive! The gravity in a black hole is incomprehensibly strong! They destroy anything in their path, eating up everything, including light waves. Maybe it’s not bullying; it’s just their nature.

Is bullying natural? We humans are supposed to be intelligent! We know that bullying is bad but what can we do to stop it? Bullies are attractive to those who aren’t being bullied; they influence others to ignore bad behavior believing their victims deserved their wrath.

Laws can only go so far. Bullies can always find a way to bully. Bullying must be addressed at the human level. Individuals must take responsibility for their own actions even when their action is silence. Silence is approval.

Can we stop bullying? It’s easier to call someone a foul name than to argue an issue. Growing up, our family of nine children had a rule about arguing; only fight about the issue. If a sibling said anything nasty about the other sibling instead of fighting about the issue, they lost the argument. Perhaps we can use this lesson when arguing issues with others? But that’s just a start.

What ideas do you have to eliminate bullying? Or do you believe it’s ingrained in us?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Enjoy!