Bullying is so common that even President Trump is bullying people with his Tweets and in his speeches. He has mocked almost everyone, including people with disabilities. As a person growing up with Down Syndrome I have suffered severe bullying, especially in school, where bullying usually starts. Things were so bad at one point my mom had to put me in a different school.
So what can we learn about bullying and how to stop it before the bully grows up and maybe even becomes president?
The Centers for Disease Control and the US Department of Education came up with a definition of bullying in 2014. The basic definition includes unwanted aggressive behavior, power imbalance, and repetition of behaviors that may be physical, like stealing someone’s things or hitting them, (direct) or things like spreading mean rumors (indirect).
According to Medicinenet.com the signs that may indicate a child is being bullied include: missing belongings, unexplained injuries and a limited number of friends. Symptoms experienced by victims of bullying may be physical, emotional and behavioral like headaches, stomachaches, changes in appetite, bed wetting, dizziness and general aches and pains. Psychological symptoms often include irritability, anxiety, sadness, trouble sleeping, tiredness in the mornings, loneliness, helplessness and feeling isolated.
But we can help stop bullying. A large scale study of different anti-bully programs was published in the journal School Psychology Review. What they found out is that the best anti-bullying programs are ones that teach bystanders to intervene, especially if schools start teaching these skills early. A lot of times bullies do their behavior out in the open, but bystanders can feel pressured not to do anything for fear getting bullied themselves. Notifying teachers, and encouraging the victim to ask for help is a good start. It also helps if a group of people who have witnessed the bully in action all tell them to stop. Bullies don’t act out as much when a whole group objects to their behavior.
Some studies of how adults can handle bullies show that when a bully is yelling at someone in public, you can go sit next to the person being bullied and talk to them about anything at all so the two of you can ignore the bully’s behavior and take the wind out of his sails. When people know they are not alone, that they are supported, they will feel better, and when a bully doesn’t get the reaction he wants, he may give up.
According to Medicinenet.com, bullies lack empathy or the ability to understand other people’s feelings, and often feel weak themselves and want to control others. The people around the bullies can start becoming bullies themselves by peer pressure. So maybe the people around President Trump need to read this and need to stand up together and say making fun of people isn’t right.
Written with support from the staff of The College VOICE
