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Bullies are cowards

By Magazine Desk
Fri, 07, 15

You’re not the finest of football players in the street you go out to play every evening. You’re laughed at, mocked and jeered at. You’re not very good at speaking English in the posh, modern school you attend? You’re labeled and made fun of. God didn’t gift you the physical normalcy like other ordinary individuals? You’re kicked, cursed and taunted for your physical inabilities and shortcomings. Do you feel internally shattered? Yes. Are you being bullied? Yes...

You’re not the finest of football players in the street you go out to play every evening. You’re laughed at, mocked and jeered at. You’re not very good at speaking English in the posh, modern school you attend? You’re labeled and made fun of. God didn’t gift you the physical normalcy like other ordinary individuals? You’re kicked, cursed and taunted for your physical inabilities and shortcomings.

Do you feel internally shattered? Yes. Are you being bullied? Yes...

Bullying is one of the many prevalent societal problems that we consciously witness and recognize every day and yet choose not to take any meaningful action against it. For some, seeing someone punched deep and hard in their self-esteem is even a cause of enjoyment. You think it’s funny? You’re wrong. It’s downright appalling and disturbing to see someone get bashed for their shortcomings that may sometimes not even be in their control.

Why do people bully others, anyway? Having bullied, something that I utterly regret doing now, and been bullied at times in life, the only logical conclusion I can derive is that it gives you a sense of superiority and power. It fires the sadist in you and it fuels your ego. Mostly, all of this simply off making you feeling all ‘cool’ about yourself. But have you ever realized how severely bullying affects the bullied? It makes their self-esteem take a plunge down a bottomless pit. It makes them question their abilities, their weaknesses and even their strengths. It makes that football player put down their shoes; the shoes that they once bought with so much passion and enthusiasm out of the love for the game. It makes these students give up on learning the English language; they feel extremely self-conscious. As a result, such students are scared to speak up in class. They are afraid they would be mocked at if they speak incorrect English. Their classmates would look down upon them because not speaking flawless English is a social no, no. When people are weak physically or mentally, or do not have the social graces they are expected to perfect, they feel depressed. And, this makes them prone to bullying.

Bullying makes you so demoralized that you don’t want to take that initial step on the road to betterment. Instead, it knocks down all the little blocks that you’ve built within yourself throughout your life that make you a stronger person. It’s truly heartbreaking, isn’t it?

What needs to be changed is not the act of bullying itself, but the ignorant and insensitive mentality attached to it. Our society needs to learn to distinguish between right and wrong. We need to understand and that bullying isn’t fun; bullying neither makes you any cooler nor does it make you a stronger person. This has to be inculcated in the children right from the beginning. We need to change the mindsets of the masses regarding bullying by sharing with people that bullies are basically insecure people who are easily superseded by greater bullies. Bullying has nothing to do with strength of character; all it takes is muscle and position. Deprive the bully of these attributes and you will have a pathetic person to deal with. The basic thing is to stand up to bullying, believing in yourself, and in your own strength of character.

It’s all about expressing a bit of love and support to ones in need and spreading kindness and magnanimity through your actions. Don’t insult anyone for being fat or skinny, tall or short, dark or pale. Don’t do anything that can hurt someone physically or mentally. In the end, everyone is human and everyone is equal. Learn to spread love and appreciation. God knows we need it.