Lately, there has been a lot of noise in the media regarding the bullying of children, and the impacts that such bullying can create. There is no question that this is a very serious issue, and the damage inflicted on many children is cruel, vicious, and in some cases, tragically fatal. Yes, we need solutions, real solutions that work in the real world. Equally, we can’t accept solutions that give us the illusion of bullying being eliminated. I make the above comment about real solutions for two reasons:
1. Governments – federal, provincial and municipal – have decided that this is a problem that only they can solve, and numerous politicians are running around, and running off at the mouth, promising great results. Unfortunately, as is typical of the process, these great statements have far more to do with ensuring the politician in question gets votes for the next election and precious little to do with really helping end this problem.
2. The scope of bullying has been defined with far too small a vision. Yes, bullying can mean, and does mean, the notorious bullying that most of us remember seeing during our school days. However, it also goes far beyond the schoolyard bullying, and is established practice in countless adult sectors including business, education, health care, professional and amateur sports, and as usual, all levels of government. Let me explain.
Pick up most government census forms and boldly displayed will be warnings to you of what happens if you fail to file the form. They will explain that they have all the power, you have none, and do what you are told. Is this bullying too?
Talk to my secretary at the office and have her explain the countless doctor’s appointments she has gone to only to discover that the good doctor had decided he didn’t want to come to work that day. Is this bullying too?
State an unpopular opinion at any major Canadian university, then watch the legions of the politically correct proceed to burn you in effigy. Is this bullying too?
Drive with me to Calgary, and during the three hour trip, count how many cases of road rage you see occurring (hint: the average is approximately seven or eight per trip). Is this bullying too?
Ask any member of a visible minority in Edmonton if they have ever felt bullied by the Edmonton Police Service, and watch 100 per cent of the heads all nod in agreement. Is this bullying too?
Come sit with me and watch an evening of federal or provincial TV campaigning during an election. Notice that many of the candidates spend most of their time condemning their opponents, accusing them of evil intentions or blistering stupidity. Is this bullying too?
And is it really necessary to ask you whether the thousands of annual cases of spousal abuse, and child abuse, in Alberta are also bullying too?
In the above paragraph, I asked the question “is this bullying too?” a total of seven times, and in all seven cases, the answer is yes. That’s why I’m concerned. We have undertaken to eliminate bullying between children – primarily when children are at school from grades 1 to 12, yet we have ignored the fact that these same children are going to see, on any given day, a multitude of adults engaged in bullying.
Are we not, yet again, telling our children to “ignore what I do, but do what I say?” And if so, then be prepared for another major government initiative that is going to fill the on-air media for years to come, cost countless billions of dollars, and achieve absolutely nothing.
Brian McLeod is a St. Albert resident.
