An Un-Concise Definition of Bullying
Recently the admin of a Facebook group accused me of bullying someone in the group. I responded sneakily to snark. Not the best response, but not bullying either. So I explained the difference:
“You don't need to worry, I won't be back. But you need to know something. Disagreeing, responding to insults, expressing yourself, that's not bullying.
Bullying is being lured into a dark room by your so called friend, only to find that it's full of bigger kids who won't let you leave or turn on the lights... oh their their, you can see them from the streetlight glow through the window, you can feel their hands on you as you try to leave, but you can't.
Bullying is being physically intimidated while being verbally insulted by a guy older and bigger than you to the point where you dread going to Sunday School, or the thirty minutes after before it's time to go home when you just wanna play with your friends.
Bullying is being shoved as you walk down the hall because you're percieved as being weaker... and given that you don't want to fight with ANYBODY, for all practical purposes you are weak.
It's trying to get off the spinning merry go round before the three brothers who have just come to the playground get to you and shove you off so you eat a mouthful of dust before running away.
Bullying is being ostracized and harassed until one day you've had all you can take and all that anger, all that intimidation, all that abuse comes pouring out into the guy who makes an obscene comment about your mother because he thinks you're too weak to do anything about it. And you give him all of it. And you swear on everything you hold dear that you will NEVER take any crap from ANYONE ever again.
THAT is bullying. And now you have a proper definition. “