Bullying, Again and Again and Again

Here are 3 articles connected to bullying drawn from a Canadian paper, a British paper and an American paper:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/what-to-do-when-your-kid-is-the-bully/article1500302/ (what to do when your child is the bully)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/14/university-heads-vice-chancellor-salaries (how the public is reacting to the extreme pay of university heads)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/business/14schools.html?pagewanted=1&adxnnl=1&hpw&adxnnlx=1268650816-Lw%20Q/Idh6WaDrjELC2J2CQ (how for profit schools are taking tax money and not producing results)

Perhaps, the writer of this blog is being naive but usually a person knows why they are a bully; it is a sign of anger evolved from frustration. Children are not born bullies; there is no bully gene. They are made into bullies and that is a reality few want to admit. In the Globe and Mail article, there are steps to nip bullying behaviour in the bud. There is no discussion as to why a 5 year old would be aware of power plays in the school yard; I am a nobody and I would argue a 5 year old who watches unsupervised television is picking up behavioural tips from TMZ ( or 90210 or the King of Queen's etc). The child is merely bringing acceptable behaviour into the school yard.

The second article is about the heads of universities in England making over 300 000 pounds a year; this, despite the fact society is currently economically under performing and most graduates of any university in the world are no longer as highly esteemed as they once were. Thus, in free market jargon, productivity is in no way related to compensation. The powerful are able to extract monies from the less powerful and, in a school yard, they would be seen as bullies. In this society, such management blokes are admired and so is their behaviour.

The third article articulates how for-profit private training colleges are using American tax dollars to train students for careers that either do not exist or are not financially beneficial. They are using people's dreams and their willingness to pay for new education against them; that, too, is bullying behaviour. It is reminiscent of the school yard bully paying kids with candy to be her friend and then turning on them when the moment is convenient.

It strikes this writer that it is simple to get rid of bullies just no one wants to do the hard work; it is not easy. It is hard to spend time with one's children, all the time; however, as a parent, it is the job. One cannot change how Universities and big companies are managed; however, what little purchase power one has should be used ethically. And, what time one has for intellectual pursuits should allow for the development of critical thinking. It shouldn't take a genius level IQ to note that there are a lot of cooking schools around; therefore, there are going to be a lot of cooks and no need to pay them well. The easiest way to stop a bully is to walk away, to no longer participate in his game and to be on one's own. Of course, the path will be lonely, but it will not be painful.