Arts Entertainments

Bully Busting 101 Part 1

Nanny State’s approach to preventing people from being bullied is a dismal failure. Bullies can run free without accountability and schools are being held legally responsible. (Yes, schools are being sued for bullying.)

The problem of bullying usually starts at home. You only have to watch some of the children’s sports to see how parents threaten and disrespect sports officials, such as hockey games. These same parents bully their children if their children perform poorly. Children, in turn, vent their anger on children whom they may bully.

When I was in high school, I remember the assistant principal at the school raving about a “good hockey fight” during high school hockey games. However, I was sent to the school office trying to defend myself from a bully in the classroom. Even then, the school was fine with the fights that occurred outside of the school grounds. Then came a change in culture due to the imported gangster mentality, lower morale, and narcissistic attitudes where swarming and open use of guns and drugs was acceptable.

The school shooter who mass murdered is NOT a bullied kid (or a goth). In the Columbine shooting, the leader, Eric Harris, came from an upper-class family with a retired father. Harris planned to kill people a year before the attack.

Often times it is the bullies themselves who want to intensify their show of power. Thug shooters tend not to shoot other thugs.

Single parent families are the norm today with a lack of parents or authority figures in many children’s lives. Certain codes of conduct have fallen by the wayside with teachers, religious leaders, politicians, and even some law enforcement agencies. So where do young people go for protection if their parents are tired from work or too involved in their own activities? Or teachers who are busy with their own strange agendas (eg cross-dressing workshops).

“Zero tolerance” for violence in schools simply gives offenders more freedom. Good students play by the rules, while bullies have a good day. I know of a martial artist whose teenage son was beaten up by a school bully in the school hallway. Rather than defend himself, the teenager obeyed the school’s rules to put his hands behind his back and walk away. The bully was allowed to walk around other students without fear of being responsible.

Pink Shirt Day is another futile attempt to control the problem. Public figures like to make a big production by making speeches and wearing a pink t-shirt to show their support. When, it does not solve the problem.

Self-protection begins with the individual. They need to like, respect and believe in themselves. Fitness and self defense is a good start as it gives the individual the confidence to do other things rather than being afraid most of the time.

Fortunately, it is a simple process and is worth every minute.

To begin with, you must decide between training, eating, and sleeping differently. For the next two months, you must treat yourself like an athlete. See the second part to find out how to do this.

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