Happy Slapping!
I have just come across the term ‘happy slapping’, and like ‘joyriding’ it is a misnomer! For the uninitiated it is another form of bullying where a person is physically assaulted, and it is recorded by the mobile phone camera and sent on to others so the bully can show how ‘clever’ he/she has been! Sending threatening text messages is a very common among young people; apparently one in five children have been bullied in this way. It appears that the bully doesn’t change, but the method of bullying has gone hi tech!
Bullying is like a pernicious cancer in our society and is as hard to find a method of effectively dealing with it. I was on the receiving end of persistent bullying at my primary school, which has left me a less confident person than I would like to be. Anyone who dares to be a bit different is picked on; my crime was to have slightly prominent front teeth, and to have parents who had a bit more money than those of most of my peers! All too often we hear of children who take their own lives because they think that is the only way to escape their torment! Bullying is not confined to the playground; the school bully sometimes grows up to be the workplace bully. No part of our society is excluded from this heinous activity; even our churches are not bullying free zones! I have heard of clergy bullying laity, and visa versa!
In the past bullying was almost accepted as something one could expect to experience from time to time, especially when one was at school. In my youth we were told to hit the bully harder than they hit you! Nowadays that sort of advice, which was never sensible, is likely to escalate into a bloodbath as fists are not the only weapons to hand, too many children carry knives for ‘protection’! Bullying is such a serious global problem that in my opinion, there should be a world conference to try to tackle the issue?
To redress the balance a little, I received a heart warming message the other day, via a website I frequent. It was from a woman who used to be at secondary school with our eldest daughter, and together with other girls she had bullied her. This woman wanted me to pass on to our daughter her deepest regret and apologies! I applaud this woman for having the courage to face up to the past. I wish all former bullies would do the same!