Viti

Maybe, in some cases standing up to a blly can build confidence, however we have too many examples of kids snapping under incessent bullying and killing themselves or others.

echidna

Define bullying anyway. Just take a look at any of this newest wave of exclusionist "reality" shows. Big Brother is a classic example of slightly more sophisticated adolescent bullying, often every bit as nasty, openly encouraging individuals to be isolated and vilified for character faults as perceived by the "group".

One doesn't need to use fists to damage a person. I guess the only saving grace is that Big Brother victims are volunteers, but the example it sets for children (a large part of the target audience) is appalling. To "officially" exclude has become the new form of childhood bullying, not so new in essence, but refined, sanctified and encouraged by such programs.

VonEvilstein

Bullying made my life hell for many years. Is cruelty wrong? Is assault wrong? Is slander wrong? Is victimization wrong? Bullying is all these things and more.
And, of course, the worst thing is that when a victim tries to retaliate, then, all of a sudden, the teachers come out of the woodwork to take the bully's side.
Eventually, I just beat the crap out of my tormentors after school, using whatever blunt, heavy objects were at had. It worked. It almost got me kicked out of school a couple of times, but it worked.

Walross

Originally posted by meritocrat:

In fact some attempts are made to control, or at least mitigate the damage of natural disasters. They are not just "accepted", otherwise, you'd have farmers standing in their fields waiting for the tornado to hit, or people refusing to sandbag when there is a flood. Besides, comparing a bully to a natural disaster is just silly - natural disasters are amoral. Bullies are human beings who should know that harming others is wrong, no matter how "character building" it may be.

I suspect that in all cases, bullying builds character...the question is: what kind of character? Not all "character" is beneficial. In some case, I could see it making someone stronger, but in many cases, it does just the opposite. Are you saying the bully is justified on the off-chance that it may make someone a better person? Isn't this just an example of "the ends justifies the means"? I would say that the kinds of assault a bully engages in are never justified, no matter what the end result.

Walross

scigirl

Scigirl raises her hand.

Um what is Big Brother? Do you mean Big Bros and Big Sis program? Or the Govt? Or something else? I'm confused,

scigirl

MortalWombat

Sure, in the same way that many cancer patients have said that going through the experience has strengthened their relationships with family members and made them appreciate what's important in life. But we shouldn't use that as an excuse not to find a cure.

Viti

SciGirl...I think they mean the reality TV show called Big Brother.


Mother Teresa was big on "suffering is beautiful"...there are better ways to build character than to allow people to suffer physically or emotionally.

Meritocrat, you confuse me with all these morality questions...are you writing a paper or what?

meritocrat

But character is necessary to deal with life's disappointments. Why not learn how to gain it?

Walross

Are you implying that it's the victim's choice of whether or not to be bullied??? It certainly sounds like you are. You also seem to be implying that being bullied necessarily makes a person "gain character" (by which I suppose you mean that they become stronger people). Far from being necessarily the case, I think that in far more cases, bullying causes psychological issues and emotional scarring that impede socialization and individuation. In other words, IMHO, bullying is much more likely to impede a person from "gaining character".

Not touched on yet either is the fact that bullying can be detrimental to the health of the bully as well (both emotionally and potentially physically). Bullying is usually a sign that all is not right with a person. To permit them to continue with that behaviour is to not only condone it, but also to refuse help to someone who might desperately need it.

Walross

(edited to add): I seem to be contradicting myself between my previous post and this one on whether or not bullying causes one to "gain character". This is due to the fact that I'm a little vague on what you mean by the term. If you merely mean "psychological change", then I agree that bullying will most likely cause a person to gain character, but have to point out that not all psychological change is for the better. On the other hand, you seem to be equating "character gain" with personal strength, in which case, see my argument above.

Loren Pechtel

Read 1984. *NOW*.