Impossible?

Hey All - Hope you're having an easy Sunday afternoon.  Now that we're almost done with Thanksgiving weekend, it feels like we're just about ready to return to work.

But first, let me address a challenge that I'm about to undertake - a quest for an answer to a problem that some say cannot be resolved.

"WE WILL NEVER GET RID OF BULLYING.  TEACH YOUR KIDS TO FIGHT AND STOP RAISING A GENERATION OF VICTIMS"  I respectfully disagree.

Every time I see that meme, I cringe.  The idea that the bullying is a permanent part of human behavior, and that every kid should be taught how to fight - which is exactly what the bullies have been doing - is completely unacceptable to me.  As a species, we have evolved from our old hunter-gatherer roles and completed at least one metamorphosis in how we govern ourselves and the world around us.  Or as I like to say, we don't live in the Stone Age, the Middle Ages, or the Old West anymore.  Accordingly, with very few exceptions, we live in a civilized society with laws.  The notion of "might makes right" is outdated and unacceptable.  Accordingly, I firmly believe that the act of bullying, in and of itself, can be contained, controlled, and hopefully eliminated entirely.

There are those who think that stopping bullying is completely and entirely the responsibility of the ones being bullied.  They're right, but they're also wrong.

They're Right:

(1)  We have the power to disable our triggers and willfully control our emotions.  This is how we can stop becoming offended, triggered, or reactionary to what they do or say.
(2)  When we demonstrate that we are unflappable in the face of slings and taunts, the bully often finds another more receptive - and recessive - target.
(3)  When we release ourselves from grudges, resentment, and outdated behavior patterns, we advance to the Point of Evaporation and achieve Emotional Maturity.

THAT'S NOT THE END OF THE STORY, HOWEVER.

We can teach members of other races to not be triggered or offended by racism.  But that doesn't make racism okay.
We can teach women to ignore catcalls, harassment, and ungentlemanly behavior.  But that doesn't make such conduct legitimate.
We can perform every form of personal responsibility needed to prevent theft, burglary, or assault.  NONE OF THAT DE-CRIMINALIZES THOSE OFFENSES.

They're Wrong:

(1)  Bullying behavior does not magically become legitimate because people don't get angry about it and become de-triggered.
(2)  The fact that it continues to remain unacceptable is not weakness on the part of the rest of society - it is a mark of strength to reject behavior that should not exist past middle school, if at all.
(3)  If bullying victims have to step up their game, shore up their weaknesses, and work on themselves to avoid being hurt, then bullies have a contingent responsibility to control, restrain, and outgrow their unnecessary aggression. 

This is a Two-Way Street.  Apparently our opponents would rather make it a one-way street, and then argue that any expectation that bullies have a shared responsibility with their victims to eliminate the conduct is "not real" or "pie in the sky" or "garbage."

There is a plethora of programs that teach kids how to repel bullying without even an ounce of violence.  There is no reason why there should not be just as many programs that teach those who do bully to take the same exact responsibility for their behavior as well.

Cynicism and criticism will not be seen as roadblocks to this challenge, but rather stepping stones.  Those opponents insist that we not demonize bullies (or as I sometimes call them, alpholes)?  Great.  Let's use the "good in all people" that they supposedly have to outweigh the evil within them that won't let them stop treating others like trash.

I EXIST.                                                            RESPECT ALL.
I MATTER.                                                       BEFRIEND FEW.
I BELONG.                                                       LOVE ONE.
I DESERVE.                                                     HATE NONE.

MOTHER PROTECT US.                              FATHER EMBOLDEN US.

EMOTIONAL MATURITY.