I was bullied at high school in my final two years (1970-71 – years 4& 5 / 10&11). Three offenders made it their daily mission to make my time at school unbearable.
In short, I lived in fear, alone and desperate without answers. At that age, I had no mental power or logic to deal with the daily acts of intimidation and physical agression towards me other than to plan where I was and my escape route after school.
I discovered only recently (2023) that I was luckier than I realised at the time. As bad as this sounds, the 3 boys were killed on a car accident not far from the school on or just after the end of my year 5. I had already mentally left school, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. The news while shocking, brought me relief but not the mental check out.
Today I know the deaths allowed me to progress in the world without the scars that so many people who are bullied suffer. A close friend admitted just recently he suffers from PTSD as a result of the bullying he suffered almost 50 years ago. His whole life has been affected by the bullying. Mine wasn’t.
Why am I telling you all this?
For 50+ years I have actively monitored bullying campaigns. I have seen 100s of well meaning campaigns achieve absolutely nothing!
Not one single positive move forwards that would put an end to bullying. If anything, bullying has got worse with social media.
KINDNESS
Then I saw the light.. KINDNESS is the answer. Generational change, showing our children to live, act and BE KIND. Make the first thought a kind thought. Whenever a situation occurs, react with kindness. Whenever you are challenged, react with kindness.
This will not happen in my lifetieme but in time it will with our children’s children.
Show them how kindess is the future of mankind