Bullying,
Fear and Anger. . .
Bullying is a word that
has become widely used and misused in our discussions about the direction our
society is moving in. We hear the word
used in a variety of settings and situations.
It is used to describe actions and to either promote or attack groups
beliefs. In fact, the word is so
commonly tossed around that it is in danger of losing its power and
meaning. Just like racism, harassment
and discrimination have become a tool and a target, so too bullying is in
danger of becoming a caricature of itself in our discussions about important
issues.
The use of these words in
our society have followed a similar path.
First, groups of people who are suffering some type of difficulty,
discrimination or other injustice begin to stand up for themselves and call
attention to the issues at hand. The
issues may be large or small, but they are of importance in our society's
effort to move forward towards achieving the goals that our founding documents
lay out for us. The groups involved
fight for their rights and often achieve successes that lay the groundwork for
future progress. They face difficult
odds and entrenched beliefs, but their message and energy helps break through
some of these barriers. Our historical landscape
is filled with evidence of these struggles as our nation grapples with huge
issues of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and even just the simple
goal of being able to go to work or school and to feel safe there.
These successes are usually
achieved through legislative or legal means as groups try to cement their
successes in our society and prevent the destruction of their
achievements. We pass laws that protect
the rights of specific groups in order to codify the protections and rights
that have been won in the struggle. The affected groups enjoy their successes
and our entire society benefits from the progress that has been made.
Then there is pushback
from those who, for whatever reason, fight against the efforts to promote
equality and opportunity for others (or sometimes even for themselves). This pushback is grounded in some form of
fear and hate and seeks to return our society to the previous status quo. Sometimes the resistance to progress is overt
and instantaneous, and sometimes it is subtle and grows slowly over time. All of this builds towards another cycle of
struggle as the affected groups find the need to reassert their hard earned
rights in our society.
One of the side effects of
the struggle is that certain words and phrases become a part of our national
lexicon. At the outset these words have
specific and direct meanings, but over time the words become so commonly used
that they lose their impact, or change meanings. People choose to use and define the terms in
different ways, some that build their power, and some that diminish it. Different groups struggle to control the use
and definitions of these terms and our society grapples with the consequences
of the struggles. Those on all sides of
an issue use the language of freedom and justice to promote their ideas and try
to paint their opposition in a negative light.
Another way that terms are
defined is by associating them with some extreme, unusual or at times
ridiculous position or action. Opponents
of a movement will choose the most outlandish examples in order to discredit
those who have different opinions. Too
often we focus on the extreme, the ridiculous and the unusual and forget that
most of our experiences exist in a more narrow range of
"normal". Thus we see
important issues and concerns relegated to sideshow status and those with
legitimate problems suffer the consequences.
People also tend to apply their own experiences, or allow other to
define what "common sense" would dictate to be a proper definition of
any given term. This means that we see claims in the media that school
children can be bullied, but NFL players can not.
What exactly constitutes
bullying, discrimination, harassment and other similar terms is defined in
different ways by the law, by individuals and by groups in society. Yet, all of the words and ideas that are
associated with the fight for equality, opportunity and justice share a common
thread in that they involve groups with limited access to power and their fight
to increase their influence politically, socially or economically. It may be true that bullying can be done by
anyone, even someone without power, but the reality is that most of the
conflicts we engage in as a society are based on inequities in power.
The impact of an
individual's or group's actions is directly related to the amount of power that
they wield. This is why we need to be
careful when we use terms like bullying to describe the actions of groups
fighting for their rights. Public sector
employees who belong to unions have been called bullies and thugs in an effort
to dishonor their efforts to engage in collective bargaining and to maintain
their rights and benefits in the workplace.
At the same time we see unionized public workers being vilified we see
politicians like Scott Walker and Chris Christie lauded as heroes for standing
up to the bullies. This language has led
some members of the public to question the rights of employees in general to
unionize, yet the power of the individual worker pales in comparison to the
power that management wields.
We are living in a climate
governed by fear, and as Yoda said, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to
hate, hate leads to suffering." It
isn't only in fiction that we see this connection between fear and a regression
in societal values. FDR in his Inaugural
Address on March 4, 1933 stated, "The only thing we have to fear is fear
itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed
efforts to convert retreat into advance."
By giving in to fear we twist words to make it seem like the oppressed
are the ones causing the problems and the oppressors are a combination of
victim and societal champion.
Fear is used to manipulate
public opinion and divide people in order to allow a small number of people to
maintain their elite status in our society.
Of course it isn't only public employees who are engaged in the struggles. We have a host of groups and issues that are
currently seeing their causes under significant attack.
Fear and greed make many
want to support economic policies that dole out crumbs to the many. The increased tax revenue could be used to
support our schools or otherwise improve our society, but instead will be given
out to individuals in tiny increments for political gain.
The rights and
opportunities of all workers in America
are being attacked in an effort to promote the interests of large business and
the wealthy.
Our fear and anger allows
us to believe that executions will somehow deter crime and provide justice to
victims.
Women across the nation
face significant challenges in their efforts to achieve equality in many
aspects of life.
The poorest Americans have
always been seen as problems, and not as equal citizens.
Issues around race have
been a constant source of discontent since the founding of our nation.
Politics and the press are
venues where we have to be aware of those who would manipulate the system for
their own gain.
What makes these
challenges all the more difficult is that they arise out of our own actions,
interactions and inaction. All of us act
to preserve our own self interests and to advance our own objectives and those
of the people who are closest to us. To
some degree we all engage in behavior that at times is bullying and can
infringe on the rights and opportunities of others. Issues like White Privilege are difficult to
comprehend and accept for many of us, so we turn to a more comfortable way of
looking at the world. We are quick to
blame, but slow to find compromise and goodness in others. Our society is moving in a disturbing
direction where "doing and being right" is less important than
appearing to win on any given issue. As
a society we condone bullying and applaud those who aggressively attack others,
as long as we are not their targets.
Yet, we are all
responsible for the society we live in.
This is true no matter our race, religion, gender, or any other
demographic division. If we are truly to
live in a nation that can claim to provide justice and opportunity for all,
then we need to be ready to look at our own beliefs and actions as well as
those of others. We need to recognize
the impact that hate and anger have on the world we live in see how it divides,
isolates and segregates us into self-interested, small-minded groups. At times it may seem like we will never
succeed in our struggles, but to continue the fight is to work to achieve a
vision that has been shared by great individuals throughout history.
On Monday we will
celebrate the life and legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and it is
worthwhile to remember him not as an historical figure, but rather as a icon
who we should be working to emulate. His
message of non-violence combined with a relentless drive to broadcast the
values that America
was founded on give us hope for the future.
We can all work towards achieving a society where opportunity is open to
all, and we truly look at everyone as fellow citizens, not as separate pieces
of a puzzle. A puzzle that is created
and framed for us by others, and one where our role is defined by our
demographics. Instead we must break the
barriers that bind us and change the very essence of what we define ourselves
to be. As Dr. King said:
"Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that."
"I refuse to accept the view that
mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that
the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I
believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
In this way we can counter the effects of fear and hatred and truly
work towards a better Wisconsin, a better America and a
better world.
The
Good, The Bad and
The
Ugly. . .
The Good- People
around the state continue to "speak their truth" and speak against
bills like AB549 that will harm our students and our public schools.
The bad side of this is
that we will need to continue to fight negative education legislation as long
as the current crop of legislators is in office.
The Bad- Those
of us wishing for a primary to select the Democrat's candidate for governor saw
their hopes fade this week.
The Ugly- The
public sees the debate about expanding the voucher system in Wisconsin through a lens that distorts and
simplifies the facts to make it seem like a battle between freedom and
government control. The reality is that
our public school system has flaws, but also a level of accountability and
responsibility to our children that a privatized school system will likely
never come close to achieving.
