Friday, June 3, 2011

"Bullies are Peer Evil" What do you Think?

One of the children with whom I work was discussing the other day how he had been bullied. He said, “I am sure that everyone has been bullied at one time or another.” I told him that that was not true. He then used a phrase that has stuck with me. He used the phrase, “peer evil” to describe children who are bullies. He did not know whether or not he got the phrase from a cartoon, or if he had made up that phrase. It really does not matter.

The point is that the impact of a child having been bullied lasts for many years, perhaps, for the rest of the child’s life. Those children who have been bullied know how it feels. You all have read the words that children expressed to me who have been bullied, as I reported in my book and then later on my blog. Those are words that are full of hurt and pain. However, I have never before heard a phrase such as “peer evil,” that clearly expresses anger on the part of the children who have been bullied.

 I was so interested to hear that the children who were bullied perceived the children who had bullied them as evil. Oftentimes, children who have been bullied cannot be convinced, as stated by adults, that those children are looking for power and that they are not “bad” kids, but rather, ones who are troubled.  

The only thing that children who have been bullied feel is rejected, embarrassed, humiliated and fearful. Do you think that it is healthy for children who have been bullied to perceive bullies (including those with ADHD!) as evil and feel a degree of anger towards them?

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