English Experts

[Flavia.lm]

Question: Have you ever experienced or witnessed bullying?

I think the notion of moral harassment - humiliating and making someone feel embarrassed - has changed during the past twenty years. It’s really sad how some children are even more impolite and scornful now!
Some of you may find my example funny, but the 80’s Argentinian soap-opera Carrossel had many good examples of bullying among children (the black boy who was constantly humiliated by the white and rich girl, the fat girl who was always the subject of jokes, etc. Bullying is something that needs to be constantly taken care of by parents and educators, during all stages of childhood and adolescence.

It is important to teach (and practice) the 3 Rs:
Respect for self
Respect for others
Responsibility for your actions

Now it’s your turn,

[w.slayman]

Once upon a time, many years ago there was a nine year old boy who was in the fourth grade, and who always got his way with his classmates because they thought he could beat up any of them. This young boy always got to go first in the lines for playground equipment at recess, always got to pick sides for games and generally terrorized the other kids in his class with threats, but never had to result to violence.

One day a new girl, who had just moved to the area with her family, came to the class. At recess the young bully told the girl that she had to be at the back of the line for the slides because she was new, and she replied that that was not fair because she was the first one there. The bully told her to get to the back of the line or he would beat her up, to which she replied OK. He said good, get back there, and she said NO, I meant if you want to beat me up then that is OK, but I am not going to go to the back of the line.

At this point the bully did not know what to do, he did not want to fight anyone, especially a girl, but he could not let a girl tell him what to do. So they argued about where she should be in line. After a few minutes he decided that he had to make her do what he wanted and shoved her towards the back of the line, she then said you are not supposed to hit a lady so I am going to have to teach you a lesson and she hit the bully right on his nose, which started to bleed. When a teacher came over to see what all the commotion was about the bully boy said that he had fallen down and hit his nose on the slide.

While the school nurse was treating his bloody nose the little bully boy decided that being a bossy bully was not worth the hassle. The next day he apologized to the little girl and promised never to hit or push a girl again and to always defend them from bullies. Afterwards Ashley and Bill became best friends, and to this day, fifty seven years later, Bill Slayman has never again bullied anyone, especially a girl.

[ailime]

Great, Bill!! Thank you very much for sharing it with us!!

ailime

[Flavia.lm]

Bill, I understood your text but I think it would be easier for begginners to understand it if you quoted the extracts said by the characteres; some parts I had to read twice (two times ) to know whether it was being said by the boy, the girl or the narrator (you).

For example

He said good, get back there, and she said NO, I meant if you want to beat me up then that is OK, but I am not going to go to the back of the line.

He said: 'good, get back there', and she said 'NO, I meant if you want to beat me up then that is OK, but I am not going to go to the back of the line'.


p.s.: I'm an Ashley's fan.

[w.slayman]

Flavia,

Thanks for the suggestion, it is a very bona fide point. I am also an Ashley fan, and have been one since fourth grade, as she was the first girl that I liked.

@ Everyone, is bona fide new to you, if so, what is the meaning?

[Marcio_Farias]

Bill,

bona fide = authentic, real, genuine, sincere, honest.

Here goes a bona fide attempt at discoursing.

As far back as 2002, a truck driver nearly succeeded in bullying--or terrifying--me. He braked his big truck close to hitting me, all because he didn't appreciate my riding the median strip of the street, which I did for fear of colliding with a fast-maneuvering vehicle coming close to my right door. The truck driver took my riding the median strip for an insult to his intelligence. So, as I stopped behind a suburban bus, he turned the nose of his truck on my car[1] and stopped close to hitting it. He then proceed to call me names, really bad names--he used five-letter words (which I decline to refer to because real gross and frothfully disgusting to the senses)--and he treatened me by revving up his truck, its front bumper so close I could smell the odor of rust in it. He did all the things a certified ***hole would do, as far as bullying people into submission goes. I'll never forget that day.

----------------------------------
[1] A hatchback four-door Corsa Wind '99.

[Marcio_Farias]

"He then proceed..." should have read, "He then proceeded..."
"treatened" should have read, "threatened."

You can't do it right when other people press you to use the office computer!

[leandrocs1310]

No, I think no, I should have experienced, because I'm the certain profile of who experiences bullying, I'm very intelligent, like a NERD (not those NERDs who loves computer and games, I'm not that type), I'm very calm and polite, the teachers love me and I don't talk too much, of course a lot of students call me NERD or CDF, but I don't mind, I like it, they're my friends and to me, NERD doesn't mean unsociable or ugly or... I'm sure they don't mean it.

[ailime]

Yes, I have. But, I'll push it aside and tell you afterwards. Today, I have come across a sad news about a little girl who has died, and her family could just descover that she had been suffering from bullying at school only after her death.

Here you can read the news: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... -arms.html

alime