"Bullying" Has Jumped the Shark
"Bullying" is the latest obsession of educational establishment because, of course, they need something to focus on other than actually educating students. Naturally, the educrats talk about "bullying" like it some new phenomenon that they have perspicaciously uncovered and are now intent on solving for the benefit of all. Thus the wave of 'awareness' programs - posters, skits, taking time away from, say, math to talk about it.
Of course though, bullying isn't a new problem. It is an age old problem, with age old solutions. Contrary to the wooly-headed modern bureaucratic mindset, the hard truth is that in many cases, the solution to bullying is an aggressive stance of self-defense and a personal insistence on being treated, if not with dignity, with benign indifference; and, this stance just might have to be backed up with the prospect of physical confrontation.
The reason this is such a tricky situation is that among children there are large divergences in physical development and strength. Often the bullied are not in a position to use physical strength to insist on proper treatment, or, more likely, lack the confidence to make a stance for better treatment despite physical differences. But, if you were a 312 lbs. man standing 6'5'' (and athletically conditioned to boot), you would think that this would not be an issue. One would think that such an imposing man (making an assumption as to manhood here though) could make demands upon a tormentor based on both reason and the prospect of a physical confrontation.
But you would be wrong. Alas the educrats are going to laud Martin as a good example for going to the proper authorities to adjudicate the situation. This is poppycock. In life, there isn't always a review board or blue-ribbon commission to judge and enforce interpersonal conduct. If you go through life always looking for perceived justice at the hands of some third parties, a) you will get it fleetingly and inconsistently and b) you won't develop the ability to solve your own problems. You'll be a person constantly lost in a swirl of bureaucratic processes as life moves past you at normal speed.
I'm sure Jonathan Martin thinks that Richie Incognito got what he deserved, and he probably did, at the hands of the proper authorities, the NFL and the Dolphins organization. However, who is ever going to treat Jonathan Martin with the purest form of personal dignity, that which is demanded and/or earned through human interaction rather than through fear of third party, quasi-judicial remedies? Not many. For Jonathan Martin, that is a serious personal loss, and so it will be for our children as well if they take Jonathan Martin's example to heart.
UPDATE: Antrell Rolle is on the same page
Of course though, bullying isn't a new problem. It is an age old problem, with age old solutions. Contrary to the wooly-headed modern bureaucratic mindset, the hard truth is that in many cases, the solution to bullying is an aggressive stance of self-defense and a personal insistence on being treated, if not with dignity, with benign indifference; and, this stance just might have to be backed up with the prospect of physical confrontation.
The reason this is such a tricky situation is that among children there are large divergences in physical development and strength. Often the bullied are not in a position to use physical strength to insist on proper treatment, or, more likely, lack the confidence to make a stance for better treatment despite physical differences. But, if you were a 312 lbs. man standing 6'5'' (and athletically conditioned to boot), you would think that this would not be an issue. One would think that such an imposing man (making an assumption as to manhood here though) could make demands upon a tormentor based on both reason and the prospect of a physical confrontation.
But you would be wrong. Alas the educrats are going to laud Martin as a good example for going to the proper authorities to adjudicate the situation. This is poppycock. In life, there isn't always a review board or blue-ribbon commission to judge and enforce interpersonal conduct. If you go through life always looking for perceived justice at the hands of some third parties, a) you will get it fleetingly and inconsistently and b) you won't develop the ability to solve your own problems. You'll be a person constantly lost in a swirl of bureaucratic processes as life moves past you at normal speed.
I'm sure Jonathan Martin thinks that Richie Incognito got what he deserved, and he probably did, at the hands of the proper authorities, the NFL and the Dolphins organization. However, who is ever going to treat Jonathan Martin with the purest form of personal dignity, that which is demanded and/or earned through human interaction rather than through fear of third party, quasi-judicial remedies? Not many. For Jonathan Martin, that is a serious personal loss, and so it will be for our children as well if they take Jonathan Martin's example to heart.
UPDATE: Antrell Rolle is on the same page
“… You know, at this level, you’re a man. You’re not a little boy. You’re not a freshman in college. You’re a man. So I think everything has its limits. So there’s no way that another man is gonna make me pay for something that I choose not to pay for.”
Rolle hopes that Martin is able to get back on the field, but again, he reiterated he believes the second-year player deserves some blame.
“Hopefully he’s able to bounce back and recover from all that has happened and understand it, and take awareness of, you know, that, you’re a grown-a– man,” Rolle said. “You need to stand up for yourself.”How f**ked up are we that this isn't obvious to all?
posted by Donny Baseball at 11:37 AM
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