Bullying happens

January 10, 2019 Sideglance

The bullying incident at the Ateneo Junior High School exposed what has been going on for a very long and ancient time.

When the term ancient is used it should be synonymous with prehistoric time when man first began interacting passionately and oftentimes foolishly with his fellow man. The stage was set for the start of what we now term as bullying when man began congregating together in groups and establishing their hierarchies according to who is the most aggressive, fearsome and leader type- also called the alpha male – and those immediately below him who for the most part act out the role of enforcers to instill discipline in the group. Almost certainly in these types of environment and gatherings bullying is rife. The alpha male or the acknowledged leader simply takes and gets (sometimes by force) what he wants from the individuals of his pack while his enforcers see to it that his wishes are followed and obeyed to the letter.

This is the pattern of aggressive behavior during the early times when man has to eke out his existence in the wilderness and on 24/7 survival mode. Most definitely bullying is one such aggressive behavior.

Now that man is sophisticated and living in modern times he has exorcised to some extent the visible dangers presented by a survival of the fittest situation and thus actually blindsided to discover that domineering and aggressive human behaviors such as bullying continues to exist in this modern age.

One should understand that however man has become modernized he has not totally shed those genes necessary for survival of the human species and the very reason why the act of bullying which is an expression of aggressive human behavior oftentimes rears its ugly head in society.

Popular and great individuals from across the globe have admitted to being bullied and they are fortunate enough to have overcome such aggressive and sometimes violent human behavior thrown against them. For those unable to fend for themselves we now have laws to protect them.

They say bullying happens most often in schools and other educational institutions however it must be understood that bullying happens in all levels of our society only it is more often manifested through groups of children or students.

We should pity and help those being bullied but in the same breath we should also try to understand those who commit such acts of bullying and instead of retaliating against them or insulting them find ways and means to control their aggressive behavior so that ultimately they become productive members of society.

When we act against a bully in a manner similar to his aggressive behavior then we are surely no better than him and we have become bullies ourselves.