- Jul 1, 2004
- 21,030
- 2
- 61
No Cussing Club
Not sure if this belongs in P&N because it's not really news, and not really politics, but it reflects society and the direction we are moving.
We have been hearing of the nasty effects of bullying, but more so of problems with the level of happiness of children over the past decade or so. Kids feeling bad because they are fat, have acne, aren't "attractive," aren't the best students, etc.
We seem to be attacking those problems in only one direction, leaving behind something that I feel is of utter importance.
Certainly we should be teaching our children that it is wrong to bully. It is wrong to treat someone differently because they are a certain race, or religion, or because they are overweight, or just because they are simply different than the assumed norm.
And that is the direction we are taking to attack this societal problem. And there is nothing wrong with this at all.
But more importantly we should be attacking this problem in another direction as well.
I'm certainly not a biologist, but our body has an immune system that attacks all kinds of bacteria and disease that enter our body and at times even prevents them from affecting us at all. It is quite powerful.
But we also have the capability to immunize ourselves from non-physical attacks from other people. If someone calls you fat or dumb, and it makes you feel bad, it is important to understand what exactly made you feel bad. The pain did not come from the person who made the verbal attack. The pain comes internally from the one attacked. Because so, this pain can be prevented from happening, and in the end, the verbal attack is really impotent.
As well as not being a biologist, I'm certainly not a psychiatrist either, but I think, and hope, you get the idea.
My gripe here, I guess, is that this is not something really taught in addition to the political correctness and morality we teach our children. And I think that if we want to help solve these societal problems, especially some of the school shootings, it is fundamentally important to do so.
Not sure if this belongs in P&N because it's not really news, and not really politics, but it reflects society and the direction we are moving.
We have been hearing of the nasty effects of bullying, but more so of problems with the level of happiness of children over the past decade or so. Kids feeling bad because they are fat, have acne, aren't "attractive," aren't the best students, etc.
We seem to be attacking those problems in only one direction, leaving behind something that I feel is of utter importance.
Certainly we should be teaching our children that it is wrong to bully. It is wrong to treat someone differently because they are a certain race, or religion, or because they are overweight, or just because they are simply different than the assumed norm.
And that is the direction we are taking to attack this societal problem. And there is nothing wrong with this at all.
But more importantly we should be attacking this problem in another direction as well.
I'm certainly not a biologist, but our body has an immune system that attacks all kinds of bacteria and disease that enter our body and at times even prevents them from affecting us at all. It is quite powerful.
But we also have the capability to immunize ourselves from non-physical attacks from other people. If someone calls you fat or dumb, and it makes you feel bad, it is important to understand what exactly made you feel bad. The pain did not come from the person who made the verbal attack. The pain comes internally from the one attacked. Because so, this pain can be prevented from happening, and in the end, the verbal attack is really impotent.
As well as not being a biologist, I'm certainly not a psychiatrist either, but I think, and hope, you get the idea.
My gripe here, I guess, is that this is not something really taught in addition to the political correctness and morality we teach our children. And I think that if we want to help solve these societal problems, especially some of the school shootings, it is fundamentally important to do so.