Bullying

Rose M. Ezell

PHI/105

May 4th, 2014

Carrie Spencer

Bullying

• In the last few decades, bullying has become very common place and gathering

media attention. In fact, the number of school shootings have escalated to the

point that the government wants to outlaw guns. The common denominator

seems to be that the people perpetrating these crimes were bullied at school for

a number of years.

• The issues surrounding bullying are; suicide, school violence, mental illness, and

the diminished capacity to learn while at school.

Bullying

• Suicide – Statistics show that 8% of children who are bullied eventually commit

suicide. This statistic only represents bullying reported after suicide. I suspect the

percentage is much higher.

• They decide that suicide is the only answer because they have dealt with it so

long and nothing has been done to stop it. It appears to be their only option.

• Bullying affects a child, mentally, emotionally and physically. This can be

overwhelming.

Bullying

• School Violence – There have been 61 mass murders since 1982. The common

thread is most of them is the shooter felt isolated, was bullied, and no one

seemed to care.

• While not all of them happened at the actual school, a great number of them

were perpetrated by a student who knew where their bully would be located.

• 99% of all perpetrators eventually turn the weapon on themselves after

committing the crime. 1% ran and were caught by local authorities.

Bullying

• Mental Illness – children with mental disorders are three times more likely to

become bullies. Such illness such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Both of these disorders create

frequent tantrums and revenge seeking in the individual. Depression can also

play a part in the creation of a bully.

• Often times, the bullying happens because an individual with a mental disorder is

unable to contemplate their actions and the result of those actions.

Bullying

• Diminished capacity to learn – No only does bullying provide terrible

circumstances but, the people who are the victims cannot learn what they are

being taught in school.

• The victims have anxiety about getting on the bus, going to the bathroom, going

to school and this anxiety precludes their learning. A child cannot learn if all they

are worrying about is what could happen to them. In contrast, the bully also has

the diminished capacity to learn because bullying becomes their main focus.

Bullying• A postcolonialist might say the root cause of bullying depends on several factors;

our culture is fascinated with competing to win, having power, and wealth. It

would be very unrealistic to expect that even the youth would not be influenced

by this dynamic in our society.

• A feminist might say that students may be targeted for their race, their physical

or cognitive ability. They may be targeted for their religious expression or native

language. Bullying might relate to gender expression in more subtle ways.

(Svahn, J., & Evaldsson, A.-C. 2011)

Bullying

• Our government seems to think that mass murders are caused by the availability

of guns. They believe that if they remove guns from people then there will not be

any guns to commit such mass murders.

• I firmly believe that if guns are not available a bully victim will simply find another

way to get revenge on their bully.

• Removing guns is not a solution. Teaching children early on about compassion

and tolerance for others is a better solution.

Bullying - Prevention

• Educate the students by having a bullying awareness program put in place. This

program would teach tolerance and respect for our differences.

• Psychology – Explain why someone becomes a bully. Explain why someone

becomes a victim. Explain how people feel after being bullied and explain how

the bully feels after committing the abuse.

• Encourage students to get involved. Stand up for each other. Do not be a by-

stander and walk away. Explain that doing nothing makes them just as guilty as

the bully.

Bullying – What The Philosophers Would Say

• The bully seeks power over the people just as a dictator seeks power over their country.

In fact, in the most recent years, the talk of government officials seeking to remove “the

right to bear arms” (The United States Constitution, Amendment 2, 1776). from the

people would contradict Liberalism. Adam Smith would definitely not agree with this as

he believed that “government must remain on the sidelines of individual lives.” (Moore,

Bruder, 2011). However, John Stuart Mill might think differently about the government

getting involved by taking our guns away. He might see this as a responsibility of the

government to protect us by interrupting our rights because they endanger others. To

Mr. Mill, I would say “Guns do not kill people, people kill people.”

Bullying – What The Philosophers Would Say

• Epicurus’s ideas of happiness in living were centered about the just treatment of

others, he advocated avoiding pain but more than likely his thoughts on bullying

would be to proclaim the Golden Rule. “Do not harm others, because you do not

want to be harmed.” (Moore, B. N., & Bruder, K. 2011)

• Epicurus also stated that “It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living

wisely and well and justly (agreeing, neither to harm nor be harmed), and it is

impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.”

(Moore, B. N., & Bruder, K. 2011)

Bullying – What The Philosophers Would Say

• Thomas Aquinas delivered philosophy through a Christian approach. Therefore he

might quote Jesus as saying “Love one another.” (The Holy Bible, Unknown) and

thereby teach this to all students. He might also teach his “cardinal virtues”:

justice, courage, prudence and of course temperance.

• Thomas most likely would emphasize the existence of God and therefore teach

God’s wrath on those who do bad things.

Bullying – What The Philosophers Would Say

• Aristotle would teach the children that it is not enough to be good but they must

do good. He would tell them that in doing good, they would need to be merciful,

charitable and kind. He might also say that until they help others, their goodness

means nothing in the world. Since Aristotle was at the very heart of the classical

education system, his teachings I believe would resonate with the students.

(Moore, B. N., & Bruder, K. 2011)

References• Black, S., Weinles, D., & Washington, E. (2011). Youth Violence and Juvenile

Justice. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, 138.

• Bollmer, J. M., Milich, R., Harris, M. J., & Maras, M. A. (2005). A Friend in Need: The Role of Friendship Quality as a Protective Factor in Peer Victimization and Bullying. Ameican Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, 701.

• Craig, W., Pepler, D., & Blais, J. (2007). Responding to Bullying: What Works? School Psychology International , 465.

• Moore, B. N., & Bruder, K. (2011). Philosophy: The power of ideas (8th eded.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

• Svahn, J., & Evaldsson, A.-C. (2011). You Could Just Ignore Me; Situating peer exclusion with the contingencies. Norwegian Centre for Child Research, 491.

• The Holy Bible. (Unknown).

• The United States Constitution, Amendment 2. (1776).