May 21, 2010

You have rights.

Bully n., def. a person who hurts, frightens, or tyrannizes over those who are smaller or weaker. Willful, conscious desire to hurt another and put him/her under stress; anybody who wants to hurt somebody - and knows it - is then, by definition, a bully. Bullying is a form of abuse. (Tattum & Tattum, 1992)

I guess we are all bullied or being a bully at least once in a lifetime. We've all felt the abusive behavior of a colleague when we were kids, we've all seen our notebooks being thrown away or even got punched or kicked. It may have been a neighbor, brothers or sisters or the bullies may have been even our parents. The thing is we used to hurt others who were less strong than us, turning the frustration into aggression.
So bullying is a vicious circle. One gets bullied and then harasses another, so far so human.
We grow up, become adults and we realize we are still bullied at work (about our ethnicity, for example), people in the public services are treating us unjust or doctors talk down to us; then we tend to take it out on somebody else.

But it's just as human to defend ourselves. We can react and stop our discomforts that we then bring onto others. We can speak aloud anytime, we can set boundaries in relationships, we can say no and we can always choose a way out of the circle. I assure you that you can substitute the feeling of weakness and frustration with autonomy, little by little.
So the giraffes here are reminding us once more that it's OK to react, it's OK to say no, it's OK to stand out and up for our natural and legal rights.

6 comments:

Andrada said...

Ai asa ceva si in marime mare, pt mine, asa? :P

Cristina Kittn said...

Da, miere. :-D

Andrada said...

ahm...miere?

Cristina Kittn said...

lol. honey, cum ar veni.

Andrada said...

A. :D

Păi bun şi cum facem să mă potcovesc cu o mărime mare? Cum ar veni dupa 1, să iau salaru' :)))

Unknown said...

Iit multumesc mult pentru el :) Pupici si promit sa trimit poze cat de curand :*:*:*