Squash Bullying Despite Trump

I just read a New York Times article titled, “Bullying in the Age of Trump.” It emphasized the rise of bullying in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. Though I am not a Trump supporter by any means, I do ask why anyone would think bullying would just start as a result of a presidential election.

Bullying has started long before any of us can remember. Anti-bullying behavior is primarily the responsibility of parents, teachers and religious leaders of all faiths. We are the ones who carry the burden of raising strong, confident, loving and caring human beings. Because some people have failed at this is no reason to allow all of us to fail. An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth just keeps eyes and teeth flying!

Trump certainly doesn’t help matters with his careless bullying remarks. Our youngest of children will observe, “Mommy, the president said a bad word!” or “Daddy, why did the president make fun of handicapped people?” or “The president does not like people of color, people of Eastern faiths and women, etc. Who does he like?” Older children may add to this, “Am I OK?” Since Trump’s antics have forced these issues to higher prominence in the media, we must push harder than we have had to before to dispel the notion that bullying is OK. Let’s not allow Trump to have an upper hand in bringing up our children. He is definitely no excuse to give up!