The pervasiveness of bullying
Mayor Michael J. Newhard’s letter of May 10, titled “The Power of Community’,” was much appreciated by me, as was Editor Bob Quinn’s decision to publish it on the front page of The Warwick Advertiser.
Many have written since to support the message of the letter to rightfully condemn the bullying of a young man in a Warwick park and to condemn bullying in general.
Bringing this issue out into the open will go a long way in healing young Zach and the public as well. I hope everyone has taken to heart Michael Newhard’s words about the leadership we can all take regarding acts of aggression: “There is room not to play with the crowd and to stand up and say no to any behavior that preys on a person’s identity or physical stature.”
Because it is important to stand up and say “no” to behavior that preys on any person, I would like to add to the dialog by addressing another form of bullying, one that is perhaps even more insidious and possibly today more frequent. I am referring to “cyber bullying,” a psychological bullying through the Internet which is intentional and purposeful mental abuse with malicious intent.
Whether for personal gain, vengeance, jealousy, self-esteem or whatever, the person, or persons behind the act takes the time to plan - for forethought and delivery not only to the intended victim, who is physically distant and cannot correct the lies on the spot, but also to a much larger group.
The damage can be severe when not protested and revealed immediately, and when long-lasting lies and growing innuendos are secretly fed over time.
This tragic situation has grown in recent years, particularly among the young. The literature is full of the reasons why some people would choose to deliberately attack a person in this way. I know of one young person who has been deeply hurt by this, and I personally know how devastating this can be because I, too, was a victim about a decade ago.
The original attack, by a disturbed young woman, was a completely made-up diatribe whose intention was only to harm.
This was followed by two copy cats who apparently also wanted to harm me. One was by a man that I knew not at all, except that his wife verbally attacked me on the street because she disagreed with my support of agricultural preservation and a Main St. food market in Warwick.
The third attack came from a woman that I actually considered a friend.
Whether it be physical bullying in a public park or mental abuse on the internet, all bullying is psychologically traumatic and should be immediately addressed.
The tragedy for me was that not one person protested the use of the Internet for the purpose of attacking another person in this way.
And, more importantly, I was unable to defend myself and to reveal the reality of all three of those people in relationship to me.
Tula Tsalis
Warwick