I feel for the guy who feels his race was a factor in his “debilitating depression” caused by being bullied on the job. I hope he gets a good verdict in his case.
However, I also feel for people who are literally bullied every day by bosses, managers, coworkers, et cetera, and don’t have ANY choice to continue to work in the stressful environment until we can find a better job ON OUR OWN because military pensions and the time/ability to fight for disability are not options.
Maybe it’s because we weren’t smart enough to go to school, or didn’t have the money, or weren’t eligible for student loans. Maybe we found money for schooling but picked the wrong career path. Maybe we had physical limitiations, or learning disabilities, or personality disorders, or just don’t interview well enough to get a “good” job.
My point is, we’ve all been bullied at some time in our lives. Some of us don’t have a choice to leave the situation. And I think it’s really shitty that someone can scream “racism” and all of a sudden workplace bullying is a news story. How about you go to ANY WORKPLACE and pay attention for 20 minutes. It’s got nothing to do with race, people who bully other people should be punished PERIOD. —This is Your Story
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2012.
I know the guy that you are talking about quite well. He is one of the sweetest, gentlest, most generous people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He has been pleading with the government for years now to look at his case. Time and time again, he is hitting dead ends. They turn a blind eye and hope that he will just “go away”. He didn’t get the media involved until he became absolutely frustrated with the government dismissing his complaints.
Trust me, he is not the kind of guy to pull out the race card…He loves everyone of all colors, and anyone who knows him loves him in return. I, too, hope that he gets what he deserves…at least recognition and an apology.
You are right. People do get bullied at their workplaces everyday. The sad part is that some managers have the spine of a jellyfish, and don’t take the appropriate action against workplace bullying. Hell, sometimes the boss is the culprit!
My boss gave me an atomic wedgie over those damn TPS reports.
‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ – Eleanor Roosevelt
This is my mantra and has served me well over the last few decades.
bullies o.p., come in all shapes, colors and sexes. the worst ones are the passive ones. you know the type, they belittle you but do it in a nice way. fuck them all, and keep on keeping on. their day will come, sooner than later, and that is the sweet part then. watching them get their just desserts.
The passive ones are my favorite kind, Gary (Sarcasm intended). When someone tries that subliminal shit with me, I call them right out. 9 times out of 10, they don’t have the balls to say what they really mean…and they they end up looking like spineless cowards
Too true. I’ve dealt with it with mixed results. It used to eat me up inside at one time because a) I wouldn’t stand up for myself and let the bully walk all over me or b) I would snap and try to choke the son of a whore. Either way, I felt terrible afterwards. It seemed I had a microscopic range of assertiveness between being totally passive or totally aggressive.
I’ve just learned to relax a bit more as I’ve gotten older and take more of an assertive attitude towards conflict.
Just realize that bullies are people with problems and they try to take their troubles out on those that are vunerable. I almost feel sorry for them. Moreso their victims though.
OB is right. My workplace is a prime example. We have gone through the right channels, reported the bullies, and their behavior. Those “proper channels” we went through then had a meeting with said bullies, told them everything that was said about them. Which was fine by us. It was true. The bullies denied it, and nothing was done. Except we were quietly punished every day for speaking up. 2 and a half years later, they get the same complaints, from newer employees, and are SURPRISED that it’s still going on, and in fact got worse. Everyone knows and won’t do a damn thing about it. Anti bully campaigns are all talk. Unions are useless on the matter.
We, as Taxpayers of NS, are being bullied by our elected Government, mostly Comrade Clueless Dexter, and the new owners of NewPage, Mr. Stern and his organisation.
Dexter has caved at every clause to ensure this dead and dying industry plant opens, then rapidly closes allowing Stern to walk with a shitload of our money and assets. Stern is acting like a bully, and Dexter, and ultimately the taxpayers are his victim, but that’s what corporate raiders do – see Mitt Romney for example.
And quietly waiting in the wings to pocket their share of the loot is our old favourite, NS Power.
Without knowing the full story in question, in this particular case, but it seems that regardless of the circumstances – race, gender, intellectual ability etcetera – that if anything does not go in the favour of one party in the story, it is automatically deemed as “bullying”. I wonder why it is that it now seems that “bully” seems to be the new buzzword in society, that was a term that was used in elementary school, not in the adult world. If you don’t like what I say or do, that is a difference of opinion and should not be classified under one buzzword.
The “race card” is nothing but an “emergency stop” button. If everything stops, everyone takes notice.
I’ve encountered bullying many times in my life.
What worked against the 2 bully’s in elementary school worked for all the rest.
They would jump me on the way to, or after school.
I’d fight back & get my ass kicked.
BUT one day one of them didn’t come to school & it was 1 on 1.
Once I beat the first one, they again jumped me a couple days later & kicked my ass again. THen I went & waited near the home of the second one & got him alone. Bullys can dish it out, they cannot take it.
Refuse to be cowed, never show fear & never stop fighting back. They will always give up in the end. All this happened in Hawthorn school way back before the one there now even existed. Perserverence in Junior & High school …& refusing to back down worked whether it was 1 bully, 2 or a group.
Just get them alone & you’ll see for yourself theres a big wide yellow stripe running down their back !
I don’t believe that the abuse of power in the workplace perpetrated by some asshole who gets off on verbally abusing, intimidating, or otherwise bulling people over whom he/she has power is the same as schoolyard bullying. The risk of losing one’s job is real and often leaves people feeling powerless to take matters into their own hands, especially when confronting the bully head on and filing complaints through the proper channels does nothing to solve the problem. So I say bravo to the man for standing up and seeing it through to the end.
more, that used to be quite common for me too. i learned at a very early age to not take any shit. my old man got me enrolled in a karate class one year, when i was about 11, and no one knew about it. one day russel started his shit, and took a swing, the last one. i gave him a round house kick in the head and he dropped like a bag of old shit.
his group of buddies just let their jaws drop, even more when i screamed for the rest to come the fuck on and get some too. they ran the hell away, and about an hour later, i was in the school principal’s office explaining why i was being a bully. fucked up world to an 11 year old hey.
but good things came of it, just about all the smaller kids wanted me to show them what i knew at the time, and this was afer 6 lessons or so. yep, bullies are just fucking chicken at heart, they need their backup. i have no pity anymore for those that get the fuck kicked out of them. that’s why i love walking in dark places at night.
If you are being bullied, call them out! Take some sick time to get your shit together and prepare your case! Present your case without emotion! Trust no one at work, snakes love to be petted by the bully. Human Resources, Harassment Advisors, Good Working Relations…..what ever they are called are there to protect the company! Keep yourself healthy! Just some advise, it does get better. One last point, get ready to leave if it becomes unbearable. NO JOB IS WORTH THAT SHIT!
With todays mini camera’s filming an a bully being an asshole is easier than ever.
THen decide do you take it to a supervisor, hold it over his/her head …or post it on Youtube & let everyone at the workplace know what the link is ~:)