Sunday, May 07, 2006

When the bullied fight back

In Britain there’s currently a debate about whether a tough-talking celebrity should be leading the effort to stop bullying.

The case of Jodie Marsh brings into focus a number of questions that usually get sidestepped in public conversation about bullying.

First, is the person who fights back also a bully? My sense is that there is considerably social pressure not to fight back. Most of the conceptualizations are patently negative: “two wrongs don’t make a right”, “you can’t fight rankism with more rankism”, “revenge”, and even “terrorism”. It seems to me that this predictable social response supports bullying.

Read on ….

tag:bullying

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