Creig Luke
Many people consider school as one of the best experiences in their lives; the fun, friends and the careless attitude during school, remain one of the most cherished memories in people’s minds. But sometimes, some horrific incidents, such as bullying or ragging by other student during school life can permanently scar a person’s life and make him numb.
Bullying is when a student, usually a stronger student, attacks, tortures or harasses other students for no reason whatsoever. A student usually bullies other kids to assert his dominance among the other kids. It also may be because they consider themselves as superior and worthy, and the other kids as inferior. Ragging is when the senior students ask their junior counterparts to perform vulgar and demeaning acts in front of others, in a way to assert dominance over their juniors. Bullying and ragging also happen at workplace, but it is more widespread and dramatic at schools and colleges.
There are various speculations as to why bullying occurs and why people turn into bullies. Most of the bullies come from troubled households, face abuse from their family members. Some bullies themselves were bullied before. Since they were bullied for being weak and submissive, they try to reverse that view by bullying kids weaker than them and asserting dominance over them. In colleges and in the workplace, seniors rag their juniors, as a form of entertainment, and to assert their dominance over juniors. Ragging is still prevalent in many colleges of our country, even though it is a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code. Students are so used to ragging and bullying, that they consider it mainstream which is a very sad thing.
(courtesy:psychcentral.com)
Bullying and Ragging can permanently scar a person’s life. A person’s self confidence and self respect can be destroyed due to bullying. A lot of people who were victims of bullying in schools, later become victims of substance abuse and self harm.
Parent’s nonchalant attitude towards bullying and ragging further makes the situation even worse. Most of the times, both the father and the mother have no idea on what’s happening in schools and colleges to their kids. This makes it even more easier for the bullies to target their classmates, since they know that the victim will not go and tell his/her parents about the bullying incident. Sometimes even the teachers and school coordinators do address the bullying issue properly. This leads to a laissez-faire rule of the bullies, who get pleasure by bullying innocent students.
Bullying, if left unchecked, can have a very drastic and bad effects on student’s minds. Students will start hating school and will tend to be aloof. They may develop antisocial personality disorders due to the trauma and shame. Hence it is very important to address and rectify bullying and ragging at grass-roots level. Every school and college must have a counsellor to guide and motivate the students. The students must be checked for any irregular behavior or excessive introverted-ness; such issues must be addressed immediately. There must be strict punishments for bullying and ragging at all institutions nation-wide, and these punishments must be enforced. A national committee can be made to assess such rules and punishments at every school and college
This is such a serious matter.. Bully others just at the sake of fun.. & the impact is so so grave… Childhood bad events do leave a permanent mark in the brain… Being strong doesn’t mean one can bully others.. It’s should end completely.
very important!!! It’s an extremely horrible thing, and it’s even worse that a lot of adults treat the matter really lightly, and many a time just brush it away by saying kids will be kids, or that they need to hi through such experiences to toughen up – which is a very problematic way to think about it. The carelessness of authorities in purposely taking no strict action and against bullying is another thing. Really liked the article and how it brushed over all the important points, especially the motives behind bullying, which not many people talk about – it was super well written!
Hey,
This was a short but crisp write up. We often tend to ignore bullying as it is quite common in the recent years. However most of us are unaware of the serious consequences and mental trauma caused due to bullying. it can effect an individual’s self esteem and make them mentally weak. I would like to give a small suggestion, it would be more helpful if you could elaborate more on the effects of bullying as it can show the seriousness on this issue.
Hey Creig, loved that you took up this serious issue!
I have faced bullying in school so I know it quite well. Loved how you gave a glimpse of bully’s psyche! But you could have elaborated a lot about effects on bullied child such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, trust issues , etc.in childhood and adult life as well
You could have included role of society in looking out for such kids.
Nevertheless, I really loved the article and keep writing!
Nice!
A very crucial topic and very well written. Great job!
A matter that is overshadowed by the academic performance of a child. If s/he scores low, the school is not even interested in hearing their problem.
Kudos!
Beautifully written & informative!
Keep it up!
It really is a serious issue. I too was once a victim of bullying in my childhood and I know how it feels. As a result I got serious trust issues and anger management which I overcame through tough work. Nice that you took it up as a post.
Well said yaar..