A message about bullying

I have been bullied by the best... most of this community knows and recognizes this. I am a survivor, not a victim. Survivors no longer tolerate disrespect, bullying, or any kind of abuse.

I offer the following information to raise awareness and to offer a solution.

According to Education Development Center, Inc., a non-profit organization with a mission to promote safe and healthy schools and communities:

"Bullying is a repeated aggressive behavior where one person (or group of people) in a position of power deliberately intimidates, abuses, or coerces an individual with the intention to hurt that person. Acts of bullying can be physical or verbal. There is a clear line between conflict and bullying. Incidents of bullying must include all 3 of these characteristics:

1) Intentional- the behavior was aggressive and a deliberate attempt to hurt another person

2) Repeated- these aggressive actions occur repeatedly over time to the same person or group of people

3) Power imbalance- the person bullying has more physical or social power than the person or group of people being bullied

The actions that constitute bullying vary. There are four types of bullying, which can occur separately or simultaneously:

1) Physical bullying such as kicking or pushing

2) Verbal bullying such as name-calling or yelling

3) Relational bullying such as excluding or rumor-spreading

4) Cyberbullying which involves sending hurtful messages over digital devices like computers and cell phones." (Letters to the editor clearly fall into this category.)

Bullying is learned behavior and can be "un-learned".

Wise counsel was given to unruly citizens in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Their disunity and spirit of divisiveness inspired the Apostle Paul to write, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres... So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Love is a gift; a blessing that is received in the giving. Love one another.

Susan Freeman

Moses Lake