Blog 17 - Makeup Assignment

Makeup Assignment: Discussion on Bullying 

After reading the article, “The Potential Benefits of Being Bullied,” there were several new ideas I considered as well as several existing ideas that I solidified in reflecting upon what I read. The first thing that stood out to me was that the author described the topic as weird. I just thought that this was funny and goes to show the way that this topic is typically viewed by the public. Because of this connotation, I thought for sure that the author would be more hesitant to consider the benefits to bullying but they actually made very insightful commentary. The main point of the article places emphasis on how schools have a zero tolerance policy for bullying while some argue that bullying can actually present many benefits for young students. The author then goes on to give examples of how some of the most successful artists, comedians, authors, actors, and athletes have had some kind of struggle with public perception, hate, and/or bullying. I believe the author brings up these examples to urge the reader to consider that success and creating well-rounded members of society does not come without struggle. A point that I strongly agreed with upon reading this article was when Baaco stated “Here’s my problem with it. If kids who are getting bullied decide to immediately go to an adult as directed, they won’t necessarily learn how to resolve the conflict with bullies on their own.” My first thought whenever I hear this topic is to immediately focus on the social skills element of bullying and how it develops strong character. However, I forgot to consider in my own argument how bullying can introduce problem solving techniques and teach individuals to handle inevitable conflict that they will continuously face later in life. Overall, I agree with the article and also believe that bullying can be beneficial when it is done in the right amounts and right intensity.

In my personal experience, I can’t recall any major moments growing up where I was bullied. Even if there were not nice things said I don’t think they were productive. However, I do think that light-hearted bullying between friends and family can build strength and character. For example, I was never bullied in a serious manner but I was made fun of for my nose in middle school and that has stuck with me. This instance was not productive as it just made me insecure about my nose and did not build any character. On the other hand, bullying between friends and family has helped me build personality and strength. I think a lot of humor stems from light-hearted bullying so in my opinion it is good if you can dish it and take it. However, there are definitely instances where bullying can become very harmful and I do think that is something to consider in this discussion.

After hearing the class discussion, I am bummed I was not in person to participate but I noted some of the points my peers made. Kate picked the topic and noted that the topic itself is almost a joke when you hear it but she picked it because she was thinking about her own experience growing up in Newport Beach. She mentioned that in Newport Beach, there was more classic bullying that we don’t really see necessarily anymore today and she discussed her brother’s experience with bullying and how it motivated him to become a better athlete. The only negative she mentioned in this experience was that bullying may have made him more shy in some ways. Later on in the discussion, Kate also added that while there are obviously negative effects of  bullying she thinks that there CAN be positive change that comes out of it and that while bullying itself is not a good thing but it can result in a good thing. Several of my classmates talked about their own experiences with bullying, mostly being bullied or seeing others be bullied. For example, Rodrigo shared that he did a modeling shoot that resulted in homophobic remarks. However, to me this felt like more than harassment rather than bullying, but Rodrigo shared that while it sucked it made him a better person by no longer tolerating that kind of hate from anyone. Another one of my classmates, Tanaya, mentioned her experience witnessing bullying in that she went to an all girls high school where rumors and bullying were very bad and she saw it often but was never directly involved. However, she saw how it broke up friendships and relationships first hand. My classmate Mauhnee also showcased a different form of bullying and how culturally it can be more common for some people to bully in their households, which can then translate to their approach outside of their personal life. Lastly, I wanted to note that my classmate Neb discussed the idea of bullying someone by accident. He explains that if you are consistently making the same jokes towards someone you are close with, you may be bullying them or causing them harm without realizing it. Overall, I really appreciated that many different perspectives of bullying were shared during this class, and I felt as though it was a solid in-class discussion.

I personally love when you include your own anecdotes during class discussion. I found the story to be funny because I could also relate. I related to the bit where you said you laugh for some reason in response to fear or terror. Hearing you say that made me laugh as I thought back to every time I have been in a battle with my older brother. It is basically a running joke in our family that he conditioned me to laugh when he was beating me up so no one around would be alarmed. Now I feel like I use humor and laughter as a copying mechanism for everything else as well so it is funny how those instances shape our behavior and patterns in the future.