We hear quite a bit about children being bullied. It is a big topic in the news and on social media. However, the fight against bullying should stretch beyond the walls of schools because bullying also happens to adults in their workplaces, communities, and even churches. Many children who bully learned how from their parents. They see their parents bully and think it is all right.

I have never faced bullying in my community, workplace, or church, but I have witnessed it. Being a victim of bullying as a child, I know how harmful this type of abuse is to a person. I worked in the bakery department of a grocery store and witnessed bullying. A Greek woman worked there with us. The others found fault with her traditions, how she did things at work, her accent, and so on. They insulted her accent and her lack of knowledge of American ways. They made snide comments to her and made fun of her behind her back. They insulted the work she did, and they did what they could to get her in trouble.

I enjoyed working with the Greek lady and learning about her customs and country. I even admired her accent. The others claimed that she had been in our country long enough that she should not have an accent. They were foolish. You don’t just grow out of it, especially if she still spoke the language at home. To me her accent made her unique and exciting.

They bullied her daily and when she tried to fight back, the manager punished her for it. The abuse got so bad that she left the store and found a new job. I see her from time to time and we fill each other in on our lives. She is much happier now. I was and am angered that she was bullied so badly she had no choice but to leave. I’m angry that the manager of the bakery didn’t defend her. Bullying should never happen in a workplace and this should have never happened to my co-worker.

I also witnessed bullying in a small church I was going to. One woman seemed to take it on herself to run everything, and she had her faithful followers. If she didn’t like someone, neither did her followers. She bullied a person who means a lot to me. She made this person feel small and worthless. When the person tried to revive the Sunday school, the woman put her down and made it evident that the person would fail. Other church people joined in on the bullying. They excluded the person from events, put down her clothing styles, her role as a housewife, and so on. The person struggled emotionally with the bullying. It dragged her down and tore at her self-esteem. She was judged in the place where she was supposed to receive acceptance. She ended up leaving the church. The only person who is supposed to judge us is God, not our fellow parishioners.

Gossip is a big problem in communities and even in workplaces. One person tells something about a person, and by the time it gets around it turns into a whole other story. People’s lives are destroyed by gossip. That odd man who keeps to himself killed his son, then it turns to he killed his son and wife and next he killed a family that suddenly moved away in the night. What they may not know is that odd man is simply different and lived an interesting life. He may be just waiting for the right person to tell his story to. His son may have died unexpectedly from an illness.

We need to fight bullying not only in our schools but outside of our schools. If we show our children how to treat each other with respect and teach them not to judge by our example, then maybe we can prevent some bullying in schools. It’s our job to not only stand up against bullying in schools, but to stand up against all bullying. Wheter the victim is a defenseless child or an adult, this type of abuse is damaging and needs to stop. Stand with me to stop bullying.

I’m working hard at spreading the word wherever and whenever I can that bullying is abuse and we must rise together to stop it. In advocating against bullying, I am healing my own wounds and helping others. I am standing stronger in the light of recovery.