Posted on September 25, 2011, in Bullying and Harassment, In the News, Laws and Policies, Perspectives, Prevention, Uncategorized and tagged civil rights, discrimination, gay-bashing, harassment, laws, LGBT, protected class, respect, safe school climate, victims, violence continuum. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
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Liz, maybe passing another civil rights law to prevent bullying is one piece of the puzzle. But I think the message of your latest book about the violence continuum is the ultimate answer…because it addresses the underlying problem at its root cause. By teaching children an appreciation of diversity and compassion at an early age, bullying simply doesn’t happen. My daughter’s 5 year old niece by marriage recently stated from the backseat of the car here in diverse Tucson, AZ (paraphrased): “We can be friends with all kinds of people…people of different colors, and different sizes, and different backgrounds. I love all my different kinds of friends at school.” Amen, Ellie!
Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments. They always make me think and clarify my ideas-just what we all need to do regularly! Yes, there are many pieces of the puzzle and they are all critical – it’s that magical blend of idealism and pragmatism.
There is a distinct pattern to changing core attitudes and behavior on a fundamental level. I think of how the 70-year women’s suffrage movement made little progress until the bare minimum of state legislatures finally passed the 19th Amendment in 1920, and the power of the breakthrough civil rights laws of the 1960’s that told us that what we had been doing for hundreds of years was wrong and unconstitutional. Our efforts in schools to teach pro-social skills and respectful treatment of others provide the rich environment for this profound personal growth. This is where our energy should focus.
In the meantime, as our efforts with children are nurtured and take root over time, legal protections provide a strong statement that infringement of human rights will not be tolerated. They also provide missing guidance for school staff and a method of recourse for victims and their supporters. So legislation and policy are both a response to entrenched injustice and the catalyst for institutional change.
In this case, for those in positions of power who do not have the inclination to take the mistreatment of gay students seriously, it is likely the necessary first step toward positive change. I like the adage that what you practice eventually becomes habit, and until protection of human rights is a mandate too many schools will never start practicing.
I just read the last comment and my heart goes out to you. I sotimemes wonder if what I went through (given poor perormance review mid 2008 and then put on warning and probation late 2008) was a staged situation that my manager had to do to keep their job. I acknowledge that I was no star performer at Liberty, but I gave it my all. The harder I tried to do even more and do it better it seemed it just was not good enough. I was doing things like working off the clock to try to survive, and was even fearful of being caught or questioned for doing that. Finally I was told that my performance had improved, only to find myself given notice of my job being eliminated when Liberty killed the Wausau Insurance brand. I have been unemployed for several months and I know it is is for the best that I no longer have to be treated so poorly there, however it sure was nice having a paycheck and health insurance.