Bullying is when an aggressor uses power to intimidate, surpress, control, manipulate or harm someone for the benefit of the aggressor. Bullying can be done verbally, physically, or socially in person, through the internet/technology or through a proxy that delivers the bullies intent.
To differentiate bullying from a single act of harassment, bullying is often described as chronic, meaning that it happens more than one over a period of time. Four conditions must exist for bullying to occur, there must be an aggressor, a target, an environment of opportunity where the bully feels safe to harass, and bystanders must tacitly "allow" the bullying to occur.
Our greatest leverage against this blight is education, teach people to not be bullies, teach victims how to respond and the greatest of the three, teach bystanders what to do. As all self-defense awareness and avoidance are the keys to successful self-protection strategy. Workplace policies must be written, distributed and enforced the same way they are in schools. We are all on patrol....
