Are We Truly Against Bullying?

Rarely do more than a few days go by without me hearing about another victim of some sort of bullying, whether passive or active. Many of them haven taken their own lives because simply trying to get by another day was too painful and miserable. It is a truly depressing, heartbreaking, and utterly horrible reality in today’s world. As someone who was severely psychologically bullied as a very young boy, I can completely relate to the many victims, and my heart goes out to them and to those hurt with them.

I have noticed that many people out there have taken enormous action to promote awareness of the sheer amount of bullying that occurs every day in schools across America and other nations. This activity has become especially prominent on social networking sites like Facebook. As a result, the campaign to raise awareness and work to prevent bullying seems to having a significant amount of successes. Several major popular and highly successful films have reached large audiences, and numerous institutions are taking strong steps to prevent bullying.

On the one hand, this campaign against bullying is very effective and inspiring, and by itself makes me very happy and determined to do what I can to contribute to it. On the other hand, as I have begun to analyze this campaign as part of a much larger context, I have become extremely troubled because I notice it is in many ways quite shallow, ineffective, and ignorance and negligent of much larger causes and issues that are directly tied to bullying in schools across the USA. To truly begin to understand bullying, we need to look at its place in our society, both historically and presently. The question that we should start off with:

Do we as a culture and collective group, directly or otherwise, support and/or encourage bullying?

Many Americans would immediately, almost as a knee-jerk response, answer no; they are a moral people, and they recognize that bullying is bad. Furthermore, their many various adult and authority figures, along with their general government and society, officially declare that bullying is wrong and should be punished. It is of course natural for people to explicitly condemn bullying, along with other malevolent deeds, as well as believe they are morally sound. Most Americans are also at least decent human beings, so their attitude is somewhat grounded in fact.

The problem with this answer, however, becomes apparent upon much closer inspection of everyday society. Bullying does not just occur at schools; it is rampant in workplaces, in social gatherings, in entertainment, in academia, in politics, in business operations, in international relationships, and countless other fields of the present day. Bullying is also not a new thing, despite what some may think. It is as old as time.

These facts by themselves are quite troubling, but there is another angle from which we have yet to look: social and environmental influences. If there is anything we human beings should have learned by now, it is that we are extremely vulnerable creatures who are thoroughly programmed by culture, so much so that we are often influenced without even realizing our conditioning. We would like to believe we are independent (and in some ways, that claim is certainly truer of some people than it is of others), but at the end of the day none of us are truly so.

With our social programming in mind, let’s start to take a look at America’s history, since before at its very inception. Long before the USA even became an independent nation, many of the areas that be known as the 13 colonies were founded almost exclusively by two groups: vicious conquerors, exploiters, and/or imperialists of various nations who were hungry for riches and resources, and by Puritans, who supposedly came for religious freedom… and then established ruthless theocracies.

Fast forward to the American Revolution: the Founding Fathers were extremely wealthy and elitist landowners, slave owners, businessmen, and con men (John Hancock, for instance, was a big time gangster and smuggler, while it is well-known that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, among others, were slave owners). They created the Bill of Rights mostly as a symbolic gesture and pacification of the majority, of whom they were terrified. Since its creation, the Bill of Rights has been regularly violated with impunity by America’s government, often in defense and support wealthy and powerful interests. Furthermore, the Founding Fathers were intent on having a government of, for, and by wealthy white men.

From there, the nation continued its development, largely via the following: exploitation of various powerless groups (workers, poor people, minorities, immigrants, etc.), egotism, manipulation via fear and chauvinism, racism, violence, war, slavery, mass murder, and worst of all, genocide of the Native Americans. Large-scale prejudice, along with various forms of vigilantism, was rampant throughout society well into the 1960’s, though thankfully the excesses of prejudice significantly toned down some successes of the many civil rights movement. Modern American culture, however, has largely replaced overt bigotry with much more covert and implicitly programmed prejudice, especially towards minorities such as blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, and gays. Finally, let’s not even get started on the countless lies, manipulations, and deceptions told by the American government and oligarchy throughout history to justify and/or pursue a treasure trove of thoroughly despicable goals, including (but certainly not limited to) imperialist aggression, resource grabs, criminalizing dissent, halting social reforms, and forced implementations of free market "reforms" in foreign nations.

Can you say “bullying” yet?

If that’s not enough, let’s try to understand the role of bullying even further by looking at the present and historical basis for our society: the free market. Years of propaganda and bullshit aside, what does the free market actually do? In short, it forces people to fight each other for survival and any and every advantage they can get over everybody else (wealth, materials, intellect, sex, etc.). As a direct result, we must do whatever is necessary to gain more for ourselves and ensure less for every other human being.

Now think about it…

…

And answer me this:

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IS IT ANY FUCKING WONDER WHY BULLYING IS SUCH A PROBLEM?!!

No, and it shouldn’t be! We live in a culture that is built on and thrives bullying!

If we truly want to deal with bullying, we need to change our behavior and our environment. Period!

Idealism + Cynicism = Realism

Many a time we here are warned to not be naive. You can tell in people's wording and tone that they have pure and utter contempt for those who make the mistake of being too positive. Those people need to grow up, the "realists" say, because life is not fair.

On the other hand, there is now an extremely frustrating, demoralizing, and frankly disturbing trend where being cynical, nasty, and bitter is considered being "mature" and "wise".

Frankly, both extremes are bullshit and very dangerous, but especially the latter.

It is very true that there are very dark and nasty things about life and the world we live in that you must acknowledge. I cannot even begin to describe the damage that can occur from people refusing to open their eyes to the truth. Ignorance is not bliss, because it is only so long until the bubble bursts.

But cynicism is not always wisdom. Refusing to have hope and work for a better world is not mature; it's cowardly and traitorous to humanity. There are many out there who point out that happy endings are impossible, that there is not such thing as true goodness, and that humanity is doomed. Their motto is "life sucks, nothing makes sense, nothing matters, and then you die."

If all you do is crush hope by endlessly repeating that humanity and life suck, there is no point in trying to improve things, and that good people cannot exist while insulting those of us who believe we can do better as "naive", "stupid", or "utopia-seekers"... well, frankly you are saying infinitely more about you than you are of us.

If you wish to be truly "realistic", you will understand that life is all about balance. Life is not fair, and it is full of problems, dark truths, challenges, and tragic elements. But it also contains a lot of wonderful aspects and provides many opportunities for happiness, growth, and improvement.

At the end of the day, if you have good and strong personal relationships, if you have been as productive as you could, if you tried to have as much fun as you could, if you did all that you could to improve the world around you, and if you know that you were the best person you could be, you will have a lot less weight from regret and worries on your shoulders. You will not be guaranteed a happy life or ending, but at least you made the most of what you have.

For each of us that does, we improve every human being's chances of living the best lives we can.

Youth And Change

I've lost count of how many times I've heard "The youth are our future!"

Each generation states the one after it is supposed to be the instigator of a better world.

Yet, simultaneously, I must ask this question: if that is what adults widely believe, why is it that so many times I and others have been dismissed, not taken seriously, or patronized because we are "too young"?

Sure, we young folks tend to be more immature and we thus have a lot to learn, but a number of older folks don't seem to heed that fact that ALL of life is a learning experience.

Countless older people act as if change, reform, and hope for a better world are almost exclusively a "young people" thing. It isn't.

The universe is CONSTANTLY and CONSISTENTLY changing, folks. It doesn't stop evolving just because you're no longer an adolescent, or you turn 40, 50, or 60. It has changed, is changing, and will continue to change for as long as it exists, and we have a duty to change along with it.

I know older people have reasons for looking to the young for change. They are getting weaker and more vulnerable, and they tend to be a lot busier and bogged down with various things. But that is not an excuse to just sit around, wait, and watch.

ALL of humanity must work together to bring about a better world, especially considering the times we live in now. Every single individual that doesn't adds a another layer to a massive iron wall that is our obstacle to succeeding.

Enough With The "Lesser Evil" Garbage!

By now, I am sure people will have experienced this type of conversation:

Person A: We have severe economic and social problems going on. We need to do something!

Person B: It's not that bad.

Person A: Yes it is! Millions are in poverty, we get no vacation time, and a whole bunch of other things.

Person B: Hey, at least we're not [insert country people tend to portray negatively]. Be grateful for what you have, because people over there have it much worse.

This has got to be on of the saddest kinds of current phenomena.

Are you facing financial troubles? Hey, it could be worse; you could be in the Third World and not have anything but minimum clothing on your back. You're worried about the behavior of your leaders and the wealthy and powerful people in your society? Hey, at least they're not a dictator, rounding up people into camps and killing them!

So, essentially, our standards for progress consist of simply making sure that we are not the absolute worst we could possibly be.

This is status quo Stockholm Syndrome at its finest. Not only is this type of mentality unbelievably cynical and unhealthy, it's incredibly dangerous.

I wonder just how much longer it will be until the time comes where people decide that there's no need to be a good person, because simply being just above a complete monster will suffice as an incredible achievement that few people can reach.

Other people being worse or having more difficulties is not a valid reason to pat yourself on the back for being a better person or for not dealing with your problems; it's a pathetic sign of you being too afraid or unwilling to grow up.

It's like Malcolm X once said: "You don't stick a knife into a man's back nine inches, and then pull it out three inches, and say 'See? We're making progress!'"

This applies on the scale of all of humanity as well. "Lesser evil" will not help us face the challenges that are coming. We either grow up and thus recognize that "lesser evil" still puts us in the shithole and we must work for the best state of things possible, or we die. Period.

Lack Of Focus... Is It Really That Surprising?

When I was growing up, all I would ever hear from my parents, aunts, uncles, older cousins, and countless other people significantly older than me was how great college was. It was not only an important part of your life, but also a fun and social experience, if rather stressful and challenging at times. My high school faculty and many other academic figures, near and far, repeated this notion, though they tended to slightly reinforce the responsibility part.

Guess false advertising isn't limited to product commercials.

Well, actually, maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe it's just simple nostalgia, mixed with lack of connection with the current times and how things have changed on the part of all those people. Or a mixture of all the above reasons.

In any case, for me and countless other college students of my generation, we're experiencing pretty much only the stress and responsibility.

Sort of like how people like to say we should "work hard, play hard" and then completely forget the "play hard" part.

Then, we get chewed out for not focusing or working at 200% capacity.

News flash: Humans are not meant to live under these conditions! That's why we see all these problems called anxiety... depression... mental illness. Etc.

All work and no play doesn't just make Jack a dull boy; it also makes him a sick and broken boy.

For all our bickering, we college students have at least one important similarity to working people: we don't get a break. Period.

We get hardly, if any, down time. And even then we're often still trying to recover from carrying dozens of anvils on our back.

To the people who moan about "those spoiled people" (especially youth) in the present day having everything, a high standard of living comfort, and never facing any real challenges, I pose one question:

What is the payoff of having that high standard of comfortable living if we can barely focus on getting a drink during a break lasting a few minutes and don't even get our emotional, social, and psychological needs met at a bare minimum because we are all so busy?

For the record, I would do anything to have more down and social time like the older generations did. And I know I am far from alone in making that statement.

There Will Be Misanthropy

Recently, I have been able to watch the critically acclaimed film There Will Be Blood. It is an amazing story of a corrupt, monstrous oilman named Daniel Plainview (played by the ever-incredible Daniel Day-Lewis). The story is extremely gripping (if a little slow), the characters are beautifully developed, and the acting of not only Daniel Day Lewis but also Paul Dano and everyone else involved is superb.

Yet one of the more psychological reasons the film is so amazing is because it is extremely depressing and brutal in its (I feel) very realistic portrayal of a heartless monster who represents the worst humanity can become.

I felt quite sad and demoralized after the watching the movie. If that sounds dramatic, I should clarify: what made me sad was real life, not the movie.

Now some of you are probably thinking "Wait, why be upset about real life? Sure, Daniel Plainview is very loosely based on a book character, who in turn is very loosely based on a real oilman, but you shouldn't get sad because of that."

No. That's not it.

What made me so grim is not Daniel Plainview himself, but what he represents.

During one of the most captivating scenes in the film, Daniel makes his feelings about people absolutely clear: "There are times where I look at people and see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money so that I can get away from everyone."

He hates other human beings with a passion. To him, they are nothing but tools and assets to be used and then discarded when their value has been depleted. He can just abuse them as he pleases, because in his mind, they are horrible, despicable creatures who deserve no better treatment than manipulation and exploitation.

No doubt a number of readers will rush to point out that Daniel Plainview is not representative of anything, that he is a completely fictional character, and that I am getting too worked up over him.

Sadly, they are wrong. I wish they were right, but they aren't.

The dark, depressing truth is that people like Daniel Plainview are much more common in real life than most people believe or want to believe.

The real life equivalents may not be as (overtly) insane, unstable, or psychotic as Daniel, and, unlike him, they are probably not murderers either (at least not personally). A good number of them also likely have at least decent private lives.

But their contempt for humanity is neither any less severe than Daniel's nor harmless in the slightest.

These misanthropes come in various types:

The radical environmentalists who call for extermination of humanity so that nature can "recover" from human activity.

The various corrupt corporate officials who only see people as consumers of their products and could not care less how their production methods and products harm humans and the earth.

The ruthless, thuggish government officials of many countries all around the world who will do anything to acquire resources, maintain power, and wage war.

The cynical intellectuals and pseudo-thinkers inexplicably heeded by the public as valuable experts who dismiss any hope or chance for reform and a better world out of blind faith in the unsubstantiated belief that humans are inevitably savage monsters doomed to misery and destruction.

The various Malthusians who seek to use the over-hyped threat of climate change, among other things, as a reason to enforce a drastic and horrific reduction of the world's population at any costs because overpopulation conveniently allows them to just blame human numbers as the problem, as opposed to, say, the methods by which we live.

The eugenicists (many of whom often spawn directly from the Malthusians) seeking to ensure only "worthy" people reproduce.

And who can forget those lovely Social Darwinists who insist humans must always compete and crush each other to not only survive, but to also actually be productive?

These people may as well have "Humanity sucks! Time for us to die!" stamped on their foreheads.

To them, humans are not gifted, wondrous creatures who, however flawed, have great potential and are the key to each other's productive and happy lives, but instead a disease, a cancer to be purged.

Somehow, it is just too inconvenient or painful for these people to realize that we are in a deplorable state because our culture thrives on all kinds of exploitation and savagery. Compassion, progress, and cooperation are the enemies of this system; it would fall apart if those things were introduced into the central mechanisms.

We are forced to be horrible creatures to survive. It follows that those who are the most successful at becoming the monsters the system wants them to be tend to make it to the top. As social science studies show, powerful and wealthy people tend to exemplify awful traits as a natural result of being dominant. Thus, the dominant humans have a greater chance of living horrible personal lives as well as horrible lives in other fields. Furthermore, a cycle begins to form when we realize that a significant amount of the many types of the aforementioned misanthropes tend to be wealthy, powerful, and influential people (just like Daniel Plainview) who contribute to the world and perceptions of humanity becoming even shittier. Go figure.

There are few greater depravities than dismissing human life, the gifts and power of relationships with other people, and the potential every person has to make our world a better place. I don't want to even try to picture what would have to happen to lead someone to develop such a horrific worldview.

I'm not sure if There Will Be Blood intended to be anything other than a character study, but I think it has much more to say than it lets on. In any case, we can add the Daniel Plainviews of our world to our list of major reasons why we need to not only grow up, but speed up our growing up.

The "Special" Quagmire

Many young people of today have certainly heard the old saying "everyone is special" by now.

Seems reasonable, right? After all, every human is unique. No two of us are exactly alike.

The problem arrives in this all-too-familiar concept: self-esteem.

Apparently, far too many people, especially as we go down the age groups, seem to interpret being special not as "I have unique traits, and I should make use of them in the best way possible" like they should, but instead as "I can do no wrong, it's all about me, anyone who dares think otherwise either keep their mouth shut or face the consequences of not worshipping me."

Talk about blowback.

This behavior would explain a lot of things. It brings out a whole new nasty angle to the already savage, vicious, cutthroat competitive atmosphere and system that, while seemingly cooling down during America's golden years (circa 1950's-1960's), was very much always present. 

It also would explain at least in part why so many people today, especially those who have made the severe mistake of taking certain ideologies and institutions as their own personal identity, would rather jump off a cliff than admit they are wrong.

One jungle I cannot wrap my head around is what "special" even means. Does it refer to extraordinarily moral people? Extremely intelligent people? People who can hit throw baseballs faster than average? People who make much more money than most people?

Just what the hell does that damn word mean?!!!

Whenever I hear even a cursory mention of the word in regards to people, I think of a scene from Disney's The Incredibles. Dash, the son of the main superhero family, is feeling down. His mother, Helen, tries to comfort him by reminding him that everyone is special. Dash then grumbles that the saying "everyone is special" is really just a way of saying nobody is special.

I can't help but scratch my head at that. Certainly we want to recognize people for their achievements, but do we really want a society for some people are, in some way or another, regarded as more valuable than others? No matter what we come up with, won't that just be another way of inviting prejudice, the same type that results from people having more money and material goods than others, or more power, or more of anything?

Maybe I'm looking at this from a bad angle and missing something big.

But to me, I think we should just drop the whole "special" thing.

Giving any type of fuel to the destructive fire that is egotism or division between humans cannot do anything but more harm.

Egotism is one of the main reasons why powerful reform movements cannot take hold and why good ideas constantly fail to make as large an impact as they should. We see this constantly throughout distant history, recent history, and the past. This problem must be addressed, because we really are at a time where we either change or we die.

If we are going to get anywhere, we human beings must realize that our world is not about any one person or group. It's about humanity, the earth, and the entire universe. No matter what we may boast about or want to boast about, we are all tiny pebbles at the bottom of a vast ocean.

No single person is the protagonist; all of humanity is.

We Who Fight Monsters

Now that we have reached the means, technology, and resources to redesign our world into a much more humane and efficient society where basic needs of all human beings are met (not just as a mere effect, but as a requirement), logic dictates that we take that path.

Sadly, humans are not logical creatures.

On April 4, 2012, 77-year old Greek man named Dimitris Christoulas took his life. He is among many other human beings around the world who have killed themselves, are killing themselves, and will continue to kill themselves.

Why?

Because of the elaborate fictional stranglehold known as debt. Debt that does not exist in the physical world at all. It exists only in our minds.

Money, as admitted even by mainstream economists, is made out of thin air. It is loaned at interest, so the amount of money owed will always vastly outweigh the money in existence.

It is the king of Ponzi schemes and possibly the greatest crime against humanity possible.

This phenomenon is born directly out of the need to compete with other human beings for survival, profit, power, and any other advantage one can get. Our world places a pathological priority on wealth and power, so everyone, especially those at the top, have an addiction to power and profit. They will do anything to keep their position and get ahead of as many other people as possible.

As most jobs are taken away by the system's natural outcome of technological unemployment, which will inevitably replace the overwhelming majority of human labor with technology, the most profitable "job" has become gambling like that on Wall Street. Moving and creating fictional money on top of other already fictional money for one's own benefit.

The financial motive has turned its most ambitious and successful players, the bankers and corporate CEOs, into absolute monsters.

Through their addiction to power, profit, and control, they have realized that if they control the money supply of the entire world and have all assets privatized, they can literally own everything.

As the system has taught them, they must look out for themselves at the expense of others. To do that as much as possible, they must have it all.

The investigations into the global economic crisis has revealed that it was not accidental or the outcome of stupidity in the slightest; it was engineered by the financial powers-that-be to collapse any form of social safety nets. They are now in the process of having the corrupt and debt-enslaved governments impose brutal and horrific austerity measures all around the world. They have already succeeded in Greece and numerous other countries.

To the people of seemingly safe nations, I promise you this: we are all going to end up like the Greeks.

Austerity measures and severe poverty are going to impact the entire world.

Our economic paradigm, and its zealous players, will not stop until every last human is either dead or enslaved. It will lead to humanity's end, because eventually even those at the top will turn on each other  to attempt to quench their addiction.

The question we must ask now is how we will fight the massive monster we face.

As you can tell, different people will propose different solutions. One suggested by a fairly significant number of people is violence. Their reasoning is certainly not unjustified. Those at the top and the most ruthless and vicious players and proponents of this con game have done truly horrible things, and many worldviews of the victims of the economic paradigm have been utterly destroyed because they have been hurt so badly. 

Personally, I feel that the system itself, its worst proponents, and those at the top are beyond redemption, and I say that without remorse.

But I can not and will not condone or support violent revolution in any way whatsoever.

There is an old adage about becoming what you fight. This webpage talks in detail about fictional characters who have become almost, if not exactly, as monstrous as their enemies, and we could go on forever about real life equivalents. Furthermore, violence is morally wrong, and it leads to a vicious, inescapable cycle of hate, anger, and even more violence. I don't think I need to explain myself on those points, as they are plentiful throughout history.

In addition, remember what Martin Luther King Jr. told us: all violence does is attack other human beings. It does nothing to enlighten or teach people as to the real causes of behavior. It does not at all change the corrupt values and behavior, because it is not affecting our current paradigm. We need to understand that the real root of our problems is the system that promotes vicious, unfettered competition for every and any advantage a human being can get.

For all those reasons, and for the good of humanity, I am imploring everyone out there who may be reading this to start talking, beginning with those closest to you. Take advantage of your human connections to spread ideas and awareness. Investigate things like the GIFT economy and groups like the Zeitgeist Movement; they have some incredible ideas.

We NEED to have a transition to a world based on cooperation, human well-being, and true efficiency of resources and technology. That is not an opinion; it is a verifiable fact. Any serious expert will tell you, and people around the world are steadily acknowledging it as we speak. The changes to reach that will only occur if a) they come from us, the ordinary individual human beings around the world, and b) we acknowledge their necessity and want them to happen.

We don't fight monsters with their primitive tools of weapons, brutality, manipulation, and threats; we fight them with our tools of knowledge, adaptation, compassion, and trust.

The Balance Of Struggles

You don't need to look too hard to find someone who has really been through hell. Extreme poverty, lack of healthcare, abusive families, war survivors and refugees, orphans... those things are not at all easy to survive through. Recovery is even more difficult.

We admire those who can pull through. While we especially idolize those characters with dark and troubled pasts who become truly amazing people, we also extend this to the real life equivalents. This attitude of admiration, however, stands in stark contrast to the disgust and vicious degradation people tend to have towards those who have suffered like the many severe traumas like those listed above but have failed to fully recover or, worse, deteriorate as human beings because of what they been through. If you have doubts about that, I suggest you examine the legal system. We often care little, if at all, why people have become who they are. It's so much easier just to punish them by locking them away or executing them. That way, we can bask in euphoria, having convinced ourselves that any problems come from the individual. We don't have to *gasp* examine our society, and possibly (oh the horror!) actually have to change things! NNNNNEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

This kind of scorn has other forms. I have heard many an adult talk scathingly and bitterly about my generation (Y and younger). They say we've had it easy, that we think we are the best, and that we are spoiled brats who think the world exists to serve us. Sadly, social science research has proven them right.

I an not unsympathetic to that viewpoint. Believe me, I've encountered many a Generation Y/Z entitlement king or queen in my lifetime, and I take social science research very seriously. But sometimes I feel like I am in a no man's land, that older people will not respect me due to my age no matter what.

So I feel obliged to state the following: I know many people my age who are not spoiled in the slightest, and they have been through A LOT. They actually deserve much more than they have been handed, if you ask me. 

As for myself... well, I think I can say without apology or doubt that I do not ask for much, and I have tried to always be the best person I can. I live fairly comfortably, and I have not experienced anything REMOTELY close to the severe problems like those I listed in the beginning, but that doesn't mean I don't ever face troubles and setbacks that I must deal with. I have my faults, but I constantly work to inhibit them. I work hard, I have a goal (in the social sciences), and I have long since vowed to treat every human being in the best manner possible. I would say all the same about my friends.

Yes, I'm guilty of being a bit of a video game nerd too, but hey, I like action-adventure and interactive stories. Plus, I need something to do when I'm tired and when my friends are unavailable.

And as tempting as it may be at times, I cannot call myself as a "heroic" or "special" person in any sense of the definition. To keep myself in check, whenever I feel like I'm the protagonist, I forcefully label myself a villain protagonist. I am flawed, and kind of a loser, I tell myself, and I must be redeemed as much as possible.

In any case, I'm hoping that, whatever my generation's priorities are, that they become the right ones. The good people work to influence others the real duty all of us have: to get the world ready for a great transformation. As many experts have noted, we are on the verge of an enormous social and culture transformation on so many levels; our generation must be the builders of that ark and the mentors to the future youngsters who will eventually sail it.