This is transcribed from my Facebook entry:

There has, unfortunately, been bullying and harassment (physical, sexual, and emotional, often combined) for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

However, society's attitudes toward harassment have changed in the past 40 years, and that is a good thing.  However, we must not rest on our laurels and think "things are better than they used to be."  In many cases, things are indeed better than before, but a lot of work still needs to be done.



In the March 17, 1973 All In The Family episode, "Gloria the Victim," whilst Gloria was walking past a construction site, Gloria was a victim of sexual harassment which further escalated into sexual assault.  Once Gloria finally had the guts to call a Police Investigator to report the incident, the investigator played "devil's advocate" and portrayed what could happen in court.  "What were you wearing?" "Why were you walking by a construction site in a quiet neighborhood?," etc.  The detective insinuated that the man Gloria is accusing (of sexual assault) will make a counter-claim that the encounter was "consensual"

(Source: [link]) (YouTube: "Gloria The Victim," part 1 of 3: [link])



Circa 1980, if a child (especially an altar boy/girl or somebody who has been "entrusted" to the church) came home and told his/her parents that a priest had molested them or otherwise treated them inappropriately, most parents would not be sympathetic.  In fact, many parents would smack their son/daughter upside the head for making up a story about a "man of a cloth."  We all know where this has lead.  The John Geoghan scandal, among many others.  The disadvantage to this is that many adult males, including priests with no perverted sexual urges whatsoever, Boy Scout leaders, Camp Counselors, etc. are looked at as "weirdos."  Society NEEDS male role models, and not all altruistic males have sinister motives.



Forward to the 2000s.  Bullying in schools and in the workplace is a serious and inexcusable matter!   Please remember in your thoughts and prayers Phoebe Prince, Tyler Clementi, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, Jessie Buchsbaum, and Nadin Khoury.  The latter, a victim of seven teens involved in a vicious attack (on Khoury) in the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Darby, PA, is fortunate to be alive.  Khoury seems to be a real trouper, but will suffer irreparable psychological damage, as other victims of bullying (of whom I am one) have.

Web Sites of note: [link] [link] [link]



Bullying is no joke!





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