Editorial: Change the language of bullying
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Why do we use the word “bullying?”
The roots are Dutch and German and go back to an origin that means “brother” in the 16th century, but it took just about 100 years to go from the kind of brother who is an ally to the kind who is an abuser.
And yet something about the word retains that air of a good-natured ribbing between siblings. While we may talk a good game about the seriousness of bullying, the reality is it still is largely shrugged off as child’s play.
Kids will be kids. Kids are mean. It’s part of growing up.
No. It isn’t. It shouldn’t be. It is the responsibility of adults to make sure it is not.
A Bureau of Justice Statistics report showed that in 2018 alone there were 836,100 victimizations of U.S. students between the ages of 12 and 18 in school. Victimizations between students outside of school? Just 410,200. American middle and high school students were twice as likely to be victimized by their peers in a school setting as they were outside it.
That’s a staggering number. It gets worse when you realize that physical confrontations between students and “bullying” are the two most common disciplinary problems in schools — and one could argue the difference between the two often is semantic.
It’s the kind of data that seems pertinent given an Allegheny Valley School District issue. A disabled student — age, grade and school were not revealed — was harassed and physically attacked by classmates. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced the resolution of an investigation in the case Wednesday.
The announcement required the district to train all of its staff, conduct a climate assessment and review all bullying incidents at the school for a three-year period. It also included undisclosed monetary reimbursements.
Allegheny Valley might be the subject here, but it isn’t the only district dealing with the problem. Bullying is a talking point in every district. There are posters. There is the state Safe2SaySomething reporting hotline.
But bullying cannot be addressed by slogans and policies. It can only be confronted with action.
Maybe part of that is doing what the federal study does — acknowledging bullying as not just kid’s stuff but as a serious issue of victimization.
What if we used words that were more fitting for the offenses when they occur — words like harassment, assault and attack? Would schools and parents take the actions more seriously then?