Comments on: When the Bullied Fight Back http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127 This blog seeks to raise public awareness of rankism. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:26:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: Elisa http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-208 Tue, 04 Apr 2006 00:17:41 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-208 Welcome, Ken! Your story doesn't surprise me at all. The strangest paradox of the workplace culture movement in the U.S. is that it has given managers more discretionary power to act on arbitrary impulses and enforce their subjective impressions of the attitudes and emotions of their subordinates. You have my deepest sympathy. :-( Welcome, Ken! Your story doesn’t surprise me at all. The strangest paradox of the workplace culture movement in the U.S. is that it has given managers more discretionary power to act on arbitrary impulses and enforce their subjective impressions of the attitudes and emotions of their subordinates. You have my deepest sympathy. :-(

]]> by: Ken http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-207 Sat, 01 Apr 2006 21:54:54 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-207 I used to work for the sage group in the UK, I stood up against bullying. They fired me. Go figure. I used to work for the sage group in the UK, I stood up against bullying.

They fired me. Go figure.

]]> by: Elisa http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-40 Sat, 25 Mar 2006 03:57:59 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-40 I agree - women are more likely to be negatively labeled if they try to fight back. Women are expected to be nurturing and relational - the social glue. The difference plays out in office politics as well. Men will be seen as a bad fit if they let others walk all over them: women will be seen as a bad fit if they try to stand up for themselves. My thought is that every bullying situation is unique: it's wrong for society to impose a standardized response. One person might turn the other cheek and show their moral superiority to the bully. Another person might turn the other cheek and show their weakness, allowing the bully to beat them to a pulp. People have to be given enough leeway to judge the factors of their own situation. If the public gets dragged into it, they should weigh the factors as well. Dealing in formulas and stereotypes only leads to fascism. I agree - women are more likely to be negatively labeled if they try to fight back. Women are expected to be nurturing and relational - the social glue. The difference plays out in office politics as well. Men will be seen as a bad fit if they let others walk all over them: women will be seen as a bad fit if they try to stand up for themselves.

My thought is that every bullying situation is unique: it’s wrong for society to impose a standardized response. One person might turn the other cheek and show their moral superiority to the bully. Another person might turn the other cheek and show their weakness, allowing the bully to beat them to a pulp. People have to be given enough leeway to judge the factors of their own situation. If the public gets dragged into it, they should weigh the factors as well. Dealing in formulas and stereotypes only leads to fascism.

]]> by: Intrepid Liberal Journal http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-39 Sat, 25 Mar 2006 03:50:19 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/archives/127#comment-39 I actually believe there is considerable social pressure, especially on boys and men to fight back. Boys learn early on in the school yard that if they don't stand up to a bully they will be perceived as a wimp and can expect others to tred upon them. Boys are educated from early childhood that night fighting back sets a precedent. And those boys who are too fearful or incapable of defending themselves inevitably suffer long term damage to their self-esteem. Later on in life this dynamic is played out in office politics. One legacy of those early lessons is that boys who absorbed abuse from bullies on the playground later become bullies themselves as middle managers, CEOs, politicians, and husbands. We are a culture of bullies. <a href="http://www.intrepidliberaljournal.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Intrepid Liberal Journal</a> I actually believe there is considerable social pressure, especially on boys and men to fight back. Boys learn early on in the school yard that if they don’t stand up to a bully they will be perceived as a wimp and can expect others to tred upon them. Boys are educated from early childhood that night fighting back sets a precedent. And those boys who are too fearful or incapable of defending themselves inevitably suffer long term damage to their self-esteem. Later on in life this dynamic is played out in office politics.

One legacy of those early lessons is that boys who absorbed abuse from bullies on the playground later become bullies themselves as middle managers, CEOs, politicians, and husbands. We are a culture of bullies.

Intrepid Liberal Journal

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