In recent years I have observed a new phenomenon. Very seldom does a week go by that I do not see a news story about bullying. With the invention of Facebook and Twitter we now even have "cyber-bullying." Not that bullying is a recent occurrence, but if you listen to the news stories it would appear that bullying is worse than it has ever been.
I don't know why there is all of a sudden such a concern over bullying. It could be that modern parents are so scared that their "babies" will face the slightest discomfort or (God forbid) get their little feelings hurt that they want to stamp out bullying (which, by the way, I would assume has been around since the beginning of time).
While I have not conducted any sort of "scientific" experiment or research, I would assume that most people have been bullied at some point in their lives. If you have never been bullied, chances are that you were the bully. I wrote last week about "thorns in the flesh." It could be that God put bullies in kids lives as a thorn in the flesh to help them grow. If a child never dealt with a bully, how will he grow up to deal with an overbearing boss or a nagging wife?
Don't get me wrong, I am in no way defending bullies. I believe that every bully needs a good old fashioned country ice whoopin'. While they are a nuisance, most of the time bullies get what is coming to them. Most of the bullies I had to deal with are in jail. A few, however, have seen the error of their ways and have actually become fine adults.
This posting may sound like I am being cold and heartless, but believe me, I know what it is like to be bullied. I know what it is like to dread going to school during the day and pray for the wrath of God to rain down on the bullies at night. Friedrich Nietzsche put it best when he said, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." I also think that it would be beneficial to stop wasting valuable air time with these news stories getting every one's panties in a wad about bullies and how to stop it. After all, how many bullies actually listen to these stories anyway?
