Being mean is becoming our nation's favorite pasttime
Elisa Noeske
Issue date: 10/19/04 Section: Perspectives
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"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
Right. I am sure that every time we are faced with mean, hurtful people this saying makes everything better. The fact is as a nation we are getting meaner and meaner and the effects can be found everywhere from the workplace to your little sister's dance class.
We are always talking about epidemics. There are health epidemics, poverty epidemics and school violence epidemics. But where do we draw the line between teasing and hurtful bullying?
The line seems to be getting increasingly thinner. Recently, Novi teen Alexandra Burris was voted onto her school's homecoming court. Alexandra was neither the most popular girl nor the most likely to be a queen, yet her peers voted her on for one reason only: to mock her.
The tables turned around on them when she received national publicity and famous designers sent her dresses for the event but the mean spirited nature of many people has me concerned.
High school provides the worst years for torment. Teens respond willingly to peer pressure and use scare tactics and bullying to pick on those less fortunate and elevate their own personal standing.
One would think that after high school, this might fizzle out and college would bring on at least a deeper sense of empathy.
Instead I see it worse. Sure it is pretty uncommon to see fights and teasing at the college level, so intelligence is mocked and people feel the need to act as though God had just granted them some special power.
Just recently a friend of mind was repeatedly interrupted during a conversation before essentially being asked to leave. That sort of behavior is just ridiculous and immature. No one should dictate to you with whom or when you can carry on a conversation but people try to anyway.
Even Sean Connery, a well-respected actor, was blatantly rude to a reporter recently and insulted her every chance he got. Respect for another human being should be something we learned in kindergarten between our colors and shapes, yet it seems to be one of the first things we forget.
Right. I am sure that every time we are faced with mean, hurtful people this saying makes everything better. The fact is as a nation we are getting meaner and meaner and the effects can be found everywhere from the workplace to your little sister's dance class.
We are always talking about epidemics. There are health epidemics, poverty epidemics and school violence epidemics. But where do we draw the line between teasing and hurtful bullying?
The line seems to be getting increasingly thinner. Recently, Novi teen Alexandra Burris was voted onto her school's homecoming court. Alexandra was neither the most popular girl nor the most likely to be a queen, yet her peers voted her on for one reason only: to mock her.
The tables turned around on them when she received national publicity and famous designers sent her dresses for the event but the mean spirited nature of many people has me concerned.
High school provides the worst years for torment. Teens respond willingly to peer pressure and use scare tactics and bullying to pick on those less fortunate and elevate their own personal standing.
One would think that after high school, this might fizzle out and college would bring on at least a deeper sense of empathy.
Instead I see it worse. Sure it is pretty uncommon to see fights and teasing at the college level, so intelligence is mocked and people feel the need to act as though God had just granted them some special power.
Just recently a friend of mind was repeatedly interrupted during a conversation before essentially being asked to leave. That sort of behavior is just ridiculous and immature. No one should dictate to you with whom or when you can carry on a conversation but people try to anyway.
Even Sean Connery, a well-respected actor, was blatantly rude to a reporter recently and insulted her every chance he got. Respect for another human being should be something we learned in kindergarten between our colors and shapes, yet it seems to be one of the first things we forget.