Sunday, October 28, 2012

Political Bullying



http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/17

I’ve tried to stay away from the political conversations because I believe politics is a personal matter. It’s a matter in which we each weigh the pros and cons of candidates and see where it fits into our current lifestyle and values. That is, unless you’re a party voter, which is one of the things that has destroyed our voting system…but that’s another story.

This post isn’t about debating or arguing politics or which candidate I favor. The reason I decided to post this is regarding bullying. I’ve had to weed through countless adult Tweets, Facebook comments, etc. about politics and people attacking others because they don’t agree with the other voter to the point that I’ve been avoiding social networks for several days now. In one instance, someone remarked, on an author’s political Facebook comment, that “Anyone who votes for Romney has mental disorders” and the author ‘liked’ the comment.

In case anyone wasn’t aware of it, belittling others’ voting choice is a form of bullying. Earlier this month, Tweets and Facebook shares went around about the recent death of Amanda Todd, who was cyber-bullied through social networking. Amanda Todd committed suicide because of bullying. Shouldn’t her death make us stop and think about our actions? The author I spoke of earlier shared her dislike of bullying, stating she experienced it herself in her younger years, yet agreed with someone’s insulting comment. For those of us who are against bullying, it’s time we take a look at our own actions and possibly make changes, if need be. How can we be outraged at the younger generations for bullying when we’re doing the same thing?

The media and political candidates started the political bullying. Media outlets choose which candidate they support and then slam the other candidate in a game of semantics. And then you have the presidential candidates talking bad about each other, accusing one another of lying, and then telling the American people what’s wrong with the other instead of telling us what they’ll do to help this country recover. It’s all bullying—plain and simple. Here’s a link that doesn’t show politicians, media or society at its best - http://news.yahoo.com/u-election-nears-efforts-intensify-misinform-pressure-voters-051420119.html.

If we want the younger generations to learn the horrors of bullying, how wrong it is to bully someone because they’re not like us or don’t think the same way, then we need to start at the top level. If we want to prevent another child from taking s/he life because of cyber-bullying, then we need to start changing our own society and individual ways in how we approach things by demanding politicians and the media to set an example. Stop creating a bullying circus on television and social networks. Children learn by example, and what the presidential candidates, the media, and people all across the social networking world are doing, is showing children how to perfect bullying.

Bullies and Politics,
Bea

4 comments:

  1. I agree with you. I may not like or agree with someone else's political point of view, but I most definitely will not put up with bullying.

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    1. It's sad the way these campaigns are run and the disrespect flung at each other. Bullying and disrespect, two things that we're showing the younger generation.

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  2. I'm proud that no one knows who or what I want to vote for. Isn't that the reason they make voting booths private? Sure, I have my opinions, but I don't feel like losing friends over them.

    I have a Facebook friend who just spouts her rants all day long, and it's exactly as you described. "I can't believe there are people with half a brain in their skull who would even consider voting for someone as stupid as (candidate)." I just watch her friend number drop and drop and drop, and I think, after this is all over, let me know how that works out for you as an author, since this is the same Facebook page she uses to promote her books.

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  3. It's ridiculous that people spout off and insult others about their political stand. I don't care how famous or well-known you are, if you insult other people's constitutional right how to choose to vote, you will lose followers. Let me know how that author does on her Facebook page.

    The author I was talking about is a well-known author, but it was her Facebook account. I'm not about to express my opinions regarding politics because I am trying to become an established author. It's a great way to lose an audience.

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