How To Stop Bullying: Band Together

These Boys Teach us to Band Together to Stop the Bullying

This video came across my Facebook page and I wanted to take a moment to dig a little deeper on why this is so important.

These boys show a great example of leadership and creativity and most importantly: solidarity.  By wearing the coats and ties they give status to their friend’s uniqueness.  They are sending a message that he is like us.  When we are targeted it is impossible to regain power and status on our own. We need the help of bystanders or someone with more authority and power.  That power can be in numbers  – as in this case – or in the form of one person.  In fiction he or she is a super hero with a super power. We don’t need super powers to solve problems. All we need is our creativity and the will to create change.

The result is that we build resilience for everyone.  The bystander develops confidence and skill, the bully is not shamed which is important for their emotional recovery, and above all, the person targeted has a shared experience that minimizes or eliminates the traumatic effect and speeds up recovery toward resilience.

Until we have laws to protect us we are on our own to stop bullying.  It isn’t always easy but bullying cannot exist in an environment that demands tolerance and acceptance of  our differences.  These boys showed great courage and are a great example for the rest of us.

Great job Danny and his middle school friends in Bridgewater, Mass!  This is how to stop bullying.