Does Ignorance Breed Bullying?

Does Ignorance Breed Bullying?

By: Flowering Spring Tree

October 10, 2013

During the past couple of weeks, there were certain events that occurred in the life of my family and myself that caused me to think more deeply about bullying and how it occurs.  While I know that bullying can be bred in others from their parents, environment, and/or learning experiences, I found myself thinking even more deeply about whether or not ignorance can breed bullying.  This is because my son and family experienced some extreme ignorance to certain seriously sensitive situations recently by many people at a particular institution.  It got me thinking about the story in the Bible about the rich man who bypassed Lazarus, ignoring him, overlooking him, not even seeing him.  The man’s wealth caused him to feel superior to Lazarus and become blind to Lazarus’ poverty.  Similarly, my son and family were treated in a highly ignorant manner that created an extremely serious situation, again, to which those involved outside of our family were incredibly ignorant.

Without saying what the situation was, one can suffice it to say that even when presented with the facts about the situation and that professionals outside of the institution confirmed the situation, the officials at the particular institution remained in denial and in ignorance about it.  They remained completely blind to the existence of a situation that they caused, and not only caused, but the effects to which they steadfastly remained ignorant.  It, therefore, got me to thinking if this type of ignorance and denial – even when faced with information that the situation occurred, including confirmations from outside professionals familiar with the situation – that this could be bullying.

For about the past two years, I have researched the effects of bullying.  I have read people’s stories on the Internet about bullying; I have read articles about how bullying led to people committing suicide; I have read about how so completely destructive people can be toward each other that it causes those others to kill themselves.  So, that leads me to the phrase about the devil that one cannot see is worse than the one whom a person can see.  At least, in the face of bullying by those who are direct about it and who do not hide it, one can easily observe that they are bullies.  Worse are those bullies who feign having one’s best interests in mind but who, in fact, are doing exactly the opposite of that by being resistant to the truth, being in denial of it, ignoring it, and exacerbating the situation even more by escalating it. 

What these folks should really be doing is their homework.  They ought to try to place themselves in others’ shoes, especially those of children.  Instead, they continue to be blind even though they have vision.  The problem is that they are blind in spirit even though they can see.  Is it about a culture in which people need to be right and correct all of the time, at whatever cost, even the cost of another’s life?  People who are blind in spirit and ignorant are bullies because they always believe they are right and correct.  They believe their way is the better way, the more superior way.  They are oblivious to how their way may have tragic effects on others – I’m talking about it being to the point where their ignorance causes others to take their own lives. 

Denying, overlooking, and being blind and ignorant to these such serious issues are inexcusable.  They are the work of bullies.  Bullies purposely ignore, overlook, or deny these types of situations because they believe they are superior and that their way is the best way.  They are inflexible and not about to change at all, not for one person, not even if it means saving a life.  People who are ignorant bullies, therefore, do not even see the results of their ignorance or bullying because they do not see anything wrong with it, much to the detriment of others who are negatively and even tragically affected by it. 

Therefore, I believe that people who are purposely ignorant and blind to issues and situations are bullies because they have had many opportunities to become enlightened and educated about these things, and they choose not to.  They choose to steadfastly hold onto their ignorance, denial, blindness, rigidity, and inflexibility.  They are bullies and they do not even realize it.  Therefore, it is up to others in society to realize it, and protect themselves from them before it is too late, and another life is lost due to their bullyish ignorance.