Lisa Fabrizio
The real bullies
By Lisa Fabrizio
A few years ago, I was privileged to hear Justice Antonin Scalia speak at my husband's alma mater, Iona College. On display, among other things, were the wit and wisdom which have made him perhaps the most indispensible conservative in America. And he wowed the audience of mostly college kids, telling them that, contrary to public opinion, he was not a king, but if he was, "you sandal-wearing hippies would be outta here!" But the main thrust of his talk centered on how heretofore private gripes are now fodder for federal lawmaking attempts; invoking the old saying, 'There ought to be a law!"
And he's right. We're all too familiar with the so-called rights and privileges that certain folks feel should necessitate new legislation. Well the latest cries for new laws have come from those who wish to end the practice of bullying. Not surprisingly, these calls come at the federal level because, apparently the laws or policies passed by all 50 states addressing bullying are insufficient.
Now, we all have stories about being bullied, so here's mine. Back in the day, I was in the first group of teenagers bussed across the city to a downtown junior high school which, unlike my neighborhood school, had a high percentage of minority students. This, as it turned out was a great experience for me, because there I learned that kids are kids no matter what their color. But, as in any school, there was a bully. This bully was an exceptionally large and tough black girl named Carmen, who took particular delight in terrorizing yours truly; a scrawny 7th grader who weighed about 70 pounds soaking wet.
Bumped and bruised, I naturally went home crying to my father who advised me to "handle it" without showing fear. The solution? I happened to have a friend, an equally large and tough white girl who had a chat with Carmen. The windup? Carmen and I eventually became friends once we both realized that there's always someone bigger and badder than you in this world. She was especially appreciative that this life lesson came without the intervention of school authorities who would have undoubtedly ruined her life by staining her 'permanent record.'
Now I don't want to make light of the plight of those unable to cope with physical bullying, but as far as the verbal harassment that's the subject of all this hullabaloo, in earlier times, the whole situation was the subject of a nursery rhyme: sticks and stones make break my bones, but names will never hurt me. But sadly, in this country, we seek to protect children not from only hurtful names, but in many ways, from life itself. In modern America, all children are taught that they must be the same; that there are none that are smarter, prettier, thinner or stronger. But the truth is, all people are different and children must learn especially how to deal with those who are strong and cruel. This is the struggle of history, not only of our country, but of the entire fallen world.
But our children are woefully unprepared for this challenge because we have totally skewed their moral compass, and thus they wonder aimlessly through life, hurt and offended at every turn. Because we have failed to give them the one thing they desperately need: a culture that truly cherishes and protects them. I need not go into the liberal crimes against life and procreation that sickeningly dominate our law and politics; turning a great number of our kids into trophies for the rich or cash cows for the poor. Their identity; as treasured members of a family, as creations of God with inherent and invaluable worth have been replaced with a new one: mere products of government inculcation; drenched with phony self-esteemism and drilled in the sexual proclivities of an increasingly decadent society.
If we really wanted to protect the children of this country, we would teach them that their lives are precious, encourage the promotion of traditional families and most importantly, stop making them the subjects of perverse and harmful social and sexual experimentation.
A child is happy only when he is loved, and he only feels loved when he is wanted and valued. Thankfully, there are plenty of parents in this country who still feel this way about their kids. And maybe it's time they took a stand against the true bullies in this nation.
© Lisa Fabrizio
March 28, 2014
A few years ago, I was privileged to hear Justice Antonin Scalia speak at my husband's alma mater, Iona College. On display, among other things, were the wit and wisdom which have made him perhaps the most indispensible conservative in America. And he wowed the audience of mostly college kids, telling them that, contrary to public opinion, he was not a king, but if he was, "you sandal-wearing hippies would be outta here!" But the main thrust of his talk centered on how heretofore private gripes are now fodder for federal lawmaking attempts; invoking the old saying, 'There ought to be a law!"
And he's right. We're all too familiar with the so-called rights and privileges that certain folks feel should necessitate new legislation. Well the latest cries for new laws have come from those who wish to end the practice of bullying. Not surprisingly, these calls come at the federal level because, apparently the laws or policies passed by all 50 states addressing bullying are insufficient.
Now, we all have stories about being bullied, so here's mine. Back in the day, I was in the first group of teenagers bussed across the city to a downtown junior high school which, unlike my neighborhood school, had a high percentage of minority students. This, as it turned out was a great experience for me, because there I learned that kids are kids no matter what their color. But, as in any school, there was a bully. This bully was an exceptionally large and tough black girl named Carmen, who took particular delight in terrorizing yours truly; a scrawny 7th grader who weighed about 70 pounds soaking wet.
Bumped and bruised, I naturally went home crying to my father who advised me to "handle it" without showing fear. The solution? I happened to have a friend, an equally large and tough white girl who had a chat with Carmen. The windup? Carmen and I eventually became friends once we both realized that there's always someone bigger and badder than you in this world. She was especially appreciative that this life lesson came without the intervention of school authorities who would have undoubtedly ruined her life by staining her 'permanent record.'
Now I don't want to make light of the plight of those unable to cope with physical bullying, but as far as the verbal harassment that's the subject of all this hullabaloo, in earlier times, the whole situation was the subject of a nursery rhyme: sticks and stones make break my bones, but names will never hurt me. But sadly, in this country, we seek to protect children not from only hurtful names, but in many ways, from life itself. In modern America, all children are taught that they must be the same; that there are none that are smarter, prettier, thinner or stronger. But the truth is, all people are different and children must learn especially how to deal with those who are strong and cruel. This is the struggle of history, not only of our country, but of the entire fallen world.
But our children are woefully unprepared for this challenge because we have totally skewed their moral compass, and thus they wonder aimlessly through life, hurt and offended at every turn. Because we have failed to give them the one thing they desperately need: a culture that truly cherishes and protects them. I need not go into the liberal crimes against life and procreation that sickeningly dominate our law and politics; turning a great number of our kids into trophies for the rich or cash cows for the poor. Their identity; as treasured members of a family, as creations of God with inherent and invaluable worth have been replaced with a new one: mere products of government inculcation; drenched with phony self-esteemism and drilled in the sexual proclivities of an increasingly decadent society.
If we really wanted to protect the children of this country, we would teach them that their lives are precious, encourage the promotion of traditional families and most importantly, stop making them the subjects of perverse and harmful social and sexual experimentation.
A child is happy only when he is loved, and he only feels loved when he is wanted and valued. Thankfully, there are plenty of parents in this country who still feel this way about their kids. And maybe it's time they took a stand against the true bullies in this nation.
© Lisa Fabrizio
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