Social Commentary- Bullies

* Bullying includes a wide variety of behaviors, but all involve a person or a group repeatedly trying to harm someone who is weaker or more vulnerable. It can involve direct attacks (such as hitting, threatening or intimidating, maliciously teasing and taunting, name-calling, making sexual remarks, and stealing or damaging belongings) or more subtle, indirect attacks (such as spreading rumors or encouraging others to reject or exclude someone).

* Almost 30% of youth in the United States (or over 5.7 million) are estimated to be involved in bullying as either a bully, a target of bullying, or both. In a recent national survey of students in grades 6-10, 13% reported bullying others, 11% reported being the target of bullies, and another 6% said that they bullied others and were bullied themselves.

What a terrible commentary of our youth today...even sadder is that parents are allowing this behavior to occur. I often ask myself why bullying is becoming more common and I have to wonder sometimes if it may have to do with the staggering amount of parents that have to work outside the home or even two jobs just to make ends meet? I think mostly is is a combination of factors and working parents are simply one example.

Take myself for example...I work out of my home to ensure that my two youngest children  have a firm foundation of what is right and what is wrong. Trust me, I'm not by any means saying that parents working outside the home are all wrong but what about those working parents that are aware of their bullying child but choose  to ignore this behavior and hope it will go away or just get to wrapped up in their own needs and wants, leaving their child to do as he/she wishes?

I am having  this issue right now...  my former roommate's 13 year old daughter has been singling out my eight year old. How many written complaints...how many calls to the local authorities (before my child gets seriously injured) is it going to take to stop this problem? Why is it that this parent has chosen to let this child get away with such deplorable behavior and sometimes even condoned it...? Even more sad, when did parents start acting the same age as their bullying child?

Ok, I'm stepping off my soapbox for now. I truly hope all the parents out there will sit down with their children and let them know that this is unacceptable and no one should have to live in fear.  To learn more about this topic and how to prevent it please visit Talk About It, a terrific website!

Thorougly Irritated Thursday

It was a very long and rather frustrating day yesterday, The manufactured home park owner has decided to trap cats even if they have collars, tags and/or microchips. Cats who get caught are taken immediately down to the local Humane Society and bail is promptly set at $65.00 a head.

So, even though I own my own home and even though the owner is well aware of the two witches and their cats with a webcam and have the cats listed on my contract (with descriptions, I might add)...they insist any cats seen outside anyone's house will be caught and removed.

I ask what the hell (if of course I even believed in such a place...which I don't) is going on in this world that there seems to be nothing better to do than round up cats simply because they're outside. I say "Hello...it's a CAT! Aren't they supposed to prowl...? I mean come on, it's they're JOB! " Won't we experience a rodent problem if there are no cats to catch them?! What about the majority of elderly living here that have a fixed income as their sole support...how will they pay to get "fluffy" out of lock up?

I think the owner should focus on those whom have recently moved in and decided to park several of their partial, non running vehicles in front of all of the other houses around here because they ran out of room in their own driveway... And what about the methamphetamine addicts that have started to wander our blocks at three in the morning the last few weeks...? The Bull Mastiff that leaves pony sized piles of poo in the rose garden?... Did anyone notice the guy a few doors down drinking beer and smoking pot every weekend in his garage with under age kids...? There's just something a little off about the owner's logic around here...

*Steps down from the soapbox shaking her head and mumbling.....*