Pipestone Flyer
Staff in the Wetaskiwin Hospital led by Linda Armson, joined the campaign against bullying. “Last year I knew about it and just thought with all our hospital workers we could use it (awareness about bullying) in a place like this too. So I approached Debbie (Pearson) and talked to her and got an order form. Last year I just ordered for the kitchen and started it as a ‘kitchen group’ but others were wearing them so at the end of the campaign we gathered for a picture. We had 36 last year and a few more this year.” Armson explains her commitment to the campaign. “Bullying is a very devastating thing and happens everywhere, even in the workplace. Whatever we can do to reduce bullying, to make people aware of it, is important. It’s a very difficult thing because bullies don’t like to be approached but if they aren’t….”
Bullying is defined in Wikipedia as: “Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively impose domination over others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an imbalance of social or physical power. Behaviors used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion, and such acts may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets. Justifications and rationalizations for such behavior sometimes include differences of class, race, religion, gender, sexuality, appearance, behavior, strength, size or ability. If bullying is done by a group, it is called mobbing. ‘Targets’ of bullying are also sometimes referred to as ‘victims’ of bullying.”
Edmonton Eskimo football players, Hinse and King were very emphatic that in today’s culture, in addition to traditional forms of bullying, cyber bullying on Facebook, email, or by texting has become a significant issue. They were also very clear that if a student is bullied, they should seek help that is readily available to them. Bullying can lead to depression, not wanting to go to work or school, long-term effects that stay into adulthood, or to suicide.