Leadership and Bullying - A Bad Combination

The definition of bullying is far broader than physical or verbal abuse. It can be more subtle and in many cases is used as an active form of exclusion; the end goal is to gain power and dominance.

When a leader uses bullying to gain power it becomes a dangerous and destructive force. When times are difficult there are some who will see aggression as strength and bullying as leadership. Both assumptions are detrimental. Just look back in history to see how destructive it can be.

Our society has taken on bullying in schools and have created programs to recognize and report bullying. Expecting zero tolerance it is a noble cause; our children should not be called names, made fun of, or portrayed as an outcast. Those who perpetuate this hatred do so for power - sound familiar?

The result of bullying is two-fold; not only does it perpetuate hatred, but it emboldens those who hate to act. The bully does the name calling and spreads the hate; the followers react, usually in the form of violence.

Per the Gun Violence Archive (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting) these are the statistics for mass shootings in the U.S. from 2017 to today; many of these were motivated by hate:
  • 2017 - 346 mass shootings
  • 2018 - 340 mass shootings
  • 2019 - 103 mass shootings as of April 28, 2019
These statistics are not acceptable. One mass shooting is too many.

If we recognize that bullying by children is a problem that needs to be eliminated, then why would we tolerate it from our leaders? It seems quite clear that this behavior is learned by watching. If we want children to stop bullying, then we must eliminate it from our leadership as well.

Elevating bullies to leaders is never a good idea; if left unchecked, one bad leader can do an immense amount of harm.

Bullying leaders can't succeed unless they have willing followers, and citizens who sit back and don't challenge them . We can no longer stand by and allow those who bully and use hate filled propaganda to obtain power. The world and it's citizens deserve better; our children deserve better.



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