Emotional intimidation

St. Ambrose once said, “No one heals himself by wounding another.” There are numerous types of bullying and not every one of them is easily determined. Bullying is defined as repeated aggressive behavior where one person in a position of power deliberately intimidates, abuses or even coerces another person with the intention to hurt them physically or emotionally. With so many kinds of bullying, it is not always easy to determine which bullying tactic a victim is going through and, having said this, it is crucial to understand that bullying entails three main characteristics that include repetition, aggression and an imbalance of power.

While physical bullying is the most obvious form of intimidation accompanied by verbal bullying, I’d like to focus on emotional intimidation where the bully intentionally excludes you from a group or a group activity by power tripping, accompanied by the belief that they are simply superior to you. I hate to say it but, from how I see some people behaving in this current political season, bullying is prevalent. When supporters believe that being able to afford eating out at a mall before rallies and comparing themselves to others who cannot afford to do the same is the height of emotional bullying and is detrimental to further our efforts in nation building. It is the same for those who have the audacity to malign others due to their social stratification.

Historically, bullying is often linked to children on the playground yet today, we see a lot of adults behaving like children whose behaviors have not been corrected in their childhood and have been allowed to persist with utter entitlement. No matter the reason, bullying is unacceptable and the driving force behind a bully is the fact that they believe it could get them what they want. It is also a very clear indication of their insecurities. Intentional exclusion is a result of emotional intimidation and this kind of bullying is narcissistic in nature, with a clear lack of empathy.

In this race we call elections, it has been very interesting to see the candidates who, more often than not, kept to their convictions and ran only with the intention to serve Filipinos, as opposed to those who still believe that gutter politics is what gets the votes. Bullying is a deliberate misuse of power and sometimes, bullies come disguised in sheep’s clothing, ready to diminish your dignity and self-worth because the only person they will ever look up to is themselves.

It is high time we put an end to such belief. As my pastor neighbor once said, we are all God’s children under the same sky. Bullying is unacceptable and sooner or later, bullies are exposed and, if it is one thing they hate most, it is getting your power back by standing up for yourself.