The prevailing climate of the schoolyard is fear.
Fear of what we think others will do to us is the unconscious motivating factor for bullying.
It is well known that the bigger the school the more bullying occurs. This is because there is less supervision and the students act in response to uncontrolled feelings of threat.
The bully says, "Be scared of me so that the big boys won't bully me."
But it is unlikely that the bully is aware of his own motivation.
It is only after many years of looking back that I can see the fear that motivated everyone.
Fear of being called homosexual has always motivated poofter-bashing.
And since AIDS this has only gotten worse.
So any threatening behavior or fear will only make this situation worse.
The only way to deal with the schoolyard is to address the fear that infects everyone.
Photo Credit: theirhistory Flickr via Compfight cc
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