Bullying From This Side Of The Fence!

Bullying

Part 1

Bullying Is Inherently Evil and an Abuse of Power! No Excuses Brooked.

This essay/blog is being written from the perspective of one who suffered through the bullying process and enjoyed (not quite the right word) that after years of work and study losing one’s source of employment through the actions of others absolutely kills. So, in retrospect and having lost some four years of income because of this bullying I decided to try to both understand and come up with some type of solution.

Mobbing or bullying can come about for a number of reasons, the victim’s background, ethnicity, religion, attitude to work, age, moral values, abilities and even if for example, there is someone already employed in the area who feels they have a better right or historical claim to the position the perceived interloper has won.

And it can be started by the smallest of issues — clothing, perfume, a spouse’s employment, even smoking. There could even be a correlation here with the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, where the bullying attitudes of intellectually weaker, but physically stronger members of the group actually assume leadership over the intellectually superior, but less physical members to create moral and emotional havoc in their lives.

I can remember a case in an earlier place of employment where a chap sat and smoked his smelly old cigar at his desk, directly opposite a girl who was allergic to the smell of smoking in any form. She took her case to the highest person in the office to no avail. Desperate she took matters into her own hands and brought a large fan into work, which she positioned on her desk to face the smoker. When he smoked, she turned on the fan and his offending smoke blew back onto him. Ultimately, she was moved out of the office; across to a non-air-conditioned building while he continued to fearlessly smoke his cigars until anti-smoking legislation was introduced.

It would appear from what I have read and heard about there are many cases in the general arena where people have been mobbed or bullied out of their area of work, and in some really bad cases, completely out of their place of employment (and that would be me I guess!) The victim is so demoralized that their feelings of worthlessness cause them to ignore any paths of possible redress so usually there is none, no comeback, no standing up for one’s rights.

My “bullying” issue commenced when my previous democratic, democratic boss decided to resign due to ill health. The new boss was appointed and to my horror she, Pearl Whole, was a person I had known in a previous department. I had not had much to do with her but she had made life hell for some of my workmates. She was neither a nice person nor super bright. I suggested to the appointing officer that life was going to pretty evil if she came on board and that I would probably end losing my job…famous last words as it turned out! To his commendation the boss sought me out the next day to say that there was nothing he could do about his choice, the wheels had turned, but he said that he hoped I was wrong -and that it would work out all right. Well, all I can say is it did not work for me — she won, and I lost. She is in employment, and I am not. She was the smiling bully — one who by applying the Kiss Up: Kick Down system to the right people continues to sit in a tactical position of moral rectitude whilst as a hard-working officer who worked diligently to achieve Australian Standards for the department, my reward was to be passed around like an unwanted sack of potatoes.

Life had in this department previously been somewhat difficult as there was already a resident bully insitu, but as he was subordinate to me, I was managing. Then the double whammy! Pearl Whole arrived and history started to repeat itself the only difference being that she was now pointing her death stick at me.

An addendum to the above- I heard recently that one of the minor bullies that I had to contend with was then bullied by the chief bully after I left my former place of work and while this was some small solace it did not give me back my position, self-esteem nor my income.

But it does go to show that no one is immune even if they think that they have the power of the throne behind them. And Why? because the Main Man/Chief Bully will always need a victim to prove themselves worthy of whatever!