Speak up, Stand together. Stop Bullying. This post might be a week late for Pink Shirt Day, however the message never gets old. I’m personally disgusted by the amount of bullying I hear about that’s going on – both in schools and out. From public beatings in the Porirua shopping area, to crowd intimidation, to not feeling safe visiting the cafeteria. And these are just examples of the girls.

In my opinion, the only way to stop a bully is to stand up to them. Not necessarily throwing a punch when it’s 6-on-1. Speak up, Stand together. Never let bullying slide. It’s everyone’s right to feel safe, at school or in the workplace. Action is the only thing that works – silence gives these weak insecure bullies the indication they can continue this behaviour.

I always wanted to do Martial Arts, however without going into detail, wasn’t allowed. Then during my 4th form (year 10) our group was confronted by a large crowd of bullies – I didn’t know how to “fight”, however I still stood up to them as I hated how not doing so made me feel. From that point on I was “driven” to do martial arts. I WILL never feel like that again.
Confidence negates bullies. Ability can sit them on their arse (if necessary and they cross the line). Martial arts grants both, along with learning that avoiding the need to fight is always the better path.

My last point on this is; being a bystander to bullying and doing nothing makes you complicit. The bystander effect occurred in Porirua where 2 girls to taking turns beating up another girl (punching her head, pulling her hair, and eventually stealing her phone). Adults walked past and did nothing. There…is…no…excuse.

Speak up, Stand together. Stop Bullying.

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