Cyber-Bullies (page 5)

Chemical Emotions

Sorry, zid, I was posting my thoughts, but didn't notice that the convesration had turned. My bad. :")

Dogpatch

Zid sez,

When I had my thoroughly nasty two-and-a-half-month-long cold, I gargled with hot/warm water with:

Fresh Garlic - diced...

Garlic Salt

Cayenne Pepper

One positive thing I learned at Bethel was when I got a cold and my roommate, Milan Miller (who used to set up presses for the WT in all the branch offices)fixed me a hot toddy (Whisky and lemon? I don't remember), had me wrap up in blankets to sweat it all out, and I woke up feeling great the next day. Haven't had a cold since. :-))

Anyone know whatever happened to Milan?

Randy

ziddina

I LIKE the idea of a "cyber-Lee"!!!

Aw, poor lil' doggie... Did you - you didn't get rid of it, did you?

Sounds like it just needs to be potty-trained a bit more...

WTWizard

And usually, this is pointless hate speech. They never have anything to back it up (such as reasonable evidence that their paradigm itself is the problem, or that certain groups of people exist solely to make things miserable for everyone else). They just bash people, or groups of people, for no good reason. Use of racial slurs and misogynic speech is common, too.

And the problem occurs even in the Bible. I don't know how many times the Bible bashes gay people for no good reason, or puts women in subordinate positions to men. The whole book of Philemon is about a runaway slave ordered to return to his master--encouraging slavery. The Bible also speaks favorably about genocide (especially when the Old Testament speaks about Tyrant David wiping out tens of thousands of innocent people in nearby countries). It also speaks favorably about destruction of whole cultures--destroying temples and "idols". I would definitely say that the Bible (or, more accurately, the LIE-ble) is the worst offender for hate speech. The Quran is probably a close second.

That in mind, calling someone an idiot because they still believe in Christ is not cool. Most of those people are not just deluded, but terrorized by their religions to not even look into the matter. They are told that, if they look at an alternative viewpoint, or even question their viewpoint, they will burn in hell. For this reason, I find it more productive to bash the religions and not the people that are trapped therein. And not to bash people simply because they are gay or of another race, or women. Nor any individual that is doing me no harm--attack the viewpoint, not the person. And attack logically.

Lozhasleft

Great thread Lee. I completely agree with you. Bullying is unacceptable. When my eldest daughter was young I found out she was bullying a girl and causing real distress, I took her to the girls house and got her to apologise.

Lately, on here, prompted by the memorial I think, there's been some particularly nasty attacks on believers. Some posters are very angry and bitter. Being atheist/science fans whatever, doesn't give them the right to be so offensive to others. Sometimes it's forgivable cos we understand their bitterness against the WTBS, but sometimes they cause a lot of hurt.

Just my 2 cents.

Loz x

Chariklo

One of my sons has just spent 3 months working in another country, a global holiday destination in fact. He took his family with him for the experience. The older of the children, aged 8, went to school there. To begin with everything was fine, and then after a few weeks the bullying started, mainly because of the difference in accent and in background. (Fortunately, they still enjoyed the experience, even so. ) They're home now.

So, I have direct family experience of recent bullying.

As to cyber-bullying, we just don't know how sensitive another forum member might be. I agree that debating on ideas etc is one thing, and verbal abuse is another.

But actually, you know, I've seen very little cyber-bullying on here. When set on the scales against supportiveness, help and sheer genrosity with information and more, in this forum those scales are very heavily weighted on the good and positive side.

Just my two penn'orth.

00DAD

Cyber bullies are generally cowards that would never act that way in real life, but the safety of the internet emboldens them to take out their hostilities on those that they perceive to be weak.

The best response is generally to ignore them. When they don't get what they want they go away .... sadly that is usually in search of new victims.

StopTheTears

I've called the police on my neighbors several times due to this behavior. You can't be too safe. I've always got my eyes open and make it a daily habit to have a glance around my neighbors property while i'm watering my flowers and such. And keeping my ears open. I keep my cellphone charged and at my side at all times and my neighbors know that i've got my eye on them and I will not hesitate to call the Police if I have any suspicion of wrong behavior.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I was bullied at school. Certainly not as badly as many kids are today. As a JW, I was very much an outsider. Sadly, I think it was the bullying that drove me deeper into the religion.

Hearing the stories of some of my classmates has been very sad. Last year, one of the pretty young girls that I thought seemed aloof and snobbish gave a speech. I felt so bad when she admitted how painfully shy she was and how she had been bullied terribly in grade school. Another "tough girl" told the story of how she ran away from a miserable home into an abusive relationship with a boyfriend that nearly killed her.

LL, if I ever come across as a bully, tell me. I would never want to give that impression, but sometimes it requires someone outside the conversation to point it out.

stillajwexelder

Great Thread

Cyber-Bullies

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