I realize this is exhausting and no one should have to go through this. But, you are and that’s the reality of being black in America. You don’t have a choice. And yes, that sucks. But … lashing out is a luxury you unfortunately don’t have.
One of the reasons we have failed to get bullying to stop is because we are focused on bullies being bad and so we think we can punish them to get them to stop. Behavioral change doesn’t work that way. At. All.
Name calling is probably one of the first forms of bullying we experience. Being called a name denigrates and dehumanizes. It makes the victim less then human and so not worthy of the normal rules of respect. It is a way to ostracise someone as “other.” This is important to the bullying dynamic because it causes our tribal instincts to kick in. Our group good, other groups evil. If other groups are evil then we have to resist them by whatever means are necessary.
Bullying takes a physical and mental impact on the victim. Understanding just how damaging it is can help us take it more seriously and stop rationalizing why we aren’t doing …
