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Do unto others as
you would have them do unto you. This is what we tell ourselves,
instructing one another in this “golden rule.” But
we don’t apply this rule to ourselves. As an ideal, it
works; in reality, it doesn’t. No one practices this
saying as if it were truth and the repercussions come closer
than we would like. Peoples’ lack of compassion for one
another manifests itself in the home and at school, particularly
the latter. My younger brother has become a victim of bullying.
As a twelve-year-old boy in middle school,
my brother is far from popular. Luke isn’t like most
of the other kids at school and the students know it. What’s
worse is that Luke himself knows it. It’s shown to him
every day. My brother has mental and physical disabilities
including slight autism and ADHD, so he is a participant in
the special education program at his school, which immediately
sets him up as a target. Thought we don’t want to admit
it, we think differently or even less of a person who is different
from us or has a disability, especially if they are placed
in that category by an organization such as a school. This
way of thinking eventually becomes something observable, then
something harmful.
As Luke goes through his day, lessons about
science and history aren’t the only things he hears.
The rumble of conversation in the cafeteria isn’t the
only sound that reaches his ears while he stands in line to
buy his lunch. As he walks through the halls, enters a class,
his ears pick out what people say about him, their laugher.
“You see him? He’s dumb,” “He’s such
a klutz,” “He acts like he’s five,” are
every day noises in his world. But they aren’t just noises
to him. Although they may seem like harmless remarks to some,
the effect these words has on Luke isn’t so trivial.
He believes them a little. The constant barrage of offenses
that scratch him penetrate his mind, and he believes it is
true. He thinks less of himself because of what people say
about him.
Unfortunately, words aren’t the only
weapon people use against him. Until recently, Luke had been
able to avoid getting hurt physically. But that time of safety,
too, ended. On the way to his science class, my brother walked
through a downstairs hallway where no teachers were. His aide,
who is supposed to walk with him to and from classes, was
back in his previous class discussing a matter with the teacher,
so she was not there to help him. An older boy was walking
with his friends in front of Luke in the same hallway. This
boy turned around and saw Luke. He stopped. When Luke walked
by, the boy pushed him against the wall and scraped his arm.
The other boys laughed as my brother hurried away, once again
he victim of bullying. Because there was no adult in the hallway,
the attack went without punishment – the boy walked away
without guilt, without consequences.
How would this have been different
if bullying didn’t happen? How much better would the
world be if people had compassion? How different would it
be if we practiced what we preached, if we used the golden
rule instead of throwing it aside? Talking about bullying
isn’t enough to change it. We need to start the change
with ourselves in order to change others.
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