We are suspense writers. We write stories about bullying all the time. In our stories, we go after the bad guys with a determination rooted in doing the right thing. Our heroes and heroines fight the good fight on every page, and show a little grace in doing so. They have to make tough decisions. But in the end, the bad guys don't win and the good guys do ride off into the sunset. Our heroes and heroines fall in love and start a life together.
The real word isn't so wonderful, however. I don't get mean people. We've all seen them in action. They wait until they have a "gang" to back them up then they go for it--picking on someone else just because they think they can. Why? Most bullies need to make themselves feel better, but why does it have to be at the expensive of someone else.
This has become even worse, of course, with modern technology and instant messages sent out into the cyber world. Writers sometimes get bullied by bad reviews or hurtful comments regarding our stories. But we've all learned to have tough skin. We love writing our books more than we dread the opinions of others.
I'm thankful that I'm allowed to write my stories and share them with the world. It's a risk we all take as writers. We all have the gift of freedom of speech. But we can only hope that we use our words to lift up, not tear down. When we look at history, we can see there has always been good and evil in the world. We each have a choice in how we go about our lives. My imagination allows me to create stories that triumph over some of the bad things in this world. And I certainly hope that in real life, I'll consider the power of words each and every day.
How do you feel about bullying? What books have inspired you and helped you to understand this type of situation?
Christian Romance Authors with Fictionalized Tales of Intriguing Edginess
2 comments:
We do a lot of training about bullying and such with the elementary kids/staff. I think the most powerful thing to come out of all that is the knowledge that bystanders are just as powerful as the bullies. We teach kids that if just one person has the courage to stand up and say, "Quit treating So and SO that way," it can make all the difference in the world. I think maybe it's like that out in the big world too.
When my daughter was in fifth grade a boy was bullying her, she asked him to stop repeatedly until finally she was fed up and kick the boy in the shin so hard she broke the skin. It was quite the to-do. His parents wanted her expelled. Ha! The administration wasn't so inclined, especially when the boy confessed to the harassement and that she'd asked him to stop. Hopefully the boy learned a lesson. I wish my daughter had told me or a teacher before she felt the need to strike out. But that's not her personality. So incase she ever feels the need to defend herself physically again, I made sure she took self-defense classes through the police department.
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