Have we progressed at all?

With all the anti-bullying campaigns these last few years, it would be fair to expect a reduction in the amount of bullying that goes on amongst children.

There are committees set up specifically to prevent bullying in sporting groups, in schools and in recreational programs and everyone would like to believe that great progress is being made.

When you read the story on page 11A, it is enough to make anyone wonder whether any of these efforts are working at all.

Children today are exposed to an awful lot more than the previous generation thanks to their easy access to virtually anything in the world via the Internet and enhanced tools of technology. This progression in technology has, in many respects, made it easier to be a bully and/or be a target of a bully. And cyber bullying has indeed conceived a new breed of bullies to add to the mix, but the old-style bullying is still very prevalent.

What's most disturbing in the story 'When the game hurts' is how children so very young actually have knowledge of a child that has only one-quarter Inuit blood. There are no physical features in the child that shows that. Might be interesting to find out how he learned that.

The term 'whacked-out skimo' is most likely a reference to the problem of gas sniffing in the native community of Davis Inlet that was highly publicized more than a decade ago...and not something a 10-year-old today would likely be aware of on his/her own.

Maybe there are older kids coaching this little child on bullying tactics. Maybe a neighbour makes racial remarks in front of him and that's where the kid picked it up. Perhaps it might be someone no one would ever consider who is influencing him. One thing is for certain though, someone provided this child with information that was unnecessary and unfair and in turn caused the child to be very unkind to another.

The kid called Michael in the story will likely never forget how this other child made him feel. That's sad, unfortunate and likely won't be erased. He will probably also remember that this little boy never said, 'hey, I'm sorry.' Kids are very forgiving and often require less than we realize to get past pain.

But Michael is only one kid who has felt the pain of hurt from another kid and hockey is only one venue where bullying occurs.

It's present in all sports, schools, playgrounds...virtually everywhere kids gather.

Children are like sponges, they soak up information constantly. When the wrong information gets soaked up, it's definitely a challenge for parents and the adults in these children's charge to correct and redirect it; nonetheless the onus is on them to correct it.

All the anti-bullying programs in the world, all the books, props, posters on anti-bullying are completely and utterly useless on their own without an enforcer.

Maybe there is too much of a process and too much protocol and-the committees that are set up to deal with the matters are torn from every angle-the adults mandated to fix the problems often get so embroiled in their own emotions and conflicts, they forget that there are impressionable children looking to them to fix their worlds.

Maybe back in the day when a coach had the freedom to order a kid off the ice for any form of disrespect was a better and more effective day for those who attempted the like. Whether it is the bully or the one being bullied, when the ages are as tender as nine and 10, they mightn't say they want the adults around them to correct it, but they certainly need it corrected.

In the world of bullying, there is probably one thing worst than a child who deliberately targets another child, and that would be an adult who spent his childhood bullying kids without being forced to stop and at age 20 or 25, is still a bully.

editor@theaurora.ca