Emails have been piling up in my inbox over the past week from folk who are or have been cyber-bullied so I will write further on this subject.

 

First off, I must reiterate.

Don’t isolate yourself as this is what a bully wants you to do.

There are some occasions where the bully has total control so you will be alone through no fault of your own.

In this case phone relatives or friends who live further afield and tell them what you are going through.

Remember don’t be embarrassed as to your plight.

This is not your shame.

You need folk to validate how you feel.

 

One man told me of how his work colleague wanted his job so started both a cyber and social bullying campaign against him, dragging his wife into the mix as well.

He thought it was best to ignore, hoping it would die down, but of course the bully took this as a sign of weakness so he upped the intensity of the attack.

As they lived in a small town and with many of their friends believing what was said/written they felt alone and betrayed.

Not one friend came to them to ask for their version of events.

The bully had total control.

The ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on the bully’s Facebook page were from friends they had known all their lives.

These foolish people had no idea they were part of a well-orchestrated campaign to drive a man out of his job so the bully would be promoted which is exactly what happened.

In the end he simply couldn’t stand the cruelness any longer so they sold and moved many miles away.

 

A few months later the bully was found out and was fired.

This was cold comfort for this man as he was well and truly worn out mentally from the whole saga.

He has a minimal chance of ever finding work again as he is close to my age and to make matters worse, the job he was bullied out of, had been his job since leaving school, which makes it ever so sad.

There are so many stories I could relay but I think you get the picture.

A victim is often asked,

“What have you done to make them hate you?”

In response to this question I ask you to remember back to your school days.

What did you do to make the school bully throw your lunch in the bin?

What did you do to make the school bully tell you how fat and ugly you were?

What did you do to make the school bully punch you?

What did you do to make the school bully tell lies about you?

What did you do to make the school bully rip your towel off you in the changing shed after a swimming lesson so as to humiliate you in front of your classmates?

 

The answer of course is “nothing”.

And never forget; a bully is a sad and weak individual who feels empowered when disempowering someone else.