Bullies

Mary at The Watch has a post worth reading:

Dealing With Bullies

One of the world's experts on bullying in schools can help as we try to find a way to counter the bullies in the White House. Dr. Ken Rigby has been studying bullying for a long time and has come up with a thesis that says the success of stopping bullying is based on the level of commitment that teachers (or adults) bring to that goal. He recommends that people who are serious about trying to counteract bullying begin by understanding how to get a commitment on what approach the group thinks will work. He says a concerted approach is more effective than a more ad-hoc, everyone do their own way approach. And he provides a worksheet that can be used by schools to help decide on tactics to confront bullies. I suggest we study the techniques and find ones that we think will work.

I agree with Mary's conclusion that a coordinated effort that stresses rational responses is going to be the answer to the bullies -- not merely those in the White House, but those on the street. More on that this weekend.

In the meantime, it pays to remember: Bullies are cowards.