Sweet & Sassy Scribblers
​
  • Genres
  • Fiction
    • Books for Children
    • Fantasy
    • Thrillers
    • Mysteries
    • Women's Fiction
    • Science Fiction
  • Nonfiction
    • Well-being
    • Spiritual Psychology
    • Poems, Essays, Etc.
  • Heart Song Ghostwriting
  • MindSlap! - Spiritual Psychology
  • Let's Get Our Hands Dirty
  • The Scribblers

Bullying as a Political Tactic

6/22/2023

0 Comments

 
​Let us start with the basics as we explore just what bullying is, how others participate in it, and its insidious effect on this country. 
​ 
What Is Bullying?
What are the accepted personality characteristics of a bully?
  1. The bully takes pleasure in the distress of others, usually adding to it with taunts that are designed to humiliate or demean.
  2. The target of his bullying is considered at fault for his bullying, and he will only express that the target got what they deserved.
  3. The most important consideration for the bully is their need to control or dominate others.
  4. A bully is quick-tempered and impulsive, reacting to situations solely from a place of personal benefit, and it is not unusual for him to find it difficult to restrain himself.
  5. The bully is not capable of external considering, that is, seeing the situation from another person's perspective or empathy as it is most often called.
  6. A bully believes himself to be exceptional, that is, superior to others in every way in knowledge and response even when he has never had exposure to a subject in question.
  7. A bully considers himself to be entitled to whatever he desires.
  8. A bully is tactless, unconcerned about offending others regardless of the circumstances.
  9. A bully has an irrational dislike of anyone who differs in terms of religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or basic beliefs.
  10. A bully refuses to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions or simply denies any wrongdoing.
  11.  Finally, if confronted and there is really no defense against the accusations being made, the bully has in his arsenal a strong propensity toward trying to talk his way out of the situation. Since most of his actions have no moral or justifiable grounds, he generally has no valid argument to support his actions.
Picture
How Others Participate
In whatever the arena in life, those who are considered supporters of a bully do not generally participate in his bullying. They just want to be out of the line of fire, or they want the bully to take care of those they consider their enemies without their having to openly expose themselves. Followers of bullies, however, are a different variety. They may not initiate the bullying at the highest level; however, they definitely participate in it in whatever venues they can find.

Social media platforms have been an obvious measure of those who are followers of the unconscionable, bullying behavior of the extremists in this country. These followers have attempted to overrun social networks by hijacking the posts of people who support candidates who are aligned with maintaining democracy. When asked to support their demeaning remarks, they fairly consistently point to accusatory stories with no actual facts to back up the remarks, or they choose to ignore the factual proof when presented.
​
The important thing to understand at this point is that there is no rational thinking involved in these attacks because for bullies, no moral or justifiable grounds are required. Many of these extremist followers are simply concerned with protecting themselves. They feel that life has not been as good to them as it has to others. I can understand this; however, trying to find someone else to blame and proceeding to beat them down will not change the followers' lives.


Picture
The Insidious Effect Bullying Is Having on This Country
From a personal perspective, I must say that the contentiousness that has developed in the media and on social networks since Trump introduced bullying as a primary political tactic has not only caused me to block and unfriend people to eliminate the rabid negativity from my online life, but has also caused me serious concern about the integrity of this nation. The office of President of the United States of America is one requiring seriousness in behavior. The persons running for this office should show respectfulness for this country, all its people, and show a high degree of competence through education and experience to perform in such a way that exemplifies the egalitarian belief on which this country was founded.

The Declaration of Independence did not treat this belief lightly, nor should we. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they’re endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, and that whenever government is destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter and abolish them and institute new government in such form and according to such principles as seems to them most likely to affect their safety and happiness.”

These words cannot be interpreted to mean that those of a particular religious leaning may choose to bring everyone under the hammer of their beliefs. No one group gets to decide to alter and abolish these rights because it suits them. We are still a free nation. It has been a long journey getting to where we are today. We have not reached the ultimate position in terms of the egalitarian belief that sparked this country's founding. Still, we have come far enough that the resistance to it has reared its ugly head. Those who wish to take up residence in one of the way stations of the past along this journey are so frightened of change, of forward movement, that they are willing to ride the swing of the pendulum to a far extreme that will even exceed in its baseness their own desires. It is this fear of those who represent change that has been exploited by Donald J. Trump and the Republican party and is driving their followers to carry this vitriol out into the world. It has succeeded in drawing arbitrary lines to set off groups of people as being undesirable, lines between those who fear change and those who embrace it.

A country cannot operate from ignorance and fear. In 1822, President James Madison said, "A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." 

0 Comments

Meeting Frustration Face-to-Face

6/8/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
People often react in extreme ways to frustration. It can range from rabid gossiping against whatever is frustrating them to doings things they would never do if in a rational state of mind. Some people drink excessively from frustration because while drunk, they are able to release their frustrations from their conscious minds. Of course none of these actions actually resolve frustration. They just deflect the energy we've invested in the frustration into some other destructive activity.

How can you deal with frustration? Well, first, it is important to survey the specific situation that is irritating you and ask yourself some questions.
​
• Is my frustration the result of my trying to have things my way? It will be harder to answer that question than you might think because your ego doesn't want that brought out into the light. Are you just mindlessly trying to force your stance on everyone? Have you really entertained the ideas presented by others or just closed your mind to everything except your own agenda? We have all done this at one time or the other. Unfortunately, it is an approach that rarely serves the highest good. 

• Am I frustrated because I am trying to perform at a level beyond what is needed or possible at this point in time? Sometimes we put undue pressure on ourselves by setting arbitrary deadlines or unrealistic expectations. As a result, we set ourselves up for failure and a large dose of frustration. Other times, we try to force others to rise to a level for which they are not prepared. Once again, the resistance you meet will exasperate you.

One of the things that is appealing about frustration to some people is that it plays into the fact that it is so much easier to be negative than it is to be positive. Before you react to this statement, think about it. If something goes wrong, how much easier is it for you to imagine all the less than stellar experiences that can happen as a result? Being positive takes courage because you have to literally move from one state of mind into another. Being negative only requires that you add to what you already see as negative. No shift in energy is required.

So, if you want to learn how to meet frustration face-to-face and win, you have to be willing to consider the following:

• Put your ego aside and reassess the situation by dis-identifying from the outcome. In other words, take your ego needs out of the equation so that you can be objective.

• Recognize that some may not be as invested in the process as you are. Be willing to put it out on the table for discussion. At least then, you can make an informed decision whether to stay or go. Otherwise, you will continually be pushing a rope uphill, and frustration is likely to build.
​
• For your own spiritual development, be brave enough to monitor your thoughts and feelings so that you learn to choose the ones that will increase your consciousness and stem the frustrations. 

0 Comments

If Every Group Member Were Like Me...

6/1/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
We all find ourselves in a group environment at one time or the other. It might be in a social setting, a classroom, a church, a business team, or some other group with a common goal. Whatever it is, there are goals, whether spoken or just understood. 
​
Since each member of a group adds their consciousness to the group consciousness as a whole, this thought should pique your curiosity.
 
If you plan to assess yourself as a member of the group, you have to consider your attitudes. Are you needful, or are you mindful and grateful? 

• Are you needful? In other words, do you have a fixed idea of how the group has to operate in order for you to be happy as a member?  Do you also feel that your personal needs must be fully met before the group is considered functional by you?
 •  Do you understand that you must be mindful of the needs of others who also make up the group?
•  Are you grateful for the opportunity to come together to learn about the mission embraced by this group, even if it is strictly social, and for the opportunity to express what you learn and feel with its other members?
 
Of course, it is often our neediness that draws us to particular groups. However, needing emotional or spiritual support is not the same as being needful, which involves demanding your needs be met. When members of a group insisting that things be done their way becomes the rule of the day, the danger is that the group and its mission are no longer the focus. Everything begins to deteriorate, and until the focus is restored to its proper place, there is nothing that can heal it. This also applies to the group we don’t usually bring to mind: the nation to which we belong.
Picture
In this process of decline, there are three basic groups of people. A long time ago, I heard this breakdown of the philosophies of those in a group although I don't remember who said it.

•  First, there are the risk-takers. These are the people who remain committed to the group’s mission as the lifeline for moving forward. They stand strong, regardless of the stones and arrows thrust at them by others. They make a commitment to stepping outside their personal comfort zones for the good of the group’s mission. They work toward cohesiveness, not divisiveness.

•  Next are the caretakers. They don't want to get involved. No shaking things up for them. They close their eyes to the problems and to the troublemakers. Their blinders stay in place, and their buffers shield them from the realities.
​
•  Finally, the third group of people has little power until the caretakers outnumber the risk-takers. When that happens, the voices of the undertakers begin to be heard because the group itself is dying. An undertaker is someone whose purpose is to prepare the dead for burial. The way in which these undertakers do this is to set about creating divisiveness through gossip, innuendos, and outright untruths. Unlike the caretakers, they want to shake things up! The long-term health of the group and its mission is not their focus. Rather they are focused on enjoying increased personal power, at least until the group takes its last breath. 

The only restorative solution for a situation such as this is for the caretakers to wake up and become risk-takers. Although these types of people exist in groups of all kinds, this is the truth in America at the moment. If the caretakers in the American population don’t wake up and become risk-takers, the undertakers who have emerged in full force in the last eight years, creating chaos in all levels of the nation, will bury this group we call America.

So, if every group member, every citizen, were like you, where would your particular group be headed? Would it be growing in understanding as the consciousness of the group increased? Or would it be on life support, torn apart by the increasing negativity within?  

 
Picture
0 Comments

    Dannye Williamsen

    I have been studying the human psyche and its wonderful and often frustrating journey for over four decades. It was only natural that my love of writing and teaching became part of this journey. 

    My writings are dedicated to those who are willing to search  outside the box for meaning in their lives, who are willing to shift their view of the world just enough to recognize they are unique expressions, and who are willing to do the inner work to improve their understanding of who they are.

    Archives

    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
I will read forever because it lets me visit in my mind the worlds that I will never be able to see; it helps me put away the stresses of the day and relax into the rhythm of the story before me; it lets me bring to the surface and experience without regrets those feelings I hide away; it lets me re-experience the thrill of first love through someone else's eyes; it keeps my mind juiced so that it will never desert me; it is always there for me even when there's no one else. I will read forever no matter whether it is print or digital because the words will always call to me. ~ A Sassy Scribbler