Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a parent and a community member, I am disturbed by the bullying that I see going on in our society. When I hear about something that’s happening at our school, I ask myself whether it’s just a mirror of the rest of the world that we live in. Where are the kids getting the idea that it’s okay to push each other around or to say mean things to each other or to try to get power over others?
Bullying isn’t just happening in our schools; it’s happening at Aurora Colleges, it’s happening in workplaces, it’s happening in homes, it’s happening on sports teams. Some leaders are bullies. Some countries are bullies. The Roman Empire was a bully. Hitler was a bully. This is not a new problem, it’s just gotten bigger.
The question I asked my wife, how do we fight bullying, her first response was, well, take karate lessons. I think we need to look at the cultural values and the family values. Really we came to the conclusion that it comes down to respect of others. Respect has been taught to us either at home or in residential schools. Respect is highly valued in our traditional culture. Above all, that’s what keeps the culture alive and strong. If you go against respect, the culture weakens. But today I’m seeing a lot of disrespect of parents, institutions, governments and even our elders. Is it a coincidence that there’s so much bullying happening today?
Bullying is not okay. Enough is enough. There’s a saying that goes something like this: hurt people, hurt people. I hope as legislators we can all stand up and help each other to prevent bullying in our society. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
