Random Note #175,684
Have you noticed how the word, “bullying” has become the latest, all purpose Acme, Swiss Army Knife weasel word when those with a paucity of language skills can’t think of anything else. It’s up there with racist. homophobe, sexist, misogynist and all the other “ists” “isms” and “phobe” accusations, responses and rejoinders. The underlying design of the idea is that in pigeon holing and shaming you as one of the aforementioned you will comply with the current, pc groupthink.
Bill Leak is now a bully because of a cartoon apparently. Another described the response to a raunchy Miley Cyrus meme that comments on Donald Trump as bullying. You look at someone sideways and that too is bullying.
We’re hearing and reading about it more and more and you probably have your own examples.
The rule of thumb seems to be if someone says something you disagree with, it must, by virtue of the new definition, be bullying.
Incidentally, as I understand it, staring at someone is now regarded as harassment. But doesn’t that mean that for someone to level that accusation they must be staring at the starer?