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Page 11 |
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Home Page |
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Warning:There is no intent to hurt or to minimize the destruction caused by bullying in these stories or with this humour. The only intent is healing, understanding and the creation of new possibilities. |
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Bullying?
You must be joking! |
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Introduction: |
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The joy and liberation of humour can be a great antidote to the oppression, paralysis and seriousness of bullying. Bullying is no joke. But you have to survive somehow! So, together we are going to try something different here. |
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You see, many books I have read on the human condition of bullying have been dark and difficult. They are a great resource but impossible to finish. I have not finished one yet after five years of researching bullying. These resources brought my energy down but thankfully brought my options up. For these books, I am grateful. |
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Maybe, I thought, it is not good to be reading dark books. Yet, I know that bullying just another word for the sorts of stories that everybody experiences every day, some in a minor way, others in the most traumatising way. These dilemmas are portrayed in every TV soap, every film and every book. These are the meat of life. They are what we discuss when we walk on Sandymount Strand in Dublin, on the golf clubs of the midlands and in the hairdressers of Galway, in our talk shows with Marian Finucane, Gerry Ryan or Joe Duffy and in our compulsive gossip about Coronation Street at work. (Friends tell me you can't be a "real" person unless you watch "the street". I am therefore, not a person.) |
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We all love bullying stories when it is the story of the small guy sometimes winning in the end.The Davis and Goliath story is what makes us sit up. We always support David, not thinking we may be Goliath. We might be a unwilling members of Goliath's army. |
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I have collected here, stories of success in the realm of bullying. I understand "bullying" to mean any sphere where you feel "small", "up against it", "fighting the system", "being oppressed", "feeling sat on" and much more. Bullying has been implicated in corporate fraud, attention-deficit, suicide and self-harm. Bullying has been part of the alcohol story and the drug story. |
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I believe that being too serious can be a form of oppression. So at the very real risk of being judged flippant or too light, I will try to bring some levity as well as thoughtfulness to the subject of bullying. |
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Sometimes humour can help us see things differently. Fun and play can be way of exploring a topic safely. Humour also has its risks. Come and play with me. The golden grail here, our goal is health and wisdom. |
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You will hear stories of wit, courage, creativity and honesty. You will meet yourself and
you will meet your neighbour. Please read on ... |
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The structure of this book: |
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The stories that follow are absolutely true when they are called "histories"
with names changed for safety reasons) and are narratives, loosely based on real life when they are called "stories". After each story comes a discussion. Pater talks with Mick or Mary, his friends following these narratives so you can eavesdrop on their thoughts and dilemmas. Then we hear some other characters; Mia, Paulo and Pog have a light and more irreverent discussion of what they have heard. The chapters may finish with some wit and wisdom. |
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You can read each chapter on their own, as they are self-contained. |
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Click here for Chapter one. |
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