Write: Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?
Values and Choices:
belonging
bullying
bystander
conformity
exclusion
inclusion
membership ostracism
peer pressure
victim
Write:
Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?
My story tells about racism and heroes as the bystanders. One afternoon my family and I went to eat at a shop. After lunch, we went to the car park which was near a secondary school. School had just finished. Suddenly saw a group of high school Malay boys crowding around an Indian boy. Two of them were holding him by the neck and another person knocked him and punched him in the stomach. I noticed that the Indian boy was wearing a school prefect and heard the Malay boy saying " Tell me you didn't report him" And the Indian boy said " No, I didn't. How many times do I have to tell you!". My personal theory was that that the prefect probably reported a Malay student to the principal. My mom called the police but the Malay policeman called back to say he didn't know where the place was. After a while, he called my mom and asked "Has it finished?” Later on my called to check and the policeman said he was still rounding the area. My mom was so upset and decided to drop the case. I was furious. Weren’t the police suppose to be heroes and solve the case? This was very disappointing. But of course, the police have more power than us. This incident reminded me of the holocaust unit where we learnt about segregation. The powerful Germans killed the Jews because they thought they were more superior than others.
Respond to the questions below
1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?
In Shadow of the Minatour, an important theme is bullying. Phoenix is bullied by Steve Adams who is big and strong. Phoenix cannot win him in real life but defeats Adams in the game.
In the Boy in Striped pyjamas, the Jews are ostracized by the Germans. They put the Jews in concentration camps and kill them without any mercy.
In the Hunger Games, the Capitol terrorize the Districts and play with their lives. They force them to fight against each other.
The In-Group
Watch the video clip below
Eve S: The In Group
1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.
“Often our actions are determined by the moment.” Eve ends her presentation with this sentence. I think it means that we sometimes do not think carefully before making decisions and our decisions seem good at that time.
To think about:
How is ostracism different from other forms of bullying? When does ostracizing or excluding someone from a group become part of bullying?
1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes? She was talking about bullying in school. She was bullied but later she bullied because she wanted to be accepted.
2.What surprised you? Eve said that usually differences cause hatred but in this case hatred caused the differences.
3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.)
She was a victim and then she became a perpetrator herself just to be accepted by the group. She said she did that because she joined a popular girl and mocked another girl.
Psychologists Michael Thompson and Lawrence Cohen point to the powerful influence of peer groups in guiding our behavior: ‘We all know that groups can go terribly astray in terms of their moral reasoning. Everyone not in the group can be considered an outsider, a legitimate target…It affects every group because we are all prone to that feeling of us versus them and the idea that if you’re not with us you’re against us. Speaking out against a risky, immoral or illegal decision is hard to do because that makes you an outsider yourself’.
4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?
She joined the bullies just to feel good and accepted. She can now think about what she did and she knows she is wrong in mocking the girl. If I were in this situation, I would like to be accepted but I would not join the bullies and become a bully myself.
5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean? We sometimes do things to have more friends or make more friends. The friends may do some nasty things like teasing or even beating up others. Even though you may not like these things, you just join them because you like being part of the gang rather than being alone and become a victim.
