For the record....

[Carly_Roach]

A great example of the over use of the word bullying.

I will once again agree with FireDancer.

 

[DizBelle]

People are getting hung up on the word.

Bully, mean, not nice, unpleasant, whatever. It just isn't a way you should treat other people.

People can have different opinions. That's fine. What you shouldn't do is try to make someone feel like less of a person because of their opinion.

I don't really like country music either. But I would never tell someone they are a stupid idiot and that they are a loser because they like country music. There is a BIG difference between the two.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well said. If we didn't have different opinions, there would be no need for the Community Board.

Heck, if we didn't have different opinions, there'd be no need for conversation! For communication even - we could all just walk around smiling at each other and nodding politely!!

 

[Scurvy]

If you bash something that brings someone else joy, you are exhibiting bullying behavior. You have to insult something someone else holds in high regard just to make yourself feel superior.

It is not nice and is disrespectful to try and make someone else feel bad about something they enjoy.

People are getting hung up on the word.

Bully, mean, not nice, unpleasant, whatever. It just isn't a way you should treat other people.

People can have different opinions. That's fine. What you shouldn't do is try to make someone feel like less of a person because of their opinion.

I don't really like country music either. But I would never tell someone they are a stupid idiot and that they are a loser because they like country music. There is a BIG difference between the two.

There is a big difference between bashing something and bashing someone. If you are bashing country music every single day, you still aren't bullying or being mean to anyone except maybe the country music artists. (And since you're bashing them in a professional capacity, hopefully they'd understand the difference between that and personal criticism of them as people.) If you are bashing someone personally, then you are being mean to them. I understood your OP to be referring to someone bashing an activity or a thing, not an actual person. From the responses I suspect other posters interpreted it that way as well. Is that what you meant, or did you mean that someone was bashing you (or someone else) because of something you enjoy? There's definitely a world of difference between me saying I hate country music and me saying I hate you because you like country music. Which sort of thing were you talking about?

 

[kirstenb1]

Wow, that must have been some harsh words on that thread. The OP has always struck me as a tough cookie.

 

[postage stamp]

Internet socialization can bring out the worst in people. Not just aggressive people, but sensitive people as well.

For every person who boldly states an opinion there's another person who takes it personally and vice versa.

Should people use tact? Of course. But they aren't always going to. And if you can't stand it disengage. They won't stand there talking to a blank screen. ( Well they might, but that's a whole new set of issues.)

 

[cm8]

If you bash something that brings someone else joy, you are exhibiting bullying behavior. You have to insult something someone else holds in high regard just to make yourself feel superior.

It is not nice and is disrespectful to try and make someone else feel bad about something they enjoy.

 

[DizBelle]

Wow, that must have been some harsh words on that thread. The OP has always struck me as a tough cookie.

I'll take that as a compliment!

While it is true that I was not demeaned by anything that anybody said (I think anyone would be hard pressed to get me to feel less worthy because of my feelings), I get frustrated when people don't appreciate that lots of people have lots of opinions and many of them may differ from theirs and that is not a bad thing.

Continuing with the country music theme, what is the purpose of saying "I think country music is stupid and anyone that likes country music must have a mental deficiency" rather than "I'm not a fan of country music but I can appreciate that there are folks that do like it" if not to belittle people that like country music?

If you did this to me, you would not succeed at belittling me because that's just the way I am and am not susceptible to this type of thing. But I am still frustrated at what you were trying to do because it is mean and disrespectful and I know that there are folks out there that would be hurt if you called them stupid and there is just no purpose to calling people nasty names.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

My dad was in the navy, so I know all about S.O.S. He taught my mom how to make it because he loved it so much. It kind of looked like vomit to me, but she served it once a week. When I got married, I made it for dh once. He asked me to never make it again.

Apparently, it's an aquired taste. I remember my grandpa making it and he was in the Army. From what I understand, they feed it to you until you are sick of it, and then when you are out, you crave it. I personally have never tried it, but it sounds ok to me. I guess all military families know about S.O.S.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Internet socialization can bring out the worst in people. Not just aggressive people, but sensitive people as well.For every person who boldly states an opinion there's another person who takes it personally and vice versa.

Should people use tact? Of course. But they aren't always going to. And if you can't stand it disengage. They won't stand there talking to a blank screen. ( Well they might, but that's a whole new set of issues.)

Bolded is so true. I've had people be aggressive towards me and I took it so personally. And I've also been the aggressive one. It's so easy to say something mean when you aren't face to face. I am a very easy going, sensitive type, but if you looked at some of my past threads, that's probably not reflected in all of them. Whether or not what you are talking about meets the criteria of being bullied, it still sounds like someone was mean and for that you get a

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

People are getting hung up on the word.

Bully, mean, not nice, unpleasant, whatever. It just isn't a way you should treat other people.People can have different opinions. That's fine. What you shouldn't do is try to make someone feel like less of a person because of their opinion.

I just read this post, so my reply will seem out of order. I agree with you 1000%. I wish everyone was nice, but it's just not going to happen. And I'm as guilty as anyone.