Negotiating with a Bully

1

Recognizing Bullies

Bullying behavior is on the rise. It has invaded schools, homes, work settings. and politics. After the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we've seen normalizing of bullying behavior, particularly directed at women and minorities. During that election the slogan “Make America Great Again” was an ambiguous message that some have interpreted as a call to return to a time when wages were higher and jobs were more secure. Others interpret the slogan as coded racial language designed to signal a rollback to a time when people of color (and women) knew their place.¹ When Bill Clinton was campaigning for his wife in 2016, he commented about the slogan: “If you're a white Southerner, you know exactly what it means, don't you?”²