Despite being the tallest kid in my class, I was bullied often in grade school and middle school. In sixth grade, I became the frequent target of one classmate who, for no apparent reason, eventually punched me in the mouth so hard I nearly needed stitches in my lip.
Even though I was the kid who strangers would always tell "You must play football!", in my own mind I was about three feet tall, and bullies pick up on that sort of thing. Bullies have a sixth sense for detecting insecurity in people, because they themselves are consumed by insecurity.
In my adult life, when I entered the world of local politics over twenty years ago, I encountered a new kind of bully. These bullies aren't so brash as to punch you in the mouth in the middle of a busy school hallway - as adults they've learned to keep that side of themselves behind closed doors.
These bullies like to contain their acts of malice to emails, phone calls, private messages, or just random comments out of the sight of others. Sometimes they threaten to tell lies about you, oblivious to the fact that their own reputations are so poor that nobody with half a brain would listen to them anyway.
Bullies in positions of power have an especially nasty set of weapons at their disposal.
These bullies will threaten your job - the very way you provide a living for your family. If you both happen to be in elected office, they'll threaten to cut your budget, which is another not-so-subtle way of threatening your job. If they own the home you live in, they'll threaten you with eviction.
Often they will threaten to sue you. While the state of Kansas has very strong laws to protect journalists, the Monitor still carries media liability insurance.
Why? Because we have a bully problem in Bourbon County. We have had one for my entire adult life, and it's time we dealt with it.
When I say "bully problem", I mean bullies plural. This isn't an op-ed aimed at any particular person - I wish our bully problem was limited to a single person, or even just two or three.
Here's a secret about bullies: they are some of the biggest cowards you will ever meet.
They are TERRIFIED of having sunlight shown on their actions. Often, they project an aw-shucks, friendly version of themselves to the world, and the thought of that facade being shattered scares them to death.
The Monitor was founded first and foremost to inform the public — and, hopefully, to help restore people’s belief in Bourbon County along the way. But it was also built to shine a light on the bullies who operate in our community.
Bullies are a quiet cancer eating away at our home, and it’s time we confronted that problem as a community. We have to stop being afraid of them and start calling them out.
Take it from a kid who grew up dealing with bullies - their threats are almost always empty, and when you stand up to them, they will fold like a cheap suit.
