Bullying behavior --- usually thought of as the bane of adolescents --- is now touching every aspect of life via workplace harassment and domestic and international terrorism, said Catholic theologian Dr. Greer Gordon, at the 2006 Religious Education Congress.

Speaking during her April 2 workshop, "Pastoral Practice: Overcoming the Bully," Gordon addressed the escalating issue of bullying, which often begins in childhood. "Bullying is in every sector, every segment, every facet of our lives," declared Gordon, who teaches theology courses at Regis College in Weston, Mass.

According to Gordon, bullying behaviors can be observed in pre-kindergartners. "Real bullying is starting on or about the age of eight, and we can probably see the signs of the behavior as young as five. A lot of it comes out of a permissive adult environment that either excuses, overlooks, does not correct or does not offer real guidance or real direction to the young.

"Because of that [reality], we have this kind of unbridled aggression that is allowed to go forward at other children. If a child is unlike the majority of his or her peers, he or she will suffer --- not because of the fact they're children, but simply because they're different."

Workplace bullies
Grownup bullies continue their behavior in the workplace, noted Gordon. "Bullying is one of the leading problems and the key source of workplace violence not just in America but in the world." She pointed out that the World Health Organization in 2002 identified psychological harassment at work as the leading form of psychological harassment in the world.

The highest levels of workplace harassment are found in places of dense, permanent employment. "There's a reason the postal service has had so much [workplace] violence: it's one of the most densely employed bargaining units in the nation," said Gordon, who added similar conditions exist in competitive jobs found in government agencies and major corporations.

"Many [employers] would like to see gone either the person who's really challenging them coming up the ranks or the person who's hit that salary level that is weakening the budget," said Gordon. A common harassment tactic, according to Gordon, occurs when management "green lights" employee "shunning" of a targeted individual.

"This form of harassment works by catching a person between their subordinates and their superiors…. You arrive at work one morning and no one speaks to you because the word has passed you're the modern-day pariah…[and] generally, we do not know who it is that's after us. And it breaks down every segment, every avenue, every aspect of an individual's life."

A sad result of this situation, Gordon noted, can be the destruction of the employee's marriage and a spiral into addictive behavior such as alcoholism or drug addiction. Unfortunately in the U.S., Gordon relayed, there are no laws addressing this kind of covert harassment.

"The person is frustrated on every end and ultimately there is no choice other than the fact this person will, either by free choice or by force, leave the job," she said. "So, suddenly you have a professional who becomes unemployed at the age of 55.

"What you begin to see is the breakdown of the fabric of this person's life. How has this played out in some parts of the nation? Unfortunately, someone after trying every possible avenue, walks in one morning and kills his entire family…or the person walks in one afternoon to his workplace to [kill] anyone and everyone they can."

Gordon said the U.S. needs to establish laws similar to those existing in Europe and Canada that outlaw workplace harassment. "The reason we can be bullied in our workplace is because we have never decided as a nation to really begin to craft and refine legislation that makes it illegal to do the kinds of things that have been done to people while covering up the fact they're pushing people out of their jobs because of their race, gender, orientation or simply because of their age."

Bully 'syndromes'
Besides creating legislation against bullying behavior, Gordon said adults must be vigilant in identifying and preventing bullying behavior among children. She identified two bullying syndromes, the "menacing boy" and the "mean girl," as needing swift intervention to prevent lifelong aggressive behavior.

"When you take the tough boy and add a touch of meanness and intention to him, it's no longer, 'I have a really tough kid.' It gets into a situation where we have someone who is menacing. We have someone who, for whatever reason, likes to intentionally harass, distress, frighten and scare others."

Unfortunately, explained Gordon, some of these children are sociopaths who have charismatic personalities that entice many followers. "The menacing boy syndrome, I think, is really at the core of some of the ability at this time to bring people in so quickly to engaging in various forms of terrorism, whether it's domestic terrorism or international terrorism," she said.

Another distressing reality, for Gordon, is the "mean girl" phenomenon which she described as "totally unchecked and completely out of control." Mean girl tactics may include hurtful remarks, exclusionary cliques, gossip and harassment.

"The only way to survive [bullying] is to know what it is," said Gordon, who advised audience members to consult the World Health Organization's website (www.who.org) for further information on bullying behavior at schools and the workplace.

"We really need to begin a process of educating parents about bullying," declared Gordon. "As parish ministers, as pastoral individuals, we have to begin a process of advocating not just within our own system, but also outside of our system in our schools and also in the public sector to get assistance for young people and children on these kinds of issues."