Fighting back against bullying

Have you ever been the victim of bullying?  Do you wonder how to stop it?
I am a well-respected resident of Benicia, and I was a victim of neighborhood bullying.  Over 70 homes in my immediate area received a letter filled with false accusations and lies about an incident that I wasn’t part of.   Needless to say, the content of the letter reeked havoc on the emotions of my family and I, and I was concerned for my safety.  So, I called the Benicia Police Department to help me learn the identity of the person who sent all these letters.
Now, I had a choice.  I could meet hate with hate and keep the vicious cycle going, or meet hate with love.  Luckily, I was surrounded by loving and compassionate people who showered me with love, reminding me to respond with love, compassion and forgiveness.  Naturally, my first instinct was to defend myself and I even started a letter to send to the neighbors.  Instead, the powerful message of love and compassion began to overcome the anger and hate I was feeling, and the letter was never sent.
I, also, judged all the parties involved in both the incident and the letter, until I was able to listen to the heart of one of them and heard his pain.  Learning that, I am choosing not to judge the others, another choice.  Again, I am not a saint, so every time I find myself having any judgmental thoughts, I replace those with kind thoughts which I send their way as I drive past their homes, not to change their heart, but to change mine.
I am not immune to any type of pain, whether it be physical or emotional.  Most physical pain is visible and relatively easy to treat, but emotional pain can be felt deep down into the heart.  Healing from bullying or other types of hate crimes is not easy as words do hurt.  To counter that, I surrounded myself with music, books, and even sayings that speak of love, and choosing to take the higher path.  Again, a choice and one I have to choose daily, as some days the hate tries to find its way back into my heart.
So, here’s the solution: us.
We are the solution. It will take a community coming together, actively seeking to rid our town of bullying and other crimes of hate, by teaching, talking, modeling love, compassion and understanding, and forgiveness.  Let’s join the students of Florida, and begin our own version of “Never Again.”
Email me at forever29rme@gmail.com if interested in joining.

Renate Emmerichs,
Benicia

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