Of course, one way or the other, one has
experienced being bullied when he/she was still young. We could remember those
"powerful" beings in our campus and cringe over the thought of being
with them. Bullying has come to the attention of the UNICEF (United Nations
Children's Fund) when the organization floated a questionnaire on corporal
punishment happening in the Department of Education being done by teachers. To
the surprise of the researchers, bullying by fellow students came first rather
than that of teachers...
The DepEd has then ordered a Child Protection
Policy which would empower the schools to have specific actions on bullying...
This has been acted upon due to the negative effects of bullies to the mental
health of their preys. In fact, some resulted to suicide and insanity.
In the vast field of the different campuses,
there lies the dark world of those who would constantly pick on persons they
think are "lesser mortals". Of course, there are psychological issues
and family orientations that would lead us to a discussion til midnight but our sole
concern for now are those who give us torturous experiences in the cyberspace.
Specifically, those whom we call as BASHERS.
When the social networking sites boomed, we
enjoyed and utilized their upsides: fast communications to our friends and
loved ones and the influx of information which turned out to become a
technology in itself. One of their downsides is the invasion of one's privacy
and personal degradations and defamation from those who are not pleased with
us. Some of them post hurting words and insulting us to the point that there
are few who are traumatized. Of course, others would tell us to ignore the
bashes but some of us are not that strong due to individual differences.
Lately, I was scandalized to read a post from a
girl who posted insulting words to another girl over a man. Of course, one
could already see the personality of this girl by just looking at her pictures and the things in her "timeline"...
but to type demeaning words to another human being could really make a reader
question the moral fiber of you! Curses and badmouthing were spread over our
"homes" and these would create negative ripples in that macro-world!
As a journalist, I need to be responsible with
what I post and publish. I understand that there are two sides and these sides
must be considered. I need to respect the constitutional rights of my fellow
human beings. I have to understand that we have that thirst for power since we are
also animals. But we are thinking and feeling animals. But best, we believe
that we have a spirit which is anchored to the divine.
Now that the Cyber Crime Law is being signed and
approved by the president, I would be assured that I will be protected from
these bashers who think that I'm a lesser being. I could continue living in a
world ( and in cyberspace for that matter) where respect is for everyone.
For if hurt and abused, at least I could rely on
the protection the state is mandated to give me.
(RA 10175 declares as crimes some modern offenses in cyberspace, a few of
them with parallels in the Revised Penal Code. These include libel,
fraud, piracy of intellectual property, cybersex, violations of the
confidentiality and integrity of computer data. philstar.com) - photo: antibullying.blogspot.com
