College Checkered: Can’t We Do Better?

Brenda Figueroa
The Paw Print

I’ve seen blogs made just to “Cyber-Bully” another user. Formspring is a welcome wagon to negative feedback, and it’s not just criticism that’s being tossed out there; but instead “You’re fat!” “You’re ugly!” “You can’t write!” “I wish you’d overdose!” Facebook is another contender for these kind of negative comments. Females acting like they weren’t raised by a mother who taught them to have respect for themselves. Males degrading women by continuing and supporting the idea of calling women “hoes” or any other insinuating word that’s clearly not in a respectful manner.
What’s wrong with you? I mean seriously. I know I’m not the only person that has manners left on this planet. I feel like I’m aged by a decade, because I would never disrespect somebody in any fashion that would hurt another person’s feelings.
I’m not a bully, and I would be shitting on all the morals and values that were instilled on me growing up. I wouldn’t want my daughter to be called a bitch/hoe from her boyfriend, are you kidding me? I’d have a shovel and a shallow grave already ready. And I wouldn’t allow my son to ever degrade a woman openly thinking it was a perfectly okay thing to do, as if it was normal.
Pushing somebody down and building yourself up is not an okay thing to do. “It’s all in good fun.” Hurting somebody else’s feelings is in good fun? Pick up a chess game, go play monopoly, skip in the damn park – those are fun. Bullying another person with the intention to disrespect them should never be on the list of “Fun things to do today.” Ever.
Where’s the kindness? The respect? You can disagree and dislike somebody without involving the “Mean Girls” approach. I just can’t fathom how often I see people having to defend who they are, and the way they look because one person decided to dedicate an entire blog throwing dirt on their name. This is a blogging community, a place to write, to share your thoughts openly. This isn’t the high school lunchroom and I’m damn sure not 15 years old again, quit acting like a jerk. It’s not attractive, and it’s not appropriate.