Alva Review-Courier -

It doesn’t take much to make a difference in another person’s life, positively or negatively. It’s also easy to overlook someone who is being bullied, and so difficult to think independently or be the only one voicing what others are thinking. We should all be upstanders, someone who stands up to what they believe and are impeccable with their word.

Bullying, which has reached epidemic proportions around the world, reaches its peak in middle school but, speaking from experience, it occurs at all ages in families, businesses, clubs, churches and even in the highest offices in the land.

When you identify a victim, or if you feel it happening to you, let the upstander in you come forward. Assert yourself, tell the bully you don’t like what he/she is doing, and that it needs to stop. Ignoring inappropriate behavior makes you part of the problem instead of being part of the solution.

Many of us can relate to those who have been exploited, also a form of bullying, and we often see documentation of occurrences in the media. We all need advocates in our health care and as we age it doesn’t hurt to have an objective set of eyes in our business affairs.

Mail and phone solicitations are a way to bully as well. According to Cindy Miller and Cynthia Lowen in their Essential Guide to Bullying, “The people most celebrated in our culture are those who took the risk to speak out and stand up to injustice.”