“One of the interesting parts about this situation (at Cheesecake Factory) is the connection between bullying, male violence and bystanders,” she said. “Having an environment that has norms where people are respected in the workplace prevents things like this happening.”

Research shows that if a bystander says something, bullying generally stops within 90 seconds and doesn’t recur, she said.

“There are all sorts of amazing research about the power of the bystander and the power of supervisors to really set standards,” Lyles said. “In this case, there was a key opportunity for a bystander to support the individuals who were being persecuted, really. That’s a huge failure of the environment.”

Every culture has aspects of violence as well as aspects of respect, she said.

“It’s easy to say this was cultural, but there are plenty of people of Mexican descent who are not violent,” she said. “In terms of why would men do this, I would say when there’s an environment that allows and fosters one group to oppress another, that environment lets it grow.”

Lyles said that good people who might not otherwise participate in egregious behavior can be caught up and let an environment influence their behavior, she said.

“Policies are very important, and workplace norms are very important to keep people on the right track,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of the workplace to set an environment where people feel respected and can go about their jobs without fearing for their safety.”

She does not fault the alleged victims at the Cheesecake Factory for not simply quitting their jobs, and she understands they may have felt conflict about quitting.

“When you’re thankful to have a job in this economy, it becomes a balance of your own well-being versus your economic well-being.”

From azcentral.com.

This Facebook page declared Nov. 20 'Kick a Ginger Day.' (Facebook)

Another story of abuse has emerged in B.C. as a result of a Facebook campaign to kick redheads — and this time it was a teacher’s own brother who was targeted.

A Facebook group, declaring Nov. 20 as “Kick a Ginger Day,” encouraged people to kick their redheaded peers.

The Facebook group was likely inspired by South Park, a satirical, animated TV show that aired an episode dealing with prejudice, focusing on one character’s hateful attitude toward redheads.

Prince Rupert Secondary School teacher Tulani Ackerman told CBC News her younger brother, who goes to high school in the Kootenays, was kicked in the groin by a number of students and fled the school out of fear.

“My mother stated that he had been a victim to it, and that he felt so unsafe in his school because kids were kicking him that he left school and that he felt so unsafe going out that night without somebody with him,” Ackerman said.

She said the incident shows that anti-bullying messages aren’t getting through to some kids.

“It’s as though they’re in that mob mentality where they would not do it if they were by themselves,” Ackerman said.

“They get caught up in the energy of it and they just move with it. The scary thing about when kids get caught up in the movement of something is they have no idea of the impact on that child that has had to go home because they’ve been kicked.”

She and her class have decided to dye their hair red on Nov. 27, a week to the day of the event, to denounce the violence.

Incidents throughout B.C., Alberta

The president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation is urging teachers around the province to use the incident to talk about the effects of bullying.

“Some kids will excuse it on the grounds of ‘it’s just a joke, it’s not that serious,’ but I think when you really get into that discussion with kids, the vast majority of them will come to the conclusion, at the end of the day, that nothing that harms other people should be acceptable in a society,” Irene Lanzinger said.

The advantages of Facebook and other internet tools outweigh the disadvantages, she said, but constant education on their use is vital.

The Facebook campaign saw incidents of bullying and abuse throughout B.C. and Alberta.

Twenty students from Journey Middle School in Sooke, B.C., were sent home for kicking their redheaded classmates; a student in Prince George, B.C., went home from school after being kicked in the leg repeatedly; and 13 students in Calgary were suspended for beating up a redheaded teen.

From CBC.ca.

Courtney Trimm, left, and Dylan Ruth, both Grade 6 students at J.J. Curling Elementary School in Corner Brook, talk about the prevalence of bullying. — Star Photo by Geraldine Brophy

The battle to eradicate bullying from schools is about to take another step forward.

Many local schools at the elementary, junior high an high school levels will be taking part in International Stand Up to Bullying Day, which will be marked Nov. 21.

Inspired by a pair of students who decided to have all of their fellow senior high school students wear pink shirts after another student was bullied for wearing one, Stand Up Day will involve teachers and students wearing pink shirts displaying their pledge against bullying. The day will also feature activities, videos and lessons with an anti-bullying theme.

It’s not the first concerted effort to address the problem of bigger or older students senselessly picking on the vulnerable, but bullying is an issue which students, parents and teachers all have to continue to be vigilant about.

“There is still a lot of bullying going on on the playground, on the bus or going home,” said Courtney Trimm, a Grade 6 student at J.J. Curling Elementary School in Corner Brook. “You see a lot of older kids picking on kids younger than them or smaller than them, or maybe even on some kids that might have special needs.

“It makes you feel pretty bad because, if it was me being picked on, I would feel pretty put down.”

Trimm’s classmate Dylan Ruth agreed that educational campaigns have helped, but not banished bullying far enough away.

“It’s hard to do something about it,” he said. “When you see a gang of people going over to pick on one person for the silliest reason, it’s not a good feeling.

“I think campaigns are making a difference to some of the bullies, but the kids have to do their part and stand up too sometimes and tell a parent or teacher they are being bullied. Some people just keep it to themselves and don’t want to tell anybody, but they should tell somebody.”

In some cases, said Trimm, the bullied person simply talking to the bully might be effective.

“I think, if you are being bullied, you should go and talk to that person about it and tell them what they’re doing is hurting you, instead of keeping it all to yourself,” she said.

Mike Luedee, J.J. Curling’s principal, said great strides have been made in the battle against bullying in recent years, but it would be naive to think the problem has gone away. While overt bullying, like violence and rough play, are easily recognized, bullying often takes more subtle, if not invisible, forms.

He said bullies make up a minute percentage of the students population. The effort to curb inappropriate behaviour towards their fellow students has shifted from educating them about the ill effects of bullying to rewarding positive behaviour, creating empathy for victims or, if necessary, punishment for those who continue not to adhere to the anti-bullying message.

“I think the schools are doing their job,” said Luedee. “It’s just that so many other aspects of society are not onside with us — video games or the aggressive tendencies we see manifesting itself in society today are spilling back into our children.

“We try to educate the students and try to create empathy because, a lot of the time, the bullies were once victims of bullying themselves.

“We also tell students they just aren’t allowed to do some of the things they are doing and that, if they were adults doing this, they would probably get a visit from the police.”

From The Western Star.