Media are not victims- they are verbal bullies!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

MEDIA ARE VERBAL BULLIES!

by Steve Fair

     We live in a world full of bullies.  There are physical bullies and verbal bullies.  Psychologists believe bullies of all types have low self-esteem and that is why they try to intentionally hurt others.  For many bullies, it’s a power trip to use aggressive behavior against someone else.  There are two ways to react to a bully- either passive or aggressive.

     The passive way is very effective.  Simply ignore the bully.  Recognize they are nothing more than a paper tiger and its them that has the problem, not you.  By not reacting to them or their attacks, the power they derive from bullying is taken away.  When the victim of bullying reacts to a bully, it legitimizes the bully.  It puts the bully in a power position.  Most bullies want their victim to react.  They want to spar with them.  When a victim ignores the bully, often the bully will just move to another victim.

     The second way to deal with a bully is by aggression.  When attacked by a bully, counter attack aggressively and overwhelm the bully.  This isn’t just reacting, its attacking.  It is a scorched earth aggression.  The bully has no idea what hit them.  Most bullies will immediately cry victim and attempt to justify their bad behavior that started this unwinnable war in the first place.   

     Most people deal with bullies by being passive.  Others like President Trump deal with them by being aggressive.  In the media, there are a multitude of verbal bullies.  They have attacked past presidents and administration with lies and exaggerations, and for the most part were simply ignored by their victims.  That is until Donald Trump was elected.  This guy doesn’t just hit back with equal force, but in his own words- he hits back ten times harder.  When someone attacks him or lies about him, he tweets out an attack that leaves them lying in the dust.  Two things to remember about Donald Trump:

     First, Trump don’t start fights, but he finishes them.   If someone in the media decides to tackle Trump, they better be prepared to go the full 15 rounds.  This guy will come out swinging when he is attacked.  Second, Donald Trump is decisive and aggressive and will not give anyone a pass.  A majority of Americans like that.

     For the past eight years, America had a stalled federal government.  President Obama and Congress couldn’t agree on a budget.  We had a failed foreign policy, unemployment was at record levels and the list goes on and on, but the mainstream media sang President Obama’s praises every chance they got.  Then along comes Trump- brash, aggressive and unconventional.  The media can’t say one thing nice about him.  They don’t understand why he tweets out cruel things about them after they publically attack him.

     I’m not saying that Trump is right to tweet out personal attacks on reporters.  Two wrongs don’t make a right, but don’t lose sight of who starts this verbal sparring.  The media are not victims- they are verbal bullies.