amelia_petkova

This evening I ended up listening to a talk show on the radio when they mentioned adult bullying in the workplace. There were two women talking, both of whom are the hosts of this show. As the discussion went on, it seemed that Woman A was incapable of believing that adults can be bullies at work.

Woman A: Yeah, I don't think I've ever been bullied.

Woman B: Didn't you once say that you used to be a salesgirl and the other women all ganged up on you?

Woman A: Yeah, but that wasn't bullying that was like professional lynching.

Woman B: That's bullying.

Woman A: They were mean to me but it was just to get me out of there.

Woman B: That's bullying. Didn't you say they all got together and decided to make a big lie about you to get you out of there?

Woman A: I guess.

Woman B: THAT'S BULLYING!!!

And then Woman A proceeded to go on about how it wasn't bullying, that these other sales girl liked her "in some sick way" because they were trying to make her quit and bullies don't want you to leave because then they have to go on to the trouble of moving on to a next victim.

Not all bullies are the same. Some want you to stay around so that they can continue tormenting you, whereas others just want you the hell out. Bullies are also capable of multi-tasking. They can torment more than one person at a time. I'd be surprised if Woman B wasn't hitting her head against the wall, because I sure wanted to. Fuck it, I'm looking up the radio station and writing Woman A an e-mail.