Fred and George: Bullies... well, yeah

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 43160

I've been following the discussion on whether or not Fred and George are bullies or 
not with some interest - and thought I'd put in my two cents. I had to ask for 
permission to refer to something I discuss here, so it's taken a bit of time (mainly 
because I couldn't decide whether or not it was worth the time to ask - I got a reply 
very quickly).

I've mentioned on OT-Chatter that I have some expertise in the area of school 
bullying - I have three published articles on the subject, and I serve on government 
committees devoted to this issue. I was also the victim of severe bullying at school 
which is one reason I got involved in the issues. The thing is, as part of the work I 
do in this area, I have access to articles, papers etc, published around the world on 
this issue - including some material that hasn't been published. One such piece is a 
draft document which *may* be used at some point in the future in British schools - 
it's being written for distribution to schools to help them identify problems and 
suggest solutions - it's still in an early draft form.

It identifies about a dozen different categories of bully (the basic idea behind it is is 
that bullying can take different forms and occur for different reasons, and a 
necessary step in dealing with it is to recognise the form as different forms require 
different remediation). To assist in identification, for some categories (eventually it 
may be for all categories but it isn't complete), they give examples of the type from 
literature or television - and Fred and George are listed as examples of one of the 
types - the "non-malicious bully". So the idea of whether or not they are bullies is 
receiving some high level attention - and at least some people think they are.

The non-malicious bully typically engages in teasing, or practical jokes, and is non-
malicious because they do not realise that they are hurting someone. They don't 
mean any harm. They don't intend to cause anybody any real distress. They are 
typically a *very* easy group to work with, because as soon as they are made aware 
of the fact that they are upsetting people, they tend to modify their behaviours - 
because they are not malicious. They lack sensitivity towards others feelings.

Bullying is in the eye of the beholder - if a person feels they are being bullied, then 
they are. That's a common principle used in most anti-bullying work today - if a 
person feels they are being bullied, then they are - whether or not the person 
committing the act that makes them feel that way, realises it or not (and, lest 
anyone feels the need to point out that taken too far, that can lead to problems, we 
know it can - it's intended as a general principle true in most cases, not an ironclad 
rule that is true in absolutely every case). The correlation to that is that if a person 
*doesn't* feel they are being bullied, then they generally are not (again, it's a 
general principle, not an ironclad tule). So practical jokes often aren't bullying - if all 
involved - perpetrator and victim - find them genuinely funny and not hurtful, that's 
not bullying - but if the victim is hurt by them, then it is. It may not be a serious 
case, it may not be one in which fault should be levelled at the 'bullies' - but it's a 
problem that needs to be dealt with (and with non-malicious bullies, the most 
effective way *generally* is to simply explain to them the effect they are having).

Fred and George are considered to fall into this category because they seem 
'careless' about who they effect. If they only targeted people they knew wouldn't 
really care, they wouldn't fit this category - as it is, they seem to target 
indiscriminately. Couple this with some of the incidents, we've seen - the hissing of 
the Slytherin boy, the tricking of Dudley, etc - they would generally be considered 
bullies (though their actions against Draco are less clear cut - provocation does 
have an impact).

Are they *serious* bullies likely to cause great harm? Probably not - but virtually any 
act of bullying can escalate into serious harm. Do they deserve to be punished? 
Probably not, on current thinking - but by the criterias used now, certainly somebody 
should be talking to them, to ensure they are aware of the impact they could have - 
intentional or not.




Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately |webpage: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       |email: drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in
common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter
the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen
to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who:
The Face of Evil | Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia