Speak up, say something

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SHOWER THOUGHTS

“No, I talked with X, Y, and Z about it, and we decided that it’s probably better to just let it all go. If I say something they’ll get in trouble or we’ll have to make a thing about it, and it’s going to get complicated. It’s going to be more trouble for me than they’ll get into and so I’m just going to keep it to myself.”

Friends,

We’ve all been a part of that situation at least once. Someone has been bullied, hurt, pressured, or forced somehow, into something. You’re either the bullied, or the bully. You’re X, Y, or Z and you’re not a part of the situation, but you’ve been looped in, with your ideas about what is going to “work better” or “end prettier,” and your opinions that are laden with “what people will think.”

S has an opinion too, though. S has advice all the time, but S wants to speak up extra right now. (S is me… Shelly.)

Speak up. Say something. It’s not about tattling on someone, it’s not about how much trouble it will cause people or who is really going to lose in any situation. Allowing for bad things to keep happening, and covering them up, is how we end up with bigger problems. An infection left to fester will only get worse.

If you sit with negative thoughts, they have a way of eating away at you. If you’ve been bullied by someone, do not continue to allow them to take your power away.

Your boss has no right to force you into extra hours without pay. Your boyfriend or girlfriend does not have the power to tell you that you can’t talk to your friends. The police have a lot of rights, but they aren’t allowed to pick on you or lie about your actions.

Maybe you aren’t the only one. Maybe this is a pattern, and your bully bullies a lot of people. Maybe your friend really needs rehab, not you to keep your mouth shut because it’s easier to just let them have an addiction. Maybe your boss needs to be fired, or demoted, because they clearly can’t handle having power.