I am thankful for never having been bullied as a kid, especially in school. I could've been a candidate for bullying when I was younger because I was an introvert. Fortunately, schools I attended and the people around me then were respectful enough to let me be.

I played like a normal kid. I had one or two friends to hang out with. Otherwise, I was friendly with everyone else in a detached way. And I never made a big deal if I did well in class. I figured if anyone came up to bully me, I could stand up for myself.

In high school, I was involved in a lot of stuff to keep me busy that there probably was no opportunity for anyone to bully me. Or maybe I exuded a quiet confidence so they didn't think I was the bullying kind.

Aloof but friendly?

Perhaps because I developed into someone with a take-charge attitude, I came off as one of two things: aloof and arrogant; or just seriously detached. Unless a person is really very chatty, who strikes up a conversation with any stranger, they would never talk to me even when seated next to each other under some boring circumstance.

I am quietly polite among strangers. I will answer when spoken to, and I try to be as helpful as I can. Since I observe a lot, I usually pick up when someone is in a quandary and won't hesitate to offer assistance or go out of my way to do something for another person.

Those who have worked with me, and for me, know I am fair and patient. I will never ask anyone to do something that I myself cannot do, unless it requires some highly specialized skill, in which case I will defer to those who are trained for the task.

Although I appear to be aloof, I am friendly once comfortable enough being around a person. I try to make myself available to anyone who needs clarification, assistance and support in the course of work. I also make it a point to learn as much as I can from other people and the work they perform.

Demand for efficient service

As far as I'm concerned, I have never bullied anyone at work because of my position, social status or the things I know.

Have I ever been curt, rude or snide in public? Yes. Especially when I am in some place that supposedly renders service. So, that's either a restaurant, a retail store, public transportation, a bank, airport, or some similar establishment that is expected to deliver service in exchange for payment.

I put a high premium on service. At the minimum, I expect courtesy, transparency, promptness, and generally what makes for efficient service. I can wait, but not forever.

Because I know a human being is rendering the service, I expect that person to use common sense. Humans are, and should always be, superior to machines. If a system is not operating efficiently at any given time, a living, breathing individual should step in and assess the situation then take over from whatever automated process is running the show to set things right.

It is criminal to have people wait in line for an hour or two when in truth, such service can be completed in 10 minutes. A 30-minute wait is tolerable. Beyond that customers have the right to complain about the delayed service.

Brief interaction among those providing service is tolerable, considering how some tasks can be monotonous. But it is annoying when too much chit-chat affects efficiency.

In such instances, I have put my foot down and spoken in behalf of other customers to demand better service. I have, on occasion, raised my voice because it needs to be heard, but have not (yet) raised hell because of lousy service. And I am not above walking out of an establishment because they can't seem to get their acts together.

The worst bully

Now back to bullies... it is disgusting for members of an institution or organization, which due to their sheer size and supposed influence, disregard basic courtesy and respect for others by encroaching on property that is not theirs.

A private subdivision, regardless of it having guards at the gate or not, is not and should not be considered as public parking space. Just because it is located adjacent to their monstrous estate does not mean they own the space, and can be used by anyone from their organization to park their vehicles.

Repeated reprimands have been ignored, and that's largely because their leadership tolerates their behavior and has not taken action to make them stop. In other words, they all think it is their space to use freely as they please even when it is clearly not.

Is that not another form of bullying? And how can you ask for assistance from the city government, when they won't lift a finger to take to task the bullying exerted by the organization because of politics?

Now that is bullying of the worst kind...

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