Bullying
Ministerial Meandering
Bullying
“Get on your knees and choke yourself, scumbag!” So enters Gunnery Sergeant Hartman into the life of the ill-fated Leonard Lawrence, who he promptly re-names ‘Private Pyle’. The film is ‘Full Metal Jacket’, and around half of its length is made up of the systematic, relentless, and brutal bullying of the ‘fat boy’ - Private Pyle - in his group of US Marine recruits.
One of the interesting developments within this part of the movie is the changing reaction of Leonard’s peer group, as they initially despise him, then try to help him, as his failures result in punishment for the whole squad, so it is to their advantage to help him succeed.
What is also of interest to those of us who have been subjected to military discipline, is that the person who was cast to play Gunnery Sergeant Hartman had been, in real life, a Marine Corps Drill Instructor, and so was able to draw on his own experience to put realism into the role.
You might ask why is there a need to be so downright savage to new recruits who are attempting to join military units, and to a certain extent it should be obvious. Obedience in following orders without question makes for effective combat units. And - I would add - following them immediately. If you delay when someone yells, “Take cover!” while you finish sending off your letter to your girlfriend, tying your bootlace, or clearing your mess tin of the last few beans, you may not be around to perform any such actions ever again. It used to infuriate me when our grandsons would dilly-dally around when asked to do something - it infuriated their mother too! - because one day it would really matter, and they wouldn’t have learned how to react appropriately. “Get off the road!” should not elicit the response, “Why?” - but an instant move to obey the command. So that covers one reason why bullying for obedience is important.
But bullying can be subtle and insidious; people talk about you behind your back because someone has spread a malicious rumour; bits of property go missing just when you need them; you walk into a room and everyone else stops talking and moves away. There are many ways to make people feel very uncomfortable; it is not always physical brutality.
Let us not forget the spoken word here. Insults, and especially lies, told to you and about you are vile - and it is no good trying to tell yourself that they only hurt the one who says them, because that’s not true. Words can hurt - badly; and unlike bruises which can heal, words cannot be unsaid.
Bullies frequently use their position (of authority) or greater physical dominance to intimidate or threaten others. This is the origin of escalation in war-fighting. If your school bully has been shooting you with a pea-shooter that stings, you might buy one to retaliate. So he buys something bigger and more damaging - and the school-boy harassment becomes a competition to find ever-bigger and more powerful ways of retaliating, until we reach ‘mutually assured destruction’.
However intimidating the bully is, he or she is always gambling that the ‘worm doesn’t turn’. There reaches a point where even the most craven of cowards may realize that they have nothing to lose by fighting back, even if it does result in their being beaten again. Sometimes, such a manoeuvre is so surprising to the bully that the battle goes the other way.
On a global scale, it is important that we see when political bullying is occurring and when we need to step up and stand for what is right - even if it costs us in ways we cannot anticipate. Standing up to the global bully when a weaker country cannot is what makes for dependable allies - and good friends you can trust further down the scale. That is what loving your neighbour is all about.
Philip+