Stop bullying with dialogue

FIVE young people in Malaysia who attacked and killed a teenager for being effeminate are expected to be charged with murder, police said on 16 Jun 2017 in a case that has drawn national attention to bullying.….

Nhaveen’s death was the second in Malaysia in less than two weeks to spark outrage about bullying. On Jun 1, navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, 21, died after allegedly being bound, beaten and burned with an iron. Five students at the National Defense University where he was studying were charged with murder and another with abetting the five. (ABC news)

“Bullying is an aggression that conceals profound cruelty, and the world is cruel” with wars representing “the monuments of cruelty,” Pope Francis told a group of top YouTubers from around the world to help wipe out bullying and aggression by being better listeners and offering concrete gestures of tolerance and patience.

“The level of aggressiveness in our world needs to be dialed down. (The world) needs tenderness, meekness, (people) listening and walking together,” he told them and others taking part in a world congress sponsored by Scholas Occurrentes May 29.

It is important to listen to others and ask questions — not argue right away — but inquire in order to truly understand the other person’s point of view and find points in common, he said.

Pope Francis stressed the importance of dialogue, “of listening, of not arguing immediately, of asking questions: this is dialogue, and dialogue is a bridge. Do not be afraid of dialogue. … It is about agreeing on proposals for forging ahead together. In dialogue everybody wins, and no-one loses. In arguments there is someone who wins and someone who loses, or both lose.

“Dialogue is gentleness, it is the capacity to listen, it is putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, and building bridges. During dialogue, even if we think differently, not arguing but instead, persuading gently. … Pride and arrogance must be uprooted. Pride and arrogance always finish badly. The proud ends badly. Or rather, I would answer to this question: how can we build a better world? …via this path. We need to reduce the level of aggressiveness in the world. The world needs tenderness, gentleness, listening, journeying together,” said Francis. – cns