Power seduces.  And there is no way to aspire to being President of the United States of America without the wish to be powerful.  Great leaders use their power to further the common good first and to feed their ego needs after that.  In the instances when those two power applications get reversed, bullying behaviors can overshadow leadership practices.

In the United States of America, we are dedicated to eradicating the harmful and sometimes lethal effects of bullying in our schools and workplaces.

According to STOPBULLYING.com, a bully may be defined as “a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates seemingly smaller or weaker people.”

Bullying is characterized by:

• An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
• Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.

Just as kids exhibit behaviors that tell us they have a tendency toward being a bully, adults do the same.  As you watch the candidates who ask for our votes for the highest position in the land, notice their actions and decide for yourself if that person is/is not sending a

message that ‘’bullying is OK”.  You be the judge.

Rate each candidate on low (1) to high (5) bully scale as you observe their behaviors.

A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT MAY BE A BULLY IF HE OR SHE:

• Makes threats
• Spreads rumors
• Attacks someone physically or verbally
• Excludes someone from a group on purpose.
• Teases excessively
• Calls people unflattering names
• Makes Inappropriate sexual comments
• Taunts
• Threatens to cause harm
• Leaves someone out on purpose
• Tells others not to be friends with someone
• Spreads rumors about someone
• Embarrasses someone in public

It’s not just Presidential candidates who exhibit these behaviors. Other adults model these behaviors and our children are watching. Whom do you know who is a bully without being labeled as such?