GOLDBERG. “Bullying is an act of terrorism meant to make you feel powerless.” AFP
Whoopi Goldberg has distinctive comments about certain issues. Her insights:
It you want to be somebody and get somewhere, you’ve got to wake up and pay attention.
I’ve always known that there are bullies in the world. Usually, they’re stronger, bigger or better with verbiage than others. That’s what bullying is—showing off! It’s saying, “I’m better than you; I can take you down”—not just physically, but emotionally.
For some reason, there seems to be no “internal policeman” for a bully that reminds him he’s hurting somebody’s feelings—or, worse, maybe he’ll push this person too far and he’ll do something terrible. It doesn’t occur to him that what he’s doing is crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. He does it just because he can.
Bullying is an exercise in power meant to disintegrate someone’s self-esteem. Bullies are soulless. What they do is an act of terrorism meant to make you feel afraid and powerless.
Remember what the fashion big mouths were saying about Jessica Simpson? Looking at her magazine pictures, sucking their teeth, going, “Oh, look at her in her ‘mom jeans!’” You know what? That’s a cheap shot! What gratification does it give them to be mean at someone else’s expense?
Celebrity magazines, tabloids and entertainment shows on TV do fashion critiques all the time. But, most of the time, they aren’t really about fashion—it’s about trashin’ people! Their specialty is “celebrity cellulite”—running unflattering pictures of stars at the beach and saying who should give up the bikini. And this is acceptable? If cameras were turned around and pointed the other way, what would that look like?