Bullying And Hazing Essay

Americans take pride in their sporting activities; be it the endeavors of American football or even the gentleman’s game, golf. What a majority of individuals do not know is that many players, especially rookies, are subjected to incidents of bullying and hazing. These incidents are thought to be a ceremonial act of welcoming to signify one’s readiness for being part of the group. In the mainstream media and for most of society, bullying and hazing are signs of exerting authority and seeking to enforce one’s influence over others. It is never the right thing to do considering it reeks of insensitivity, an outright condescending attitude, and thinly veiled hate and distaste. Bullying is not a new phenomenon in American society. In fact, a majority of institutions have reported numerous cases of bullying and hazing. If left unchecked, these activities are self-damaging and do serious and severe harm to the victims at whom these acts are targeting. The question that arises among all these arguments is whether American institutions are doing enough to curb this vice and protect innocent individuals who fall victim to such acts. Recent incidents in American culture have proven that bullying and hazing have escalated from a form of initiation that upholds tradition, to a malicious form of personalized bullying that needs dire attention.

There is a very subtle difference between bullying and hazing. The subtleties lie in the intention of each act and the individuals subjected to the acts. Hazing is described as a ceremonial act of welcoming new individuals to a group through a series of rituals. In most cases, these rituals entail severe punishment, manifesting extremist tendencies. There have been reports all over America of freshmen be...

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...nd hazing practices, be crushed and done away with. These rituals have adverse effects on the beautiful game and the moral standing of the players. The age-old American football “traditions” that involve hazing have escalated to new heights and serve no purpose in team building. As Cohen hypothesizes in his seven theses, the act of bullying and hazing develops a monster character. This character acts as the individual that destabilizes the whole equilibrium by asserting elitist views like those alluded to by Price (391). The bully and hazer are not trying to perpetuate teamwork, or a sense of belonging, but are instead, reaping a sense of emotional egotism. Ultimately, without proactive leadership procedures, bullying and hazing can spiral out of control unchecked and there are likely no mitigation procedures that can be used to limit the effects of such activities.