Words can hurt, cripple and paralyze, but words are also the solution to the pressing issue of bullying, which is not confined to school districts. We encounter bullies from cradle to grave in day-care neglect, workplace harassment, domestic violence, road rage and nursing home abuse.

One strategy is to hold community discussions hosted by public libraries to offer the “full assemblies to train everyone and raise awareness of bullying” called for in the Albert Lea Tribune editorial published in the Star Tribune (“What are you doing to put a halt to bullying?” May 11), in reaction to the 13-year-old-girl who committed suicide in Mantorville.

Libraries around the country have held public forums on the topic of civility, which may be the answer to this pervasive problem that erodes our quality of life. Washington County has facilitated communitywide discussions of considerate conduct via our “One County, One Book” program and heard Dr. P.M. Forni from Johns Hopkins University discuss his work “Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct.” He should return to Minnesota to offer debate about new laws such as anger-management training to obtain a driver’s license or graduate from high school, and new zero-tolerance harassment policies by all employers. During this election year, voters must oust political bullies from office.

This effort is worth it to keep our state great and worthy of the reputation for “Minnesota nice.”

 

Lisa Weik

Woodbury