Rosalea Hostetler contacted me a few weeks ago and began to tell me her story, but stopped in frustration, saying it was too much to talk about, to relive in a few communications. Now, she is writing her story of working endlessly to preserve the history and culture of her home county in Kansas.
The following is excerpted from an article by Rosalea Hostetler, (Harper, KS, USA) titled Bullying on the Prairie.
"You know how you sometimes have an “eureka” moment in life, when you “finally get it”? Recently I had that moment when it finally sunk in that the reason my journey for the past 40 years has been so hard in Harper County Kansas has been the incessant bullying. It took me my entire life to finally truly understand that I had been a target and of the brutal impact Harper County bullies have had on my life, my health and on the 501(c) (3) nonprofit I established to preserve the history, art & culture of the prairies for future generations. Tragically, this abuse of power has also nearly obliterated our small town. It is not Wal-Mart -- rather, it is the abuses bestowed by bullies in “leadership” on the good people, the talented people who do not have the energy or knowledge to fight such rotten apples."
"Because I have stood up to the bullies, told the truth and stayed the course, I have lost virtually everything once important in my life: my Mennonite church, my family ties, two husbands (also bullies) and school chum friendships. For years I was taunted as “the problem.” (I cried a lot in those days.) I’ve lost so much in my life that there is nothing left to lose so now I am ready to speak up wherever I can to tell the world about the horrors of small town bullies with the hopes of bringing Hope to our small prairie towns."
For more from Rosalea on this topic, visit her new blog: http://overcomebullying.org/bullying-on-the-prairies.html.
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7 comments:
Hi there, I just came across your blog. It looks great. I will add you as a link to my blog. http://theworkplacebully.blogspot.com
Aspiring Solo,
Thank you for stopping by and adding my blog to your link. I also visited your blog and liked what I found. I am very pleased to find an anti-bully promoter associated with the field of law.
I will add you as a link to my blog and visit yours again.
Maybe I can add my voice to yours somehow. I have also suffered staggering losses due to bullying. In my case it escalated to death threats, numerous illegal entries into my home, computer hacking, and a completely decimated reputation.
I moved to a small town to at least gain some physical safety if nothing else. After a year and a half of no death threats, no illegal entries into my home, etc. I finally have some energy and brain power to start dealing - which is good, because I've become a favourite target in this town as well. Just one or two missteps, plus the fact that I'm a hermit, and that's all they need.
Thank you for being brave enough to write a blog about this. I'm sorry you had to go through such a harrowing experience, but it's good to know that I am not alone.
People like us learn the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished!
Maybe I can add my voice to yours somehow. I have also suffered staggering losses due to bullying. In my case it escalated to death threats, numerous illegal entries into my home, computer hacking, and a completely decimated reputation.
I moved to a small town to at least gain some physical safety if nothing else. After a year and a half of no death threats, no illegal entries into my home, etc. I finally have some energy and brain power to start dealing - which is good, because I've become a favourite target in this town as well. Just one or two missteps, plus the fact that I'm a hermit, and that's all they need.
Thank you for being brave enough to write a blog about this. I'm sorry you had to go through such a harrowing experience, but it's good to know that I am not alone.
People like us learn the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished!
I have a son who has become the target of small town bullying. His reputation has been raked over the coals...he has been blacklisted so that his career (his dream) is at a standstill. I have had many a sleepless nite watching him go thru this. We dont know what to do. This story has been going on for the past year and the horror of it has taken its toll. My son is angry and sad. I'd love to talk to you to seeif theres anyway to stop the insanity and tell you the whole story. My name is Theresa Dolan and we need help
Thank you so much for this blog post! I too was bullied as a child in a small town in Tennessee having been an Army brat and moving there! I was misjudged, called horrible names and even physically assaulted more times them I could count. I finally moved away during my last year in school and found peace I had never known. When I moved back to this town years later as an adult who'd found success, I found that the people there were pretty much the same as they were in school. Although my reputation is still the same in this town, no one has bothered me because I'm not one to divulge too much info about where I live and what I do/go on a daily basis. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with this! It's so difficult! I can relate! I too would like to link you to my blog and I'm curious as to the tactics they used against you. Praying that you overcome this terrible predicament and find peace and happiness!
Here are my links:
www.lulu/spotlight/Cherie72
www.cheriewhite.wordpress.com
Thank you so much for this blog post! I too was bullied as a child in a small town in Tennessee having been an Army brat and moving there! I was misjudged, called horrible names and even physically assaulted more times them I could count. I finally moved away during my last year in school and found peace I had never known. When I moved back to this town years later as an adult who'd found success, I found that the people there were pretty much the same as they were in school. Although my reputation is still the same in this town, no one has bothered me because I'm not one to divulge too much info about where I live and what I do/go on a daily basis. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with this! It's so difficult! I can relate! I too would like to link you to my blog and I'm curious as to the tactics they used against you. Praying that you overcome this terrible predicament and find peace and happiness!
Here are my links:
www.lulu/spotlight/Cherie72
www.cheriewhite.wordpress.com
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