RULE 2
Banter isn’t teasing
You can argue semantics with me on this one. What one person classifies as banter, the next person might term teasing. Or bullying. Either way, the last Rule22 was about affectionate and harmless ribbing, while this one is about the territory between what I call teasing and something that is clearly bullying. I’m using banter to mean something that upsets the other person. However, the most obvious feature of this grey area is that the perpetrators have no intent to upset the other person (whereas bullying is sustained and deliberate victimisation). And yet they do.
One of the interesting things about bullying is that it’s very hard to assess objectively. Someone at work might say something to you as a jokey put-down, ...
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