Living with Age

We welcome questions and suggestions about the petition to "Stop Bullying."
Bullying, including social bullying, has the potential to do serious harm to the targets, including depriving people of their rights to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes, creating stress with consequent psychological and physical injury, and restricting the rights of targets to enjoy normal social interactions or to organize for educational, social, or advocacy purposes.

We start from the principle that harassment/bullying is harmful and must not be tolerated. We advocate for research, education, and the means to provide protection through intervention and enforcement. Action is necessary and justified because bullying is harmful and because no one deserves to be bullied.

Our petition to stop bullying will be the basis for a bill to be considered by the Mass. legislature.The petiton has been presented to Senator Patricia Jehlen, Chair of the senate committee on elder affairs, who is sympathetic to our concerns. Now is the time for everyone concerned to help. We ask that you advocate through us or let us know what you have done so that we can report and coordinate.

A strong contingent of seniors representing Mass Senior Action Council were among advocates protesting cuts in earned benefits programs. Speakers included Representative Michael E Capuano (8th Mass District) and Representative John Tierney. Photos of the event

This is a collection of references that deal with bullying of and by senior citizens: what it is, how it emerges, how to control and extinguish it, and how to create a better environment.

To create a virtual peer-to-peer support network to combat bullying of seniors

• To provide meaningful peer support for seniors living with bullying in subsidized housing for the elderly and disabled. Including practical ways to empower seniors to protect themselves and to advocate for themselves: we will seek to provide support, information and education, and to share tested ideas.

A petition for legislation, administrative rules, and oversight to correct the abuse

Introduction

Elders living in subsidized residences frequently are subject to abuse, harassment, and bullying by other residents and/or by staff. Residents in these out-of-control buildings are constantly under siege from bullying, causing them to suffer from stress and related conditions such as depression, high-blood pressure, stroke, and possibly suicide, and have nowhere to turn for relief. This is a petition seeking legislative and administrative remedies. Please join and help make a difference.

"Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it's necessary
to talk about trees."— What Kind of Times Are These
By Adrienne Rich. 1929-2012
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/181516#about

In the State of the Union, the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, was unable to deal with the issue threatening the future of humanity: "The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change." I seek to understand how our political system is unable to act on our behalf. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

“It would be immoral to leave these young people [grandchildren] with a climate system spiraling out of control.”—Dr. James Hansen