Bullying the fish people.

An imaginary conversation

“Why are they bullying the fish people Dad?”

“The fish people?”

“That man on the telly all the time, Salmon — his friend too, her name is Stujon or something. They keep saying someone is bullying them.”

“Ah right, it’s Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. I know who you mean now.”

“So who’s hitting them or picking on them? And why?”

“Well it’s not quite like that son, it’s politics and someone is disagreeing with something they want to do.”

“Oh. And are they being really nasty about it?”

“Well no, not particularly. When adults talk about politics they sometimes get a bit narky about things, that’s all.”

“Is it about what games they want to play?”

“Kind of, it’s hard to explain.”

“So remember when I said _____ was bullying me at school?”

“Yes, I spoke to your teacher and we sorted things out.”

“Yes but you & Mrs ____ told me ‘bullying’ is a serious word and just because _____ didn’t always want to play with me that he wasn’t bullying me?”

“And that’s true. Remember, if someone is singling you out, always saying really nasty things or making life deliberately difficult then that is picking on you, that is bullying. Just disagreeing with someone, even if it happens quite often, that isn’t bullying and it’s not nice to say so.”

“But you said that’s all that’s happening with the fish people — nobody is being nasty or hitting them, just disagreeing with them. And I thought that happens all the time in politics?”

“I suppose it does son.”

“But they’re calling the other people bullies? Isn’t that actually them trying to be nasty to the other people? Isn’t it almost as though the fish people were bullying the other guys?

“Didn’t you say you were going to play Minecraft or something?”