We Working-Class Mothers Say “Enough”!
EL SALVADOR, July 13— “I am a working mother. Like thousands of mothers, I get up early and work hard. I make sacrifices so that my children can have a better future than what’s possible under a system of exploitation where the poor will always remain poor. Amid everything we’re going through, it breaks my heart to see my son come home from school with his head down, silent, trying to hide the pain caused by taunts, humiliation, and rejection,” said J.
“No mother is prepared to hear her child say they don’t want to go back to school. No mother can remain indifferent when she sees how, little by little, the confidence, joy, and peace of mind of the one she loves most are being destroyed,” she concluded.
“I’m going through the same thing. My daughter started to believe that she was the problem. At first, I thought it was just a phase. Then I saw her slowly wither away. She stopped eating, cried at night, and no longer wanted to go to school. Every day she’d come home crying,” said A.
“She told me that her classmates insulted her, made her feel inferior, humiliated her, and encouraged others to do the same. How can a girl grow up with self-confidence when she lives surrounded by humiliation? We don’t need any more empty rhetoric,” A continued. “We need a society where our children learn to help one another, not to tear each other down.”
“My son isn’t any less of a person just because he wears simple clothes. He isn’t worth any less just because he’s different. No child should suffer because of their appearance, their background, or their family’s financial situation,” said V.
“However, this kind of bullying is part of a sick society, built on inequality and a lack of solidarity. I couldn’t bear my son’s suffering any longer, so I took him out of school. He’ll lose a year, but I’d rather that than see him suffer any more,” she concluded.
It’s often said that bullying is a problem of ill-mannered youths or “crybabies.” The psychological damage it causes is downplayed, and everything is reduced to a lack of values. But how can we expect respect in a society that teaches children from an early age to compete, to assert themselves over others, and to measure people’s worth by what they have or how they look?
Bullying doesn’t come out of nowhere. It thrives in a society based on competition, inequality, and individual gain over collective well-being. Capitalism perpetuates the logic of the strong preying on the weak. That violence also manifests itself in schools.
It’s no coincidence that bullying often targets those who come from working-class families, have fewer resources, are different, or don’t fit the stereotypes imposed by the system itself.
Bullying cannot be dismissed as “just kids being kids.” It is violence that destroys self-esteem, causes anxiety, depression, and isolation, and, in some cases, has irreparable consequences. No child should be afraid of being humiliated.
As mothers, we realized that we are not alone. Thousands of working-class families face the same problem. That is why the fight against bullying cannot be limited to awareness campaigns or school regulations. It is also a struggle to transform the society that produces it.
Our children deserve much more than to merely survive in a system that pits them against one another. They deserve to grow up in a society where community replaces competition, equality replaces privilege, and solidarity replaces selfishness.
“Thank you for sharing Red Flag. And for helping us raise our voices for those who suffer in silence. May our experiences help other families,” said J. “The struggle is not an individual one, but a collective effort to change society from its very roots.”
For communism and for the future of our children!
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