Bullying in any situation is never good. We were both bullied as kids. I (Rob) was always called "shrimp" and "shorty" because I was always the smallest one in the class. It's a good thing I hid my sexuality through school because I would've been bullied for that, too. Every day in the U.S., someone is bullied whether child or adult. So many teenagers are bullied to the point where they commit suicide. People in offices bully their co-workers. And we also have bullies in political positions. (For information about Ben Cohen's "Stand Up Against Bullying Foundation visit: http://www.standupfoundation.com (Ben's Mission: To raise awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying and to raise funds to support those doing real-world work to stop it.)
Fortunately, such was not the case in an episode where American Navy personnel had a mechanical problem with a boat and drifted into Iranian waters where they were taken in. BTW, anyone that crosses into a country's waters are taken in. Just ask the U.S. Coast Guard. Secretary Kerry said that's the process.
I admire the way that the Obama Administration, particularly Secretary Kerry handled the event. He called the Iranian Foreign Minister and was diplomatic to coordinate the release of the Navy men. Below is the story after a Tweet from the Iranian Foreign Minister.
BOTTOM LINE: Say "No" to bullying. (Sadly, Donald Trump would've likely done something aggressive and caused more problems).
This tweet speaks volumes of how important it is to try diplomacy in politics before considering other things.
ACTUAL TWEET FROM: Javad Zarif : Foreign Minister of Islamic Republic of Iran
Javad Zarif
Happy to see dialog and respect, not threats and impetuousness, swiftly resolved the #sailors episode. Let’s learn from this latest example.
https://twitter.com/JZarif?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
REUTERS STORY: Jan 13 (Reuters) - US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with his
Iranian counterpart at least five times over a period of 10 hours on
Tuesday as they worked to arrange the quick release of US Navy personnel
from Iranian custody, a senior State Department official said on
Wednesday.
Kerry told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif it would be good for both sides if they could agree on the quick and safe release of the 10 Navy sailors and their two boats that drifted into Iranian waters, the official said on condition of anonymity.
"If we are able to do this in the right way, we can make this into what will be a good story for both of us," the official said Kerry told Zarif. Source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/US-official-Kerry-spoke-with-Irans-Zarif-at-least-5-times-about-detained-sailors-441426
Kerry told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif it would be good for both sides if they could agree on the quick and safe release of the 10 Navy sailors and their two boats that drifted into Iranian waters, the official said on condition of anonymity.
"If we are able to do this in the right way, we can make this into what will be a good story for both of us," the official said Kerry told Zarif. Source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/US-official-Kerry-spoke-with-Irans-Zarif-at-least-5-times-about-detained-sailors-441426
