We are witnessing a fascinating political phenomenom in Aotearoa.
Cabinet met without him on 15 August 2022 and said they were appalled at his ill-discipline in going to the media. His ministerial privileges have been reduced until December.
According to the National Bullying Prevention Center:
Bullying and harassment are often used interchangeably when talking about hurtful or harmful behavior. They are very similar, but in terms of definition, there is an important difference.
Bullying and harassment are similar as they are both about power and control; actions that hurt or harm another person physically or emotionally; an imbalance of power between the target and the individual demonstrating the negative behavior; and the target having difficulty stopping the action directed at them.
The distinction between bullying and harassment is that when the bullying behavior directed at the target is also based on a protected class, that behavior is then defined as harassment. Protected classes include: race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin [and others]
On the face of it, Sharma's claims are questionable and his silence doesn't help him.
But power, behaviour and control are involved. So are race and colour.
Harassment has a subjective measure. Does bullying?