Can teasing be a healthy thing?
"I’m asking because today I got in a conversation with my dad about this subject. Basically in the country he grew up in, it’s considered culturally “normal” for people to constantly pick on each other, even over things they can’t necessarily control, and that everyone is in on the joke. He maintains that it’s a good practice for helping people develop a “resilience” to the harsh realities of the world, like when people join the military and are subjected to certain things. But as someone who experienced legitimate abuse from my older siblings in my youth, I have a different perspective. I feel like the lines between good natured teasing and legitimate abuse can easily be blurred and that this practice may unintentionally normalize abuse and make it harder for people to recognize, and make people less likely to speak up when it is happening. Idk, what do you guys think?"