The Tanners are Bullies!
Make It or Break It airs every Tuesday evening at 9pm on ABC Family. It centers around four elite gymnasts and their problems on and off the mat. The girls are sixteen years old and training for the 2012 Olympic Games. Each girl is different and unique in her own way.
Unfortunately, there must also be bullies on the show; in this case they are Lauren Tanner and her father Steve.
The Tanners are well-to-do, believe that money talks, and they resort to manipulation and illegal activities to get what they want. As a result, we see Lauren steal boyfriends, cheat, and play tricks to keep other girls from succeeding. According to Psychology for Business, this behavior is classic in bullies. The saddest part is that Lauren's father is dating Chloe Kmetko, who is the mother of fellow competitor Emily Kmetko.
A recent episode dealt with the annual Awards Banquet at The Rock, which is the gym where these girls train daily. Lauren was determined to win the Congeniality Award and decided to use and abuse her bank account to win votes from the other gymnasts.
Before the banquet starts, we see Steve Tanner take the box containing the votes for Congeniality Award upstairs. Later, Lauren wins. Is anyone surprised at this point?
Before the banquet, Chloe Kmetko calls Lauren a bully and decides to kill her with kindness. Unfortunately, she resorts to the Tanners' tactics to promote Emily for the award. Summer, Steve’s ex-girlfriend lets Chloe know that “Since she and Steve are dating that she needs to try and understand why Lauren is the way she is.” We can understand her but we do not need to excuse her bad behavior either.I have said it before and will say it again: bullies resort to these tactics to get what they want. This behavior is learned and, as we see, affects everyone around them. The apple does not fall far from the tree, so yes, it is easy to understand why Lauren is the way she is.
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