Bullies
A note to my readers: This article was written several days before the Virginia Tech massacre. Several news reports have stated that the shooter was bullied throughout his elementary school years. Obviously, that is not an excuse. But it certainly is worth thinking about.
Several years ago, when my son was in 7th grade, he had an encounter with an internet bully. His classmate, who was somewhat of a computer whiz, had developed his own web page long before “My Space” had become popular. In addition to making unflattering remarks, he enjoyed posting unflattering pictures of his fellow students on his site, much to the delight of those who weren’t the object of his scrutiny, and to the chagrin of those who were. My son was among the latter.
A confrontation finally developed in school. One thing led to another, and my son deposited this “Bill Gates” wannabe into a school locker. Within short order, I got a telephone call at work asking me to go the school immediately, and informing me my son had been suspended for three days. Upset myself about the circumstances, I picked up my father to go with me, mostly to keep me from taking a swing at the school principal.
I inquired as to who hit whom first, and it seemed that the other young man had struck the first blow (perhaps for freedom of the press?). Why then, I asked, was my son being suspended if he was defending himself? I was informed that the school had a “zero tolerance” policy for violence, and it was irrelevant to the school as to who started the fight. It was my son’s responsibility to walk away, no, run away. I inquired as to where he should run. I was told he should have run to the principal’s office. What about the offending web site? I was informed that it was not a school problem since it was maintained out of the school. Further, both of the boys would have to attend anger management sessions. Oooookaaay. My father and I led my son out of the school, and we celebrated my boy becoming a man. Hitting is not a good idea, but the web site did come down, and my son was never bothered by ANYONE again.
Human nature is human nature, and bullies will always be with us. Today, however, bullies have become a protected class. They can pick on somebody with relative little consequence because the system now views the victim as being just as responsible for the circumstance as the bully. If the victim goes to whomever the authority happens to be, he will be told to “learn to get along”, or “bring us proof’, or the dreaded “document it”. If he defends himself when attacked, in the eyes of the school system he is just as responsible as the offender. There will be no investigation as to who is the responsible party, just punishment for all. That doesn't address the issue of peer pressure sissyfication aimed at the victim if he runs away.
This warped thinking is endemic in our educational system. The bureaucrats who run the school systems have devised a way to absolve themselves of any responsibility for anything when it comes to violence in the schools. The rule is: don’t do anything if someone complains about being picked on, and blame the victim when something finally happens under the guise of zero tolerance. This is bad policy not only for the aggressive situation at hand, but a bad lesson to teach students about life in general. Ultimately, it risks more violence, as is evidenced by the shootings in our schools by bullied students who see no way out. Columbine is a perfect example. The bullied students are victimized twice, by the bully...then the system. How much internalized anger can a young person stand?
A confrontation finally developed in school. One thing led to another, and my son deposited this “Bill Gates” wannabe into a school locker. Within short order, I got a telephone call at work asking me to go the school immediately, and informing me my son had been suspended for three days. Upset myself about the circumstances, I picked up my father to go with me, mostly to keep me from taking a swing at the school principal.
I inquired as to who hit whom first, and it seemed that the other young man had struck the first blow (perhaps for freedom of the press?). Why then, I asked, was my son being suspended if he was defending himself? I was informed that the school had a “zero tolerance” policy for violence, and it was irrelevant to the school as to who started the fight. It was my son’s responsibility to walk away, no, run away. I inquired as to where he should run. I was told he should have run to the principal’s office. What about the offending web site? I was informed that it was not a school problem since it was maintained out of the school. Further, both of the boys would have to attend anger management sessions. Oooookaaay. My father and I led my son out of the school, and we celebrated my boy becoming a man. Hitting is not a good idea, but the web site did come down, and my son was never bothered by ANYONE again.
Human nature is human nature, and bullies will always be with us. Today, however, bullies have become a protected class. They can pick on somebody with relative little consequence because the system now views the victim as being just as responsible for the circumstance as the bully. If the victim goes to whomever the authority happens to be, he will be told to “learn to get along”, or “bring us proof’, or the dreaded “document it”. If he defends himself when attacked, in the eyes of the school system he is just as responsible as the offender. There will be no investigation as to who is the responsible party, just punishment for all. That doesn't address the issue of peer pressure sissyfication aimed at the victim if he runs away.
This warped thinking is endemic in our educational system. The bureaucrats who run the school systems have devised a way to absolve themselves of any responsibility for anything when it comes to violence in the schools. The rule is: don’t do anything if someone complains about being picked on, and blame the victim when something finally happens under the guise of zero tolerance. This is bad policy not only for the aggressive situation at hand, but a bad lesson to teach students about life in general. Ultimately, it risks more violence, as is evidenced by the shootings in our schools by bullied students who see no way out. Columbine is a perfect example. The bullied students are victimized twice, by the bully...then the system. How much internalized anger can a young person stand?
The Eggman's JumpGate a website dedicated to Constitutional issues stemming from strange government behavior, opines the following: "Zero Tolerance (policies) serve one valuable purpose in child development -- they teach children some of life's most valuable lessons. 1) Life is Not Fair; 2) Distrust Adults; 3) Doing the Right Thing Isn't Necessarily the Right Thing; 4) Distrust Authority; and 5) The Police are Not Your Friend".
Spring is coming, and most likely an uptick in school violence. It's time for the schools to practice justice, and to stop covering their hind ends with liberal polemics. Someone will ultimately pay the price.
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