Middle School Beatdown

That's the worrisome part. We'll do more to stop bullying by running campaigns to encourage good kids to be involved than we will by punishing bullies one by one.

There was bullying in my school years ago. I wasn't bullied but many of us tolerated it only to a point. We wouldn't interfere (sorry to say) at verbal bullying but if it became physical we either stepped in or ran to get an adult immediately.

It's the acceptance by other kids that seems to have changed. Bullies will always be around but the limits other kids tolerate seem to have expanded.

There ya go. I'm appalled that people would think to jail a kid for pounding another kid. We had fights when I was in high school too. Nobody went to jail for it. Kids did get involved and pull it apart when it started getting too rough. What I'm seeing in the fight is normal high school crap that used to be handled by the families and school officials. What else I'm seeing is abnormally glazed onlookers - drugged and fluoridated out of their minds. Not able to do anything but pull out their electronic connection devices.

Every kid that was watching this incident without intervening should be sat down in a group and asked why they didn't help - it needs to be talked about, not prosecuted. Teachers need to start creating interactive projects that force the kids to work together so they can rebuild some of that empathy - and electronic devices need to be banned on school property.

No wonder we have a problem - all people think about now is either jail or sue. WTF? That is just so wrong on so many different levels.

I think there's been too much talking. A 15 yr old boy on a 13 yr old boy is not a match.

Years ago, they would have ended up in the Principal's office - parents called (and the parents would show up). Story would be told, excuses given - and punishment meted out then and there.

Today we want to talk about it. We took away the school's threat of corporal punishment and the kids know the schools can't do anything to them. Counseling is recommended - or (increasingly) the cops are called.

You can't talk away an attack like this. The only thing that gets through to bullies like this is the shock of learning there ARE consequences to breaking rules of society.

You have a bunch of kids with cell phones - they don't have to take any action or make a decision or intervene...they just have to phone home or start taking pictures. That's what they are being TAUGHT to do and that's sad.

And here is the root of a lot of our problems in society today.

You do know that there are laws in America today because people stood around and did what you suggest,nothing, while a young woman was brutally murdered.

By the way, I don't know if you have children,but would you want people to do nothing if someone attacked your son or daughter? I bet in the situation you would change your stance ASAP.

Have you ever heard the adage that it takes a village to raise a child?

Well, I can pretty much guarantee that if you were mayor of that village, it wouldn't be listed in the top ten nicest villages to visit!

By walking away when a child is in need of aid and looking the other way when a child is blatantly doing wrong, just what do you think you are teaching that child to become? :rolleyes:

Terra

Alistair,

This is what I have named The HomeOwners Association Mentality.

That mentality frightens me.

People scream about their rights and want to be protected from anything that might harm them. If you want to be part of society and enjoy its rights and protections - you have to BE part of it. That means you protect your school, your favorite forum, your friends and family - because in the end it's NOT "all about me".

Bull shit. I'm almost 60 years old and around 100 pounds. I STILL will get in the middle when I see someone getting trashed after they are down. I let one go down first. Until then I presume they should defend themselves from attack - but if they go down and the attacker doesn't stop, they get to deal with me, too. I've gotten nailed a few times pretty hard myself for doing so - but also have found that all it takes is one person to step in and others will step up and help stop the fight. It's usually not apparent who actually started the fight even if you know who took the first swing - but once someone is down, it's time to stop.

I agree - there HAS to be punishment, including banning the perp from school if necessary to keep the other kids safe. I just think that adults should be able to do that without government interference - if they can't, they don't need to be having kids or put in positions of responsibility for them.

Talking is not for the kids in the fight - it's for the kids that watched and did nothing - and even that, as I mentioned needs to be dealt with. My answer is remove the electronics and make kids work together to restore empathy that the electronic connections are destroying.

There are programs that send kids to jail, but the people they meet in jail are set up to counsel kids about what a life as a convict is like - scare the straight. You don't want to put a 15 year old in jail with REAL criminals unless you want to warp them permanently.

Of course you can say anything behind a computer,after all,that is where cyber bullying happens. And to a lot of folks cyber space and real life are two different realities,but there are a lot of us that act the same in real life that they are online.

And I guarantee you are 100% wrong.
When it really does hit the fan everything may go out of the window for you, but not for everyone.

ICSM,but I wont.