48 replies to this topic

[PERM BANNED]

So I've been reading a lot of articles lately calling for an end to bullying. I think the notion is a good one, as children shouldn't be tormented in school, but I don't see how the execution of some of the ideas I've heard can really be put in place. For example, NY is debating making it second degree manslaughter if your comments on the internet lead to the suicide of someone. Are they for real? That is the core of the 1st Amendment. People say mean things all the time. Lady Gaga is advocating bullying be labeled as a hate crime. Thought police anyone? I had a horrible stutter when I was younger and was made fun of everytime I tried to read a paragraph or answer a question. I get how being bullied hurts, but that's part of being a child. Respect and compassion are learned behaviors and part of socilalization is learning how to behave. I just see so many things wrong with taking a tragic issue such as bullying, and using it to justify laws that penalize people for saying things the moral majority delcare wrong. Where does it end?

[Zimbochick]

Interesting topic. The issue I have with proposed legislation is that defining bullying is so subjective. I don't necessarily think labelling it a hate crime is a bad thing, but having young kids in the school system now, I think it would be extremely hard to define, and very time-consuming.



The difference between today and when we were kids (although I think you are a fair bit younger than me) is the dissemination of information. What used to take days/weeks/months to spread about the school yard now takes minutes. With vitually every teen on Twitter and FB, they can send out whatever information they want, and as many high schoolers have over 1,000 FB friends, who have 1,000 friends, the information is propelled out there at an alarming rate.



There was an interesting article in the NY Times last week about how bullying is perceived among teens, and the damage labelling someone a "victim" can bring. It certainly contained many points I had not previously considered.

http://www.nytimes.c...-mark.html?_r=4



I do think there are many programs out there already that warrant support. Challenge Day being a widely used one in high schools, and reportedly has positively affected environments with bullying problems.



The Cartoon Netwrok and CNN have recently launched a program targetting elementary aged kids - Stop Bullying: Speak Up

http://www.cartoonne...ying/index.html



Many of the traditional anti-bullying campaigns have been repackaged as anti-hate measures, as that is the venacular used by many kids.



I think education is key. Educating kids that picking on others for perceived differences is not okay. And educating parents about what they should really be doing if their kid is bullied or a bully.



I don't think one should minimize the impact of long-term bullying on kids though, it can be devastating.

[wedjat]

I don't know about legislation but schools definitely need to pay attention & address it more. It seems like many administrators just don't want to get involved & turn a blind eye. There's only so much a parent can do, I mean they're not going w/their kids & staying w/them in school. It's up to the teachers & such to take care of the kids when they're not at home. While it's all fine & good to teach your kid to rise above it & ignore the bullying, sometimes a well-delivered punch can do wonders.

[Zimbochick]

The thing is though, these little bastards are clever. I spend many hours in the school, and particularly the early adolescents never stop with the jibes, taunts, snickering, smirking. How do you quantify all of that stuff. If there is an omega kid, the others just don't let up, but they don't actually say anything.

[PERM BANNED]

I don't diminish the negative effect bullying can have on people, but I also don't think bullying is any worse today than it was 20-30-50 years ago. I think kids just aren't as tough and thick skinned now adays and they're "weaker" for it. The definition of bullying is so diverse, I just don't see how it can ever be fully negated. And I think as people evolve and mature, the means in which they bully evolves and becomes more sophisticated as well. Is Rachel Maddow insulting the intelligence of Bush any different from an emotional standpoint than some school yard bully flicking the ears of some small kid and calling him a faggot? Is Limbaugh calling the President a Kenyan, Islamic Socialist any different than the mean girls berating another girl because she doesn't have the best clothes or shoes? I don't think it is when you break it down, because it's an attack against their individual quirks and uniqueness. And the length of one's vocabulary doesn't make it any easier to swallow when someone says something we dislike. I think school is the main venue for anti-bullying, simply because I assume that is when most of it occurs as it's when the largest amount of students are together. If there is a neighborhood bully smacking kids, that falls on the parents to intervene. Like wedjat said, sometimes a kid just needs a good sock in the mouth, whether it be the schoolyard bully or the crybaby who narcs on everyone. Can anyone here not say that they were teased, bullied and picked on when growing up? Can anyone also say that they weren't the one's teasing, bullying or picking on another kid at some point growing up? I don't see the internet as making it any more in your face than in years past. Phones have existed for a century now, so easy access over an electronic medium directly to the victim isn't something new. That children even have access to social media is a direct responsibility on the parents and whom the child lets to view their blog and comment is on them. If Mike the Jock calls your a queer 24/7, you probably shouldn't let Mike post on your facebook wall and call you a queer there. I'm just saying I don't think bullying is anything new or more severe now than it was in the past. Homosexual kids seem to be the poster child for bullying, and America is far more accepting of gays than it was 50 years ago when it was a jailable offense if not declared as a mental condition. I think people are just more aware of it now, and the media loves a juicy story. What worries me is when politicians under the guise of keeping the peace, try to pass laws that limit our freedoms. To me these new laws are nothing more than thought police out to punish those who go against whatever is the political correct thing to say. If Redneck Clayton wants to believe all minorities are inferior to him, let him hold that belief. Create a website if he wants. If he calls a minority a racial slur to their face in a public venue, most schools already have disciplinary policies to cover that. I just see where banning speech can lead to and I'm afraid that some will be all too quick to jump on this bandwagon for no change in bulling, but a lot to what you can and can't say.

[Zimbochick]

Flagg, just so I'm clear, the reason you are bringing this up is because you feel curbing bullying will infringe on your rights?

[PERM BANNED]

No, I think it's important to curb it. I just don't know how to go about it and it seems to be getting a lot of attention in the media as of late. I don't know what the right answer is.

[Timothy]

Stop being pansies...

[TAP]

Look at how oversensitive grownups are on the internet, doesn't take much to extrapolate how brutal it could be for kids.

[MrsBrisby]

I think bullying is a hate crime. My cousin, who is gay, was severely beaten by a bunch of guys after school. That was in the early '90s. Nothing was done about it - no arrests. He ended up dropping out of school. There's no telling how many good kids suffer silently because they don't want to be labeled cry babies.

[wedjat]

I'm beginning to think that Flagg is a mole that BJ inserted.

[Mr. Roboto]

I think bullying is a hate crime. My cousin, who is gay, was severely beaten by a bunch of guys after school. That was in the early '90s. Nothing was done about it - no arrests. He ended up dropping out of school.

There's no telling how many good kids suffer silently because they don't want to be labeled cry babies.

That's fucked up. I hate hearing shit like that, makes my blood boil.