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1121 Comments
- Cyberbladewolf, on 04/24/2009, -35/+626This is a very sad story to hear, but I can't help but think it could've been prevented if somebody had told the kid, "The next time they call you gay, break their nose." Of course considering how much the modern school system ingrains the messages, "Violence is never the answer," and "You can talk all of your problems away," I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't.
Harsher policies, talking, more detentions, etc will do nothing to stop bullying. It is just a part of human nature that is bound to happen. What has unfortunately happened is that all options for actually solving the problem have been taken away. Often a bullied student fighting back gets in more trouble than the kid doing the bullying. That just reinforces the kids belief that the bullies are better, and that fighting back for yourself is wrong. - BuzzEdition, on 04/24/2009, -49/+577I have no idea why schools do not expel kids for bullying. If they treated bullying with the same One Strike and you're out policy like they use for weapons and guns they could stop this.
- AmyVernon, on 04/24/2009, -15/+435This is so sad.
- Narcism, on 04/24/2009, -51/+382Thankfully I read the article, I thought maybe he was an astronaut.
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -86/+416We are raising a nation of wussies. If a bully picks on you, you kick them in the balls.. problem solved!
- Rivfader, on 04/24/2009, -2/+214They need to hire one person that is an anti-bully for every class. It should be some burly retired lumber worker that rides a Harley with a big polar bear beard and a Slayer shirt and he needs to observe which kids are bullying others then do the exact same thing to them. Give them swirlys wedgies and make them look like fools in front of everybody else.
- gsp9216, on 04/24/2009, -5/+209***** punt
- Celarnor, on 04/24/2009, -2/+201That's why I learned martial arts, to defend myself against bullying in high school.
Defending myself got me expelled. - JFitzpatrick, on 04/24/2009, -13/+187You know how you get rid of bullying? You teach kids not to take peoples *****. We condition children to take crap from everybody, to follow arbitrary rules, to shut their mouths and do as they are told without question... and then we act surprised when someone in the herd shows stronger and more aggressive tendencies and everyone goes a long with that person? We've trained children to be followers and then we act shocked when they follow some stupid bullying goon?
How long do you think a bully would last if instead of the weak kid he was picking on, a significant portion of the other kids were hurling insults and occasional fists back at him? Not very long. - BuzzEdition, on 04/24/2009, -9/+174If the bullying is occurring at school it must be handled at school. Of course the parents should be notified, but while the child is at school, the school's discipline policy must be followed. If the school had a harsher policy against bullying, the bullying would stop
- sgerwel1985, on 04/24/2009, -9/+164IF they did that, there would be very few kids in schools. But i agree, something needs to be done.
- stonecircle, on 06/11/2009, -23/+175Responsibility ultimately lies with the parents of those doing the bullying. We can't expect others to to teach our children the lessons they need to learn.
- danwallace, on 04/24/2009, -12/+125This won't be a popular post, but I have to say it. Bullying is a part of growing up. Yes, it should be punished, but there's no way to eradicate it. This is going to happen and you need to prepare your kids to deal with it. Coddling them and fixing all of their problems for them is just going to lead to more ***** like this. A nation of limp-wristed mouth-breathers who will contribute nothing. This kid clearly wasn't given the right tools to handle stressful situations.
I was bullied and beaten and mocked. I never resorted to killing myself, or striking out at them violently, or any of those ***** reactions. I took my lumps, got through it and came out the better man. The most satisfying part was running into one of the kids who made life miserable for me years later while on my lunch break. He was the guy serving me my chicken at the swiss chalet drive-thru.
Don't tell your kids you'll take care of their problems. Don't tell them to lower themselves to their bullies level and seek revenge. Just teach them that life is not always fair, but it will get better. Teach them to be the bigger person. - trer, on 04/24/2009, -4/+108One problem is that not every kid can fight back. Also, it's not always 1 bully, it's usually a group of bullies. Hence the feeling of loneliness. How does one small kid win a fight against a bigger kid, much less 3 bigger kids. The answer is not to use violence, it's for adults to get actively involved in the raising of their children. Plus not every child's mindset is to fight. Some are scared. Who protects them?
- malechite, on 04/24/2009, -4/+108Bullying in school sucks. I was one of the kids who got bullied. I was even told i should kill myself... It sucked pretty bad for a while, but I had good friends, and got through it.
Its funny though because after middle school and early high school, I became more popular and had way more friends and turned out more successful than those bullies... the gratifying part is 8-10 years later, having them come up to you in a bar, and apologize for being an *****. then you look at them and realize you're better off than they are... just goes to show how things change - le0pard, on 04/24/2009, -13/+112R.I.P.
- Spoomeister, on 04/24/2009, -5/+101Bullying is subjective. Under that kind of policy, anyone could get anyone else expelled for bullying.
You can't legislate this problem away. It takes time, and teaching, and parenting. - dbz253, on 04/24/2009, -4/+86just what we need, hostile kids with no future
- andrewlotta, on 04/24/2009, -4/+75"After Jaheem's death, the school board expressed condolences, saying the school staff "works diligently to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all students."
In my opinion, that is complete *****. Safe and nurturing environment? Please. They said that to cover their asses. - chadsmith729, on 04/24/2009, -0/+69My right hook is what got me in trouble. I was always small but played hockey so I knew the laws of physics it takes to drop someone. Took about 2-3 bullies before they got the message loud and clear. What did my parents do? Smile and say "Well, I guess you have an unscheduled break from school"
- SocialPoison, on 04/24/2009, -2/+71An article I read when I was a teenager (given to me by my father) basically gave the same advice. Fight back. Fight back knowing damn well you're probably going to lose the fight, but do it anyways. What's the worst thing that's going to happen? You'll get suspended? You'll get suspended fighting against an injustice the schools won't or can't correct... and in the long run it's really not going to matter.
One line that really rung with me was, "No one will mess with even the smallest dog if there's a chance of getting their hand bit."
I fought back. I cracked that goddamn kid right in the jaw. I received all-day detention for a week.
Best goddamn day of my high school career, bar none. - Solkre, on 04/24/2009, -3/+70Bullies are not new. What is new are these ***** zero tolerance policies that would get the tortured kid expelled for punching the ***** in the face. Kids can't fight back, the stress builds up.
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -13/+80***** YOU O'DOYLE!
Throughout my life, I've met many douchebags and bullies.... I try not to stoop to their level and in the end, I can only hope that karma is real and they will get whats coming to them. - inactive, on 04/24/2009, -3/+68The parents of bullies tend to be irresponsible ***** who actually encourage that sort of behavior. They're the problem. How can you say it's their responsibility to solve it? That's like the police department coming out and saying "In light of the recent crime wave, we have decided to take no action. Rather, ultimately we feel it's the responsibility of criminals to stop committing crimes."
- Celarnor, on 04/24/2009, -2/+66You do when you're my size and build, don't have the advantage of strength, and can only effectively defend yourself by understanding the mechanics of the human body and manipulating it.
I had discipline beforehand; what I didn't have was personal safety. Aikido, and later jujitsu, gave me that. - FlareHeart, on 04/24/2009, -3/+67I agree. Just because the teachers at the school are so jaded to it, because they see it every day, doesn't mean that they shouldn't step in and do something about it.
Hall monitors, playground supervision, etc, all need to be escalated so that someone can step in and stop this from happening.
The teachers at my school were so jaded to the bullying that they just told me to stop being a tattle-tale and suck it up. I can see why the kids think that the adults don't want to help...it's because they don't. - goot776, on 04/24/2009, -0/+61You, sir, are my hero.
- IMustBeEmo, on 04/24/2009, -4/+64That's my purse! I don't know you!
- levitron, on 04/24/2009, -0/+59When my little brother was being bullied in grade school (I was in high school), the principal told him to punch the next kid who bullied him. He told my brother he would have to suspend him, but it would be light. It happened exactly this way, and the bullies started to pull back.
- spiralofhope, on 04/24/2009, -4/+63Yeah right. "Dude, remember that time when we had that softie kill himself? That was awesome!"
- jazzfunkblues, on 04/24/2009, -7/+61That's why we have police academies.
- thespiff, on 04/24/2009, -0/+52I used to get bullied by a pair of brothers in high school. The one guy would punch me in the gut every time he saw me, knocked the wind out of me, hurt like hell. You know what I did about it? Sit-ups. One day he gave me the standard gut punch and I didn't flinch. He said "woah" and never did that again. I've been hooked on the gym ever since.
I grew up going to Catholic Sunday school and believing that "turn the other cheek" nonsense would get me through being bullied. Live and learn. When I have kids I will teach them how to stick up for themselves.
PS: Turns out they bullied because their dad was very abusive to them at home. Last I heard they're both in jail. - Scrappy1850, on 04/24/2009, -10/+61dont throw the baby out with the bath water! you dont need to give up on the bullies either. you can change their ways and make them better citizens and better members of society. identify them and fix the problem. these arent criminals, just *****. there? did i spell it out enough for you?
- neoncrossing01, on 04/24/2009, -10/+61wtf does that have to do with anything? he's talking about expelling kids that bully others, to make a point to those kids that bullying is intolerable. your comment has no point. try again, this time smarter.
- twktue, on 04/24/2009, -1/+50When I was in school, all the bullying happened outside of school in the neighborhood, so teachers never even saw it. When I was in the 7th grade I got into a fight with this kid over a game of basketball and it turned out that his older brother was in a gang from the local high school.
They beat me on the playground, then they beat me on the bus, then they beat me in front of my house. They beat me where ever I ran into them. It was always like 6 of them against me. My school's principle contacted their principle and singled them out. Then they beat me some more. I got punched in the face with a high school class right that left a mark on my cheek for 9 weeks. My parents contacted the police and they took two guys away to juvi. Then I got beat by kids I had never seen before. And everybody denied everything. Not even the police could stop this.
For years I was afraid to leave my house to walk to school or ride the bus or to be outside. I had to go to a private high school otherwise they probably would have killed me. I knew the desperation that this kid was feeling. However, I never wanted to take my own life. I wanted to get a gun and kill these bastards myself! - dgolding, on 04/24/2009, -4/+52You catch the parts about the anti-bullying programs and pledges not to be bullies? What a load of crap. Those things don't work - the bullies just laugh. Teachers know they don't work and don't care.
Teachers and administrators can easily stop bullying, but they aren't up to it. Very sad. I was bullied in 10th grade and my PE teacher put a decisive end to it. He didn't like me much, but he detested bullying. Thats a real man. - Hercules, on 04/24/2009, -4/+51Then you get sued too.
That's the problem. - octopusorgans, on 04/24/2009, -11/+58my god. this article actually brought me to tears. this article, this entire subject matter is so incredibly sad. why are humans so intolerant and vicious? don't we all have enough problems surviving as it is? eleven years old?? for christ's sake man...
- bearcat8543, on 04/24/2009, -11/+57dude, ***** you.
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -0/+46Kick her in the taco, Paco,
- reasonableperso, on 04/24/2009, -0/+45I can appreciate your sentiment, but whenever I read about or hear someone defer to karma, it drives me nuts. **** karma, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I hate it when karma is used as an excuse not to act. Not you morgan.
I talk to my kids all the time about bullying. That I expect them to stand up for everyone else, and that if I ever catch them bullying someone, they'd better watch out. (I know, ironic). It's a carryover from fifth grade, when I stood by and watched someone get bullied for an entire year and did nothing but keep my head down. I watched him get pushed around, get his locker spit on, and tormented everyday. Thirty years later, I still wake up at night and think about him. Alan, if you’re out there somewhere, I’m soooo sorry. - ChinaLumberjack, on 04/24/2009, -8/+52"Of course considering how much the modern school system ingrains the messages, "Violence is never the answer," and "You can talk all of your problems away,"
Resorting to violence is NEVER the answer. Excepting the following:
+ Taliban
+ Nazis
+ Iraq
+ Communists
+ Interrogations
"Now you see the hypocrisy inherit in the system!" - rajkalex, on 04/24/2009, -2/+46Wrong, very wrong. Funny, yes but wrong.
<dugg> - xRand0mx, on 04/24/2009, -2/+46I agree with the woman on that video, you have to get those bystanders involved. All you need is one kid to stand up and say "***** off" to the bully and that would solve many of the problems. Bullying while I was in high school was not so prevalent because of this. There were groups of kids that just would not put up with this *****, mainly the goth/emo crowd or whatever, that would get defend the person getting bullied. It also helped that many of those kids were pretty big and could beat the ***** out of the known bullies at school (and it did happen a few times). I think that is the key, the victim will see that he/she is not alone and the bully will get a taste of his own medicine.
- MikaStar, on 04/24/2009, -2/+45Because bullying isn't that simple. Kids get bullied and often the teachers have no idea. How is a female teacher suppose to know a little boy is being called gay in the bathroom if he doesn't tell her? A lot of things never get reported and teachers often have no idea it's happening. You can't monitor kids 24/7. Also explusion wouldn't solve the problem, because bullying is something that punishment a lone wouldn't deter. A lot of bullying occurs outside of school. The big thing now is "cyber bullying", where kids harass each other on Myspace, etc,. How could a teacher stop cyber bulling? Is it even their burden to stop? No, not if it happens outside of school. There's just so much to bullying, a single solution wouldn't solve it.
- nepidae, on 04/24/2009, -2/+431 strike and your out is a horrible horrible policy.
- TyrannousDotNet, on 04/24/2009, -6/+45the only difference: the kid who went to public school had friends to care he was gone.
- neoncrossing01, on 04/24/2009, -0/+38yes actually you did, thanks for clearing that up.
- tault, on 04/24/2009, -3/+41Words are not just words. Words are the ability to influence people on multiple levels. This child killed himself from your so called words. People need to realize words are far worse than actually violence.
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