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Michael Zamora / Caller-Times
Family friend D. Garcia (right) hugs Mingo Molina, father of Ted Molina, last Wednesday during a rally against bullying outside Flour Bluff High School.
Bullies had been hounding high school freshman Teddy Molina for years, making fun of him for being mixed race and threatening to hurt or even kill him, his family says.
The teasing from a group known as the “wolf pack” grew so bad that Molina wound up leaving his Corpus Christi, Texas, school last month. Then he took his life last week with a hunting rifle.
Molina’s death has triggered outrage and tumult in his South Texas community: an anti-bullying rally erupted into violence, a rumored gun threat online led to a stepped up police presence at Flour Bluff High School and a number of parents have come forward claiming that the district is not doing enough to combat bullying.
“We need to come together and we need to stop this, and we need to do it peacefully,” his sister, 18-year-old senior Misa Molina, told msnbc.com.
Bullying has become one of the hottest issues facing schools, with a newly released documentary focusing on the issue, and sites like Facebook and Twitter allowing rumors and taunts to spread like wildfire.
The family of Teddy Molina says the Texas teen took his own life after being bullied for years by a group of students who call themselves the "wolf pack." KRIS-TV's Lindsay Curtis reports.
While there are no hard and fast statistics linking bullying to suicide, Dr. Melissa Reeves, a school psychologist and expert on bullying, says harassment by peers can be a “big factor” in youth suicide but that it’s usually one among many causes.
“When they really get to a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, you know, where they see no other way out of this particular situation, then, unfortunately that is when we do see completed suicides,” said Reeves, chair of a National Association of School Psychologists’ Prepare Working Group on Crisis Prevention and Intervention.
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people between the ages of 10 and 24, with males making up 84 percent of the approximate 4,400 victims reported a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hispanic and Native American teens and young adults have the highest rates of suicide-related fatalities.
MPAA changes 'Bully' rating to PG-13
The trouble for Molina, who was part Korean and part Hispanic, began at Flour Bluff Intermediate School in Corpus Christi, a port city of 300,000 along the Gulf of Mexico.
The problems escalated in junior high school, when Molina joined the football team, where, his sister said, the players picked on him and the coaches allowed it. She said her brother told her that some of the bullies repeatedly said they were going to kill him and that she had helped come to his rescue when some teens cornered him at a taco stand and appeared ready to jump him.
Courtesy of Molina family
Ted Molina, also known as Teddy, earlier this year.
“It got really worse this year, and that’s when my mom pulled him out of school” in March, she said, adding that Teddy had expressed a desire to commit suicide a few times over the bullying.
A close family friend, Annette Westerkom, 41, said Teddy Molina endured the harassment quietly.
“He kept a lot of it to himself because he did not want the family to know that they were being derogatory toward his family,” she said, noting that Molina was a fun-loving kid who enjoyed hunting, fishing and being around his family. “He internalized a lot of his pain -- he did confide in some of his friends.”
His mother Judy had filed complaints about the bullying, said Westerkom, a junior high school teacher in another district.
“I’m a school teacher, I see it daily,” she said. “We deal with bullying and we take care of it.”
Michael Zamora / Caller-Times
Flour Bluff senior Misa Molina (left), sister of Ted Molina, hugs her grandmother, Mary Ann, on Wednesday during a rally outside Flour Bluff High School. Family, classmates and community members gathered outside the school following Ted Molina's funeral to call for an end to bullying, which they said led Molina to commit suicide.
When asked last week by a local NBC station if the Flour Bluff School District – one of six in Corpus Christi -- had trouble with bullying, spokeswoman Lynn Kaylor said: “No, ma’am, we don’t.”
But Rita McKenzie, a parent, told the TV station that she removed her two children from the district’s junior high school in February due to bullying.
"They know about this problem. They ignore it and do nothing to try to fix it," she said, adding that she told school officials: “I don't feel like my kids are safe here. I just don't.”
When rumor, the Internet and school violence fears collide
Superintendent Dr. Julie Carbajal disputed that characterization, saying the district starts anti-bully efforts early, with kindergartners going through some awareness programs. She said it also has a strong code of conduct, has implemented the character education program “Heart of a Champion," uses Crime Stoppers for anonymous reporting and has security staff on hand.
“We have strong policies and procedures for bullying and we have followed” those, she said.
In 10 years as superintendent of the 5,600-student district, Carbajal said she had not seen any similar incidents, adding that the loss of Molina has been devastating.
“We want to be able to mourn Teddy ourselves and we want to do something for him in his memory. We’d love to have a memoriam,” she said. “But we've just not been able to bridge that kind of discussion with the family at this point, and we’re respecting their privacy until they’re ready to talk to us.”
The school district will be increasing security at all of its campuses, she said, after an altercation at an anti-bullying rally organized by Molina’s family in front of the school last Wednesday, the day of Teddy’s funeral.
Local media reports say the man charged by police in that incident – Tommy Martin, 38 -- was a parent of a student. Efforts to reach Martin for comment by msnbc.com were not successful.
Police said a witness told them an object was thrown from the crowd at Martin’s car. He allegedly then got out of the vehicle and attacked those he believed responsible. He was charged with assault and public intoxication.
After the violence, which several television stations caught on camera, a number of students came forward to say they had been bullied by the same youths who targeted Molina – a group some referred to as the “wolf pack.”
Not much is known about the group, but a law firm representing the Molina family -- Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales L.L.P. -- said the “wolf pack” was formed by a handful of athletes a few years ago.
The local NBC station spoke with a friend of Misa Molina, Andrew Gonzalez, who said members of the group had bothered him too but that not everyone was involved -- just a few bad apples.
Referring to the group, Superintendent Carbajal said: “Any issues that have been brought forward about the ‘wolf pack’ … the school has investigated that and has addressed any issue that involved them, but I can’t comment on it as it is related to Teddy at this point.”
Adding to the tumult, parents were warned Thursday that the high school had received “secondhand reports” on social media “of a possible threat of someone bringing a gun” to school. Extra police were present on campus that day, Carbajal said, and there were no reports of any trouble.
Julea Chel Bendis, a woman who said her daughter – a freshman at the high school -- was friends with Molina, kept her daughter and son home for few days last week because she “knew this was going to escalate. All of the Facebook pages for the in-town news, everybody is up in arms about it.”
“He (Molina) was friends with almost everybody in the freshman class besides the people bullying him, and I think that’s where most of the anger is coming from right now is just the loss and the anger and the grief,” Bendis said.
Though parents and students had to sign a “no bullying tolerance” form at the beginning of the school year, Bendis feels that educators “preach it, but they don’t enforce it.”
The Molina family’s lawyer, Bob Hilliard, is looking into possible legal causes of action, which his firm said may include breaches of his rights under the 14th Amendment and possible Title IX violations.
“I’ve got to find out what the school district knew and what they did not do once they knew about it,” he said.
Molina’s parents made more than a dozen complaints about their son being bullied – either verbally or in writing, according to Hilliard’s law firm.
Carbajal, the superintendent, said school officials had talked to Molina’s mom about her son, though she declined to specify if those discussions included bullying.
Not everyone agrees about the depth of the problem in the Flour Bluff schools.
Pam Kasperitis, a mother of five who has two children at the high school, said her children had never heard of the “wolf pack” and was concerned about hysteria fueling the news reports on Molina’s death.
“I don’t want to disparage this child and this family, but as a parent, you know, when something like this happens, I think they are looking for someone to blame,” she said.
Kasperitis noted that her son was bullied in the 5th grade, but school officials handled it right away. She said she had found the district responsive to the various issues she had brought to their attention.
Bullying is serious, she added, “so let’s focus on what the issue is, how to fix it, how to move on, how to help these kids, how to put a stop to it. Let’s stop hurling accusations and threats, and having fights.”
In the meantime, Misa Molina is continuing to hold anti-bullying rallies in front of the school.
“We don’t need any more people dying because kids can’t stop being mean to each other,” she said. “Hopefully, this will teach them a lesson that a life is very precious and we should hold onto that, we should keep that in our hearts to make … each and every one of us a better person.”
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The school district should not be the ones to handle bullying. This should be directed back to the parents of the students. If that doesn't work, file charges with the police. Schools are there to educate, not to police students and certainly not to enforce the law. Parents need to be getting involved before it comes to their children committing suicide. What's happened to actual parenting?
You're wrong. We have an expectation of safety in public schools and expect the administrators and teachers to protect (as well as teach) the kids.
If the school does nothing to prevent bullying then they are in fact enabling it and thus to some extent directly reponsible legally.
The bullying should be a criminal event.
INVOLVE THE COPS,.
I agree with you totally, parents are too distant from their children anymore. I hear the same story over and over about kids being bullied for years, hello don't tell me your too busy or it's the schools problem. maybe we need to teach basic parenting 101 in the schools because too many parents out there sure don't seem to know how to parent. Kids tried to bully my kids when the were in school and I took care of it immediately. I taught my children to be involved parents and now that they have children they stay on top of things like I did with them. There are all kinds of programs to monitor your children's computers it is not spying it is being responsible parents, plus its not done in secret the children know what their boundaries are. Parenting starts from birth not when they are teenagers, children that are taught from childhood to communicate and not to keep secrets from their parents will not be afraid to let their parents know whats going on.
The term 'wolf pack' is wrong. Wolves do not behave this way; they protect their own.
This sort of bullying is human behavior.
Jesus Christ, you are blaming his parents? The same ones who repeatedly went to school officials? How about the school, teachers, parents and law enforcement if necessary work together. How about the bullies get the discipline? I read this and get the feeling some people are protecting the bullies and blaming the victims. My heart bleeds for that boy's family, losing a child is the worst thing in the world.
Billy, you are wrong. We would all like for teachers to do only education, but the fact is that parents send their kids to school and expect them to be safe. If they are not safe, then someone has to intervene and the teacher is the only person who can start the process. It should be handed off to school administration but the teacher is the only adult on the front line. Parents have no power over other kids, and the bullying kids sure as heck aren't telling their parents what they are doing. And even if they are, some kids learn this stuff from parents who are violent themselves. We HAVE to rely on teachers, as much as we would rather not.
Even the best of parents cant keep there children from making a wrong decision while at school, wether its bullying or anything else. And kids are kids they will make bad decisions sometimes. So who is responsible for these kids while there at school?
Guess what....Its the school! There not only there to teach! It's there responsibility to keep them safe and discipline accordingly
When my daughter was being bullied in school, I went to the school several times and gladly would have taken care of it myself. BUT, the school would not give me the parents telephone number because it was an invasion of THEIR privacy, nor would they set up a meeting with us both. Instead, I was told that "Well, your daughter is pretty and skinny, so the boys just like her" After bruised ribs and a broken arm, I showed her how to defend herself in a not so ladylike way. After a boy got the crap beat out of him by a girl that weighed 30lbs less than he did... The boys left her alone. Yes, she got in trouble at school... so what, I took her out to lunch. For those that say violence is not the answer, tell me what you tell a kid that is being bullied and the people at school will not stop it?
The issue at hand, is that many schools do not recognize bullying for what it is. They feel that kids will be kids. What looks to be horsing around is often bullying. Maybe it is time to teach the schools what bullying is and that will help.
Is this your position on other criminal activities as well such as drugs, sexual assault, or theft? Who do you suggest should direct the criminal behavior "back to the parents of the students"since you don't want the school district involved? Police have a hard time keeping up with crimes outside of the schools but you think they should be called in to investigate bullies?
Maybe violence is the answer. How about we beat the chit out of the parents of the bullies instead?
So many times, the parents do not even know that bullying is occurring, especially with middle school and high schoolers. Many kids are ashamed and fearful for their families and keep it away from their parents. Actually, some keep it away from all adults especailly those adults who are in a position to help them.
I agree with the paddleboard person, My daughter gets bullied at school as well, All her school years one year after another is bullies bullies and more bullies, I have tried placeing her in different schools, each school said, Oh we have a anti bullying program, NICE, but do they do anything about these bullies? No, So I have finally told my daughter this year, FIGHT BACK!! Wear a nice ring to schol and Swing that arm at them as hard as you can!!! and dont come up till a teacher is pulling yo0u off them, Maybe then they will do something, When the bully gets their rear kicked!! I tought all my sons to take it and dont fight, but it comes to a point when you have to fight, if you dont, you wont have anything!! Like The Kenny Rogers Movie, Coward Of The County.... Yes.. at times when the proper authoritues wont do their jobs, Then you must do something about it...
I noticed that the article clearly states that white on white bullying was dealt with immediately. But white on minority bullying is not dealt with, and the school officials state that bullying 'does not exist'. If it does not exist - then why was 'white on white bullying dealt with?
Sounds like the bigots are running the schools.
It's everyone's problem. "School's are there to educate..." right, and part of that is learning how to be socially responsible, not just do math equations. This situation is just getting worse, and if the parents are morons (probably a good chance of that), then the message that this behavior is stupid, hurtful, and wrong is everyone's responsibility: parents, schools, kids, media.
Paddleboard all I had to do was have a conference with the principle and everything got taken care of, if it hadn't my next step would have been to take legal action against the school. Fortunately I didn't have to go that far, the principle after our meeting realized that I meant business and wasn't backing down or taking any excuses.
When a child is legally required to attend school (compulsory attendence) the schools MUST provide a safe place so the child can obtain an education free from harassment. The parents can only do so much when they are not at the school. Most parents work during the day and cannot be at the school on a daily basis. The schools need to step up and provide the proper supervision and security.
I agree with Billy.
Teachers are there to teach. Thats the extent of my agreement.
I think school officials should be LEGALLY REQUIRED to kick kids out of school who seem to think school is a place to harrass, bully or cause trouble - RATHER THAN LEARN.
maybe, we should stop teaching kids that "tattle tales" are worse than murderers and rapists, and maybe...just maybe, the other kids in that school would have felt embolden to stand by teddy and confront the school officials into FORCING THEM to kick those kids out of school.
this is not a christian nation, this is a "protect the rotten" nation so as not to be a "snitch".
Incidents occurred in front of the football coaches. It was allowed? Parents have the right to expect responsible adults to take corrective action. Failure to do so violates the policy against bullying.
And yes I have been to the schools, this one school districts bullies, came to our home when we wasnt there and painted graffitti My daughter is a B*&ch and also painted a penis 8 ft long down our driveway and out front of the house on the street, another 8 ft penis, the town mayor gave each of these kids the punnishment of 100.00 dollars, well the kids came from very wealthy parents, 100 dollars was a smack on the hands for them... What trauma did it cause my daughter? ALOT!!! and she was only 12 at the time... and this was 16 - 18 year olds that did this, I have been to the schools from teachers to counselors, to school administrations, in Ohio... they sweep it under the rug, and NEVER do they do anything!! Thats why there is school shootings happening, Kids are trying to get it to stop, well If the teachers did their jobs, and the school did their jobs, we wouldnt have kids coming up dead!!!! Its the parents responsilbilities, its the schools responsibilities, and I was once told by a minister its takes a whole town to raise a child properly, Not just 1 parent, and I have tried going to the parents of these bullies, That doesnt work either, because most times the parents stick up for their childs behavior and say well if your child... and push the blame back on your child, I have delt with this situation over the years of raising 4 kids, 3 outta the 4 are raised and my daughter being over weight a bit, and not a barbie or a princess in their eyes, gets alot of lashing from bullies, its sad.. But I feel the schools need to do more and that principal in the video.. sorry... BUT SHE IS A LIER!! She needs fired and have her kids bullied ..truth be it, its prolly one of her kids in that gang of bullies...
cms5 that is when I would have demanded a meeting with the principle and the coaches and would have let them know that we either get this solved here and now or in court. You have to let these people know that you mean business and you are not going to play around with them. I am amazed at these stories I am hearing that people complained and nothing was done, once you create a record of events the schools are opening themselves up to lawsuits if they do nothing.
Jypsie those wealthy parents would have been paying for repairs on my house, plus the 18 year old would be charged as an adult, these stories just keep getting stranger and stranger.
If a matter of bullying can not be resolved, by adult intervention, or trying to use the bullying to teach the victim to 'stand tall', then do not make the victim continue to endure. This is rediculous that this went on for years.
Home school; find another family to home school with; transfer schools; get a g.e.d.; do something else. What is being prooved? Much public education is mediocre now anyway. Any of the above are perfect substitutes. One can get in to college with a g.e.d. by first starting with city colleges, which accept g.e.d.'s. All of the armed forces accept g.e.d.'s. Employers do not care if a person has a g.e.d. vs. a high school diploma, that in itself is not a big point of judgement to them. And, if any one lives near a Waldorf School, consider it; harassment never happens there.
If the teachers don't get involved, you threaten to sue them. If the teachers do get involved, you threaten to sue them. Then you all go home and bitch about how easy their job is an how overpaid they are.
Self absorbed, intolerant parents, create self absorbed, intolerant children.
I am not sure how I feel about the criminilization of free speech. Even if it is essentially a daily assault on their intended victims.
I was thinking more along the lines of publishing the names of the alleged bullies. Posting it on the school walls and publishing it in the news.
Unfortunately, there would be a couple of challenges with that. Such as possible legal consequences if they damage an innocent person's reputation.
It's always seemed to me that school is one of the few places in this country where harassment is allowed. Harassment is illegal and should be handled accordingly. You would likely be fired from a workplace for it, brought up on charges, or be civilly liable for damages anyplace outside of school, yet it continues almost without consequence at a school.
People keep saying "talk to your kids about bullying", forget that, talk to your kids about depression and suicide. I know it's a hard topic to bring up, but depression is pretty common during teenage years. If you don't talk to your kids about it, they'll start to think they're the only ones that feel that way and that it will never get better.
No one else is going to initiate this conversation with your child, this isn't something they have classes about in school. No one has a rally about depression, or has a protest for suicide...
And redneck trash raises redneck trash. We should all pitch in to build that fence along the Texas border. The northern border.
pishaw OK with me you stay up there. We don't really care how you do it up north. And if you love NY so much take I 40 east. My condolences to the family but all of you blaming rednecks(whites) do not understand Texas below the Nueces river. It is a majority Hispanic everywhere from CC-SA south. So again you show your prejudice more than ours. He probably wasn't Hispanic enough to please.
pishaw
ROFLMAO, and what about the State lines we have for all other States that have bullies and raciest from all Races, Colors and Creeds??????? Oh I know you pick and choose what category of humans you despise.
It sounds like to me you have an expectation of the schools baby setting your children.
Here I'll help you, be a full time parent. Address the issue with the school and at the same time seek legal action. The key here is, BBBBEEEE a full time parent. Don't rely on others to carry out your responsibility.
This has happened way too much lately- bullying needs to be treated as a criminal act holding the perpetrators accountable as well as their parents and the school. Otherwise this behavior has no other checks & balances and will continue.
Sorry, but those of you who say that schools are there to only teach are wrong. When I was in school, the school was responsible for you from the time you left home, until you got to school. If you got in a fight to or from school, you would be suspended. I learned the hard way. And, you all keep saying, as a parent, they should address it with the school. You are admitting that the school is responsible for the safety of the students.
Gotta agree with Billy. The schools do not have the staff to monitor each and every reported bully non-stop. It's simply not feasible, even once the bullying is reported. They cannot prevent it.
I was bullied in grammar school, and then briefly again in high school. In both cases, when my parents reported the bullies, it actually got worse (and no, I'm not saying bullying shouldn't ever be reported). On the other hand, it stopped immediately in both cases, when I stood up for myself. I never would have known how to do that, had my parents not spent the time to show me.
There is a lot of mention about parents being involved in their child's life, ensuring they're not being bullied. But hardly is it mentioned that the parents of this so called "wolf pack" are in some ways responsible. I was in a group called "The Skulls" (stupid, I know) we went around harassing the triplets who brushed their teeth in the bathrooms after every single morsel they put in their mouths. The teachers never knew about it, we kept a watchful eye and only did our harassing when they weren't around. I guess the triplets never mentioned it their parents because we were never called in about it. But one time my younger sister, God bless her kind heart, busted me bullying. I was so ashamed. She told my dad and he was so livid. Apparently he was bullied in school and empathized with my victims and it made him mad beyond comprehension how I could treat another human being like that. My dad threatened me, that if he ever found out I was being an indecent human being towards others he would go into an uncontrollable rage. I now have become a champion of the underdog. My heart breaks when I hear about someone being victimized by ignorant kids. My dad taught me that there is so much inconceivable injustice inherent in bullying that it changed the way I approached the smelly kid, the poor kid, the socially awkward kid.
The parents of these boys need to teach them about equality and justice. They need to be livid in the sight of any divergence from those principles.
Stop bullying kids or I'll beat you up and steal your milk money! (sarcasm)
This forum has turned into a bully pulpit.
This has to stop. The schools KNOW who the bullies are. Having said that I don't understand why the schools cannot enforce a permanent removal from the school. This "wolf pack" group should have been permanently removed from the school. They can continue their schooling via on-line. These kids understand social media sites then they can understand on-line school sites. Let the parents deal with them.
@billy...if it happens on the school grounds its the schools resposibility to respond and handle it. it is obvious that the parents of Teddy Molina were trying to handle the situation. Insensitive people like you are one of the reasons bullying still exist.
WHat would youlike for the parents to do ...arm their children with weapons or better yet let's fight about it everyday. if the person is caught bullying he is arrested and sent to juvenile detention...
Yuor ignorance on the subject shines through...
If the 'wolf pack' is a bunch of egotistical athletes, shut down the athletic program for a month and let them know that if they start again, they can kiss the program goodbye permanently. The notion of building character seems to be disproved by the way these kids are acting. Athletics is not a necessary part of education but mutual respect is. Could be they just need a new coach. The idea that the kids should harden themselves and take anything that is dished out is just plain crap.
This school administration has some real tap dancing to do. They are aware of a group of athletes going around the school as a "wolf pack," they have been notified, repeatedly, that members of the "wolf pack" is bullying smaller students, and they are aware of who is in the "wolf pack" and who they are attacking. The administrators think they can fulfill their responsibilities by having parents and students sign a "no bullying" agreement at the beginning of the school year.
When bullying gets so bad that students are forced out of school, it no longer is bullying, its intimidation and assault. Those are crimes and if the people doing them are adults, they should be going to jail for it.
I'm not surprised to find this happening with student athletes doing the bullying. So many high schools still are living in the 1950's where the top jocks can get away with murder. It's time to join the 21st century, where the majority of students really don't care what the jocks are doing. Most high school kids just want to get out of high school.
Oh stop the BS about bullying..this stuff been around for ages..before I was even born from my experience and that's over 55 years now.
Parents either have to raise their kids correct or tell them to fight..if neither then don't complain!
STOP the B.S. in the schools and elsewhere. Get our foot dragging, do nothing Federal Legislators to enact laws which would make this kind of predatory act a FEDERAL CRIME. Then make damn sure that these felonious little bastards know the laws. Throw their evil little asses in prison and let their 'friends' in there teach them some of Life's Lessons the HARD way! The Federal prisons could probably use some fresh 'MEAT' for their populations.
Billy, you are wrong. Schools are REQUIRED to provide safe learning environments for children. When bullying happens on their watch they need to do something about it, including getting parents involved. But they have to practice a no-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying.
The problems are:
1) Too many old school teachers and administrators think kids will be kids and that bullying is part of life.
2) Too many old school teachers and administrators do not have a clue of the impact of bullying in TODAY's world in which bullying messages, photos, and video spread like wildfire via cell phones and Internet -- skyrocketing embarrassment to new levels.
3) Teachers and administrators are often more concerned with protecting the reputations of their schools than they are with protecting the safety of children so they shuffle these problems under the rug.
Where did you read that? Did I miss it or did you just make that up. As the school district is mostly Hispanic students with a Hispanic Superintendant. I think you didn't even read the story and are just making things up it sounds as if your the bigot.
I agree with interested observer. My initial thoughts were the same, that when whites were being bullied, it was taken care of right away.
Don't complain after your child committed suicide? Because of bullying?
And what do we do in 3 years when they graduate high school and realize the world isn't some magical fluffy place where everyone has to be nice to you? Bullying is wrong, but it's also wrong to coddle children until they are adults and then throw them into the real world. The unfortunate truth is that he probably would've killed himself later anyway dealing with gossip at work, terrible bosses, lack of free time and the stress of trying to support himself in an unstable economy.
They are children in a class room..not adults as you are thinking now! Children think different..if its strange to them just one student..of course they will say something about them ( like bullying). Don't have to be a psychiatrist to figure that out.
Bullies have always been amongst us. Caring parents (and teachers) teach kids to stand up for themselves. Bullies are always cowards, especially those who rome in packs. Stand up to them and they go home crying, end of story.
Honestly, I'm getting a little burned out on all this bully talk, you'd think it's the most important/dangerous thing facing our youth today, its not! For the most part, it's just a platform for the gay rights movement to play the victim. Move on!!
Phuck that...this kid should have turned the gun on the 'wolf pack' and put them down like the dogs they are and out of his misery....I know if that were me they'd be the ones pushing up daisies, not me. Even if they arrested me I'd claim 'self-defence' or go for the old favourite 'mental anguish caused by stress making me temporarily unable to control my actions' I would buy that and if on the jury would let him go free......
How many times do we have to hear about this....it's like a weekly occurrence. Teens being bullied at school and the school officials (Principal, Vp and school administrators) are told there's nothing they can do and they have a zero tolerance for bullying////then why the phuck is this happening every week it seems? Time to make the bullies pay....with their lives....as well would be a good idea to line up the Principals and school admin against the wall and show them what it's like to be picked on....with a 7.62 x 39mm lesson
Enough with blaming teachers, schools, superintendents - they are there to teach, to eduacate your children. Not to teach them social responsibilities or manners or human relations or any other role that the parents want to surrender to the schools. You bitch that your kids aren't being taught enough to even graduate and you bitch because your kids aren't being taught to be good citizen or even good human beings. You say schools should be doing this should be doing that but do nothing to help. If a kid is being bullied enough not to say anything to his parents what makes you think he will tell a teacher. He will only do that if he trusts the teacher and what does that say about the kids relationship with the parent.
Some of these posts want to have kids snitch or tattle tale, saying the school should be teaching kids to do that! HS what are you kidding me? Do we really want today's kids to do that? If someone is in intiment danger yes but to run and tell the teacher if "Johnny is misbehaving" No.
Teach your kids that bullying is wrong no matter who does it but also let them know to band together when someone is being bullied. A bully will back down when confronted by numbers.
Bullying has been going on since kids started going to school. The difference today is that if the kid being bullied takes any action against what usually starts out as one bully, he or she gets in as much trouble as the bully. I taught my four children to turn the other cheek only once, then go to a teacher! If there isn't anything done, then as the parent, I move in! First the school administration, then the school board and finally the police department! You file assault charges if there is any physical contact, you file a discrimination complaint if there is verbal bullying ( about a disability, ethnicity, race, religion, etc.) and you make sure you go to the local media (newspaper, radio, TV, etc.) to give the school district and the people running it some negative publicity! In the interim, you teach your children self defense, you have older siblings watch out for younger siblings and for the defenseless (always be a "white knight"), you get your kids involved in athletic activities (if not in school, then at the YMCA, or other local sports organizations). Once my kids reached high school, they lived by the creed, that you never start a fight, never bully anyone, and never "run" your mouth, BUT, if anyone does, you make sure you finish them (in front of witnesses) and then I will deal with those that want to punish you! My kids never had a problem and they helped many others out who did, because they had the confidence, the knowledge, and the parental support to fight back! Live isn't going to be any easier and as a grown-up you will face many "bullies", so the sooner you learn to be confident and fight back, the happier your life will be! This "can't we all just get along" crap, doesn't work! Be courteous, be polite, be respectful, but never be taken advantage of or bullied ( even by the government!).
Adults wouldn't put up with this kind of harassment on a daily basis at work ! What would you do if people constantly came up to your desk at work and knocked everything on top of it in the floor, or hit you on the back of your head every time they passed your desk, or cornered you every time you went to the restroom ?You would expect your company to do something about it and not your parents or police . Why do people seem to think this is some sort of right of passage in growing up ? Unless you've been on the receiving end , you have absolutely no idea.
When my grand kids visit..I ask them how is school. They say its ok.. but the kid who sits next to me has big ears like you say about Obama grandpa. Point is they notice things different and don't understand there are plenty of different people in the world .
natural selection
1. The schools are educators, not police. If the parents went to the police, and they said no crime was committed, then you can't expect the School to treat the "Wolf" pack as criminals.
2. The kid was removed from the school long before he committed suicide.
Which leads to the important:
3. Bullying has always existed and will always exist. It occurs in all the primates. The phrase "pecking order" means just that. So it is up to the individual who is getting picked on to learn to deal with it.
None of the "wolf pack" laid a finger on this kid. He killed himself. He wasn't "taken", he wasn't "killed" - he committed suicide.
We tried the wussification of America - it didn't work. We can't win a war anymore and we kill ourselves when we get picked on.
It's time for straight talk with the kids. None of this "everyone is a winner" crud. Life is hard, then you die. And there is plenty more room in the cemetary. You get a tiny speck of time on this Earth - and to throw it away because of what other people think is just stupid.
In short, we need tougher people with thicker skins. All this PC mentality is just like keeping kids in a bubble. When they get out of the bubble, they can't handle it.
There were people in concentration camps and Chinese prisons being starved and tortured. They were tough enough not to commit suicide in the face of those unimaginable conditions.
To now have people killing themselves simply because a few people didn't "like" them is proof that the problem isn't with the bullies (though if they break a law or rule, I'm all good with maximum punishment) - but with the person that can't handle something that has existed longer than humans.
Mike277... I think you're living in the past. 55 years ago things were a lot different than they are today as far as bullying goes. Back then kids didn't have the technology they do today to actually bully somebody with an audience of millions. The internet can be a way to ruin someone's life if you're so inclined or as vicious as a middle-schooler. I live in Massachusetts and there was a case here not too long ago were 9 high school kids were brought up on charges of cyber-bullying. Google "Phoebe Prince" and tell me that this is just like it was 55 years ago. Time to join the 21st century, my friend.
Yeah AA I do blame the teachers and the schools and the superintendents for this type of behavior.
Why have everyone sign a 'non-bullying' sheet pf paper at the beginning of the year thinking 'oh they signed the paper...no issues here'. They are responsible for the safety and security as well as teaching for the 8 hrs or so the students are in their care. Turning a blind eye to the bullying will not make it go away. Where were these teachers are school administrators when this bullying was going on, having a grand old time in the staff lounge oblivious to what was going on all around them. They are to blame for not doing anything sooner.
"Molina’s parents made more than a dozen complaints about their son being bullied – either verbally or in writing, according to Hilliard’s law firm."
A dozen times and still nothing was done. yeah I would say it is their fault and they are entirely responsible for this outcome and for the welfare of the students entrusted to them on a daily basis....at the least all the teachers and school admin involved who did nothing should be fired and lose their teacher credentials...who needs people like this teaching our kids.!
"How many times do we have to hear about this....it's like a weekly occurrence."
The left wing media hunts this stuff down, it fits their ongoing narrative of victimhood.
I am a High School teacher, and each of the last 3 years the only thing students get passionate about is homosexual bullying (a full day of silence). I mean, my God; there are children their same age being ripped from there homes and put into cultic bloodthirsty African armies. Others around the world are starving, slaughtered, or treated as lower than dogs (some Arab cultures), and our kids greatest passion is "bullying", and our media promotes it; pathetic!!
If authoroties won't stop bullying then you do what's right.
Yeah! bully me and I make sure you get my rifle's respect.
@Tod
Trust me I am anything but a bleeding-heart liberal....but all this bulling crap is bull@!$%#. If the schools aren't going to do anything about it then we will either have 2 things happen....more kids will kill themselves or the ones being picked on will take matters into their own hands....and most of the time when they do this the people they most want to hurt escape unscathed.
All I'm saying is if this is going to continue, let the kids solve it themselves....however that may transpire or just ignore it and let things continue as the are.
@Just being me.....
Well said, succinct and to the point!
Like alot of posters here my Son was bullyied in 7th grade .He got kicked out of school 2x before he told me about the bullying . I told him the next time someone lays a hand on him to beat the tar out of that person. He was never to swing first but once someone touched him all bets were off . 2 weeks later he was kicked out for the last time . The teacher said that he understood that i told him to fight and even thou he agreed my son was out for a week . We had fun that week and he was never picked on again.
Tod-2791955 Well, "professor", if it occurs weekly, just like people killing their families, or kids being kidnapped/molested/murdered by adults, is not that "the left wing media hunts this stuff down, it fits their ongoing narrative of victimhood." It is in fact, real, it happens way too often and yes, those are real victims.
Tod, it scares me you claim a teacher. I wouldn't want my kids taught by you. From your post, it's clear you tolerate and accept bullying, possibly promote it? Not to mention you can't use proper grammar as a High School teacher. "There homes?" I'm calling into question your teaching abilities. I'd crack a joke that you're a physical education teacher, but I know at least several physical education teachers who have a good grasp of English grammar. My own children who are grade school know better grammar, and they live in the age of texting! Go fig!
For the record:
"children the same age."
"ripped from their homes."
You make me sad, Tod the teacher.
A parents responsibility to their kids extends to the school as well. Parents need to be involved in their schools. They need to make sure that the teachers are the right ones for their kids. There are genuinely tons of ways to keep in touch. Document everything, talk to the kids daily, talk to the teachers. But the teachers also have a responsibility to get just as involved. When kids are at school, yes, it IS the teachers responsibility to ensure their safety. They are there to be educated and the school is placed in a position of trust by the parents that the school can care for and attend to any and a child's needs and issues. It's a 50/50 partnership. WE put these kids into school because it's required by law. We have to trust that they're in a safe environment. If a teacher or a school fails at that, refuse to acknowledge it or even blatantly ignore it, then yes, they need media scrutiny.
I raised my first 2 sons as good students, respectful. When the oldest had his taste of bullying in Jr. High, he already knew how to fight. I taught him how to stand up for himself. It wasn't easy, cause I didn't know how his dad might have done it, but it worked. When the kid popped him in the ears again, on the last day of school, my son took him out. They both got suspended, but no one did that again.
It's like Pamela said way up there in this blog, children are required by law to go to school and be taught. Therefore the responsibility lies with the school to do whatever it can to make that teaching work. If it requires them to have security on site, or police (as we have a police officer on the campus up the street from where I live now), then be it. If that's what it takes. It also takes talking to your kids, asking them about the days activities, etc. Not necessarily badgering them over bullies on the campus, but just conversational. You find out many things that way.
If the school doesn't want to handle the situation or denies that it's going on (the bullying), then let them know you're willing to file charges. And don't back down!
Those "wolf pack" kids should be the ones brought up on charges. Their parents should be made to pay for their children's behavior also.
And I also agree with one comment up there, stating that these bullies should have their names posted in the newspapers around town, just like they used to do when someone was arrested for DUI. I can remember when they used to list the DUI's in our local newspaper. However, over the years that was discontinued, but I'm sure there were a lot of people who's friends got outed for public drunkenness or driving under the influence. I'm sure those people took second looks at their friends who were arrested.
These "bullies" should be identified to the public. And their parents should also be listed by name also. See what happens when the public knows your a problem family.
I agree with interested observer. My initial thoughts were the same, that when whites were being bullied, it was taken care of right away.
And where in the story did you read this? It never even used the turn "whites" so please help me understand how you determined that?
tod, nice to know you're a high school teacher and you think all this fuss about bullying is over-rated and unnecessary...
perhaps you should talk to the son of anubis...
Rojelio:
Tod-2791955 Well, "professor", if it occurs weekly, just like people killing their families, or kids being kidnapped/molested/murdered by adults, is not that "the left wing media hunts this stuff down, it fits their ongoing narrative of victimhood." It is in fact, real, it happens way too often and yes, those are real victims.
Do your homework rojelio, all of the awful things you just mentioned happened more frequently in the past than they do now. That's a fact. We just have 24/7 media assaulting us with it now.
Caer,
I'm sure lots of irrelevant things make you "sad". Get over it and yourself. Try coherently argueing against the content of what I posted, and maybe I'll take your emotional tirade seriously!!
To those who say that parents should be the ones to manage things like this, I have this:
It only works if the parents give a damn. If they don't, and chances, logic, and fact point squarely that they don't, then pinning the parents does nothing.
The school should have done something and listen to these complaints. Guess it is all fun and games till somebody an heroes themselves?
@Ryan-in-Texas: I don't know what crack you are smoking, but you need to stop because it could kill the rest of your brain cells. Bullying is unacceptable no matter what wing you hail from. Beat your
NaziRight Conservative wing stuff all you like but had the school took action, the law investigate, or anything other than just sit around and do squat: Maybe this would not have happened.Arguing. For gods sake learn how to spell and read. It's not that hard.
Is that not what parenting is for? To teach the children that someone may not always have the same kind of ears that they have . . . nor the same kind of hair and skin . . . In fact, was that not a lesson from the last century . . .???
@CaerRaven
Especially since there's a spell-check button supplied!
Racists in Texas. Gee, there's a @!$%#ing shocker...
Some people think that bullying isn't a big thing. That oh it is not as bad as bad as other things around the world. Either you were lightly bullied or you were never bullied as a child. Having had oreo wrappers stuffed in my locker, being spit on, being pushed down stairs, facing fights which weren't even close to one on one but more like five or six on one. Have glass bottles thrown out of car windows as I was walking home. I don't think you know what you are talking about. The only thing worst than the bullying is that you have to go back to it everyday. You think having stress so high that organs start to fail is nothing to blink at or it makes you stronger? I mean I had a friend who was waiting for the public bus to go home when out came five other kids with bats they beat the crap out of him. He lost is ability to speak clearly, and hear. The next day in school one of those kids told me I was next. I have faced many things in my life but that day was the day that I left school early and told my mother I would never step in that school ever again. Not for anything.
My mother supported me but she was at work. I am sorry it is the school's responsibility to provide a safe place for learning. You force kids to go to school then you better make it an enviroment that they can safely learn in. You have never had the problem of four people holding you down as one person slowly squeeze the life out of you. The struggle for air, the dimming of light, the distortion of sound, and the displacement of time that goes with it. I fought back and sometimes I won but many times I didn't. Until you had that type of bullying don't tell me about how non-issue this is compared to other things around the world. Because you look arogant and dumb in the eyes of someone who has gone through real bullying. That attitude is why kids go out and shoot up schools or kill themselves.
I am an adult now and I am a teacher now. Bullying is something that I come down hard on and so should any teacher, parent, or school administrators. However, I know from experience that bullying moves off campus and that is hard to control.
I find it "interesting" that when the victim of bullying stands up for themselves, they are the ones who get in trouble, not the bully.
Like @Just Being Me and Son-of-Anubis have indicated, I think the bullies need some lead in their heads.
Bullying mandatry 1 year in juvenile or jail
I disagree with Billy and with those who agree with him.
Whether you like it or not, any person or place who has children under their care is responsible for what happens to them while they are in their care. So if bullying is happening on school grounds, then, yes, the school is responsible for doing everything in their power to address the issue. At the very least, this means contacting the parents of all parties involved and letting them know what is going on.
Saying "a teacher's job is to teach sounds all nice and tidy," but if a child isn't learning because they are being bullied right in front of that faculty member, then they aren't exactly doing their job as a teacher. Its ok to ask a student to stay after class to help them raise their test scores, but they don't need to make the same effort in what ends up being a life threatening issue which also lowers their test scores? Think about it.
Address bullying in an effective manner as a parent. Become an "A-hole" to the school staff if need be to help your kid. Teach your kid to protect themselves with brass knuckles or something but don't create another Columbine! And learn to "use the system" against itself but above all, be VERY VERY DETERMINED BUT POLITE when working with academia accepting nothing less than everyone's plan to create a safe environment for your kids.
GET IN THE MIX!
I have news for you, it's been going on since the beginning of civilization. It's just the hot "PC" topic right now.
Parents and students sign the Anti-Bully policy. Bullying that occurs in front of Coaches or Teachers should be dealt with immediately and swiftly by the RESPONSIBLE ADULT present. No excuse.
Parents do need to teach their children how to deal with Bullies. My son was on the football team in HS and got very little play time. He decided the following year to become a cheerleader. He had a class with the QB and other football team members. They were calling him names...use your imagination. Anyway, he came to us to sign a paper to allow him to change that class. When his Dad asked him why...we learned of the harassment he was going through. His Dad said, "I'll sign this for you...but I'd like you to think about something first. When the QB is getting ready to have the ball hiked...where are his hands? Tell him to take a look at where your hands are during the game." The following day, the QB and teammates began the onslaught and my son repeated what his dad said. The QB sputtered and the teammates broke out in laughter. He stayed in that class AND other males joined the cheerleading squad.
Open communication and teaching them different ways to difuse bullies will help them their entire life. They must hear it from you, the parent, that you will stand with them 100%. Their feelings of self worth starts at home.
Oops, I should have said "emotional" and irrelevant "tirade". We science teachers don't get to caught up in the weaker disciplines. But please do continue to judge my entire character based on my carefree spelling and grammar. Unless of course you actually do have an argument.
Our children need role models who behave as good parents want their children to behave. Adults who get attention through positive behaviours are respectful, empathetic, honest, generous, hard working and reliable. I know many such adults exist so my question is this, how can we get the media to pay attention to them?
Also studies have shown that only a small fraction of what children are learning in school today will be applicable by the time they reach the workforce so why not teach them life skills that they can use. Our jails are full of people that were wish they had learned other ways to deal with their peers, their anger and would be much better off had they been taught the value of self control. (they are all other people's children too but the cost of not educating them to be better behaved is costing every tax payer more and more each year).
one of my children has a disability and the teasing was relentless cruel and vicious at times. talk to your children. talk to their friends and teachers and coaches. and I am a very firm believer in the rules of god...do unto others---bullying is not in god's plan for any of his children! please support this!
I am going to guess that the majority of children in this school are "Christians", including the "bullies," which says a lot about the religious upbringing America has in general and it's NOT working. I bet most of these kids were forced to go to church and their families are "active" in the church. Please, stop the hypocrisy now...
That's great sermon Shartopussie. Truly down to the point of this entire conversation. Were you by chance "loved" by a pastor when you were young?
I grew up going to church and yes I call myself a Christian but my brother and I were taught to respect others and be kind. It would have never occurred to us to bully or make fun of someone, especially someone different or with a disability. I get really sick of hearing how all "Christians" are so horrible. Kids or adults that act in savage and ugly ways are not Christians! A true Christian is a follower of Christ and He was a peacemaker. This child in the story was obviously being abused by his peers. Bullying is a very real problem now in all faiths, walks of life, races, it reaches far and wide. I know for a fact it goes on at our local school here and that a lot of teachers miss it. Teachers do need to be able to recognize the signs.
'
Even a child with a disability? So where are all of those know-it-all posters today who state that bullying teaches the kids to stand up for themselves? WHERE ARE YOU?:
The vast majority of these bullying situations involve kids who are gay or who are simply perceived to be gay. The constant condemnation of homosexuality that teenagers hear being spewed forth from church leaders and often from their parents as well gives these bullies the motivation and "cover" to attack what they have been taught to hate.
What the heck are you talking about Mikey? You better have a statistic to back up that assertion, because it sounds utterly bogus to me. None of the kids I knew who got bullied when I was in school were gay then, perceived as gay, or ever turned out to be gay.
In fact, the one kid I did know who WAS gay (and who WAS bullied) was only bullied for about 3 days before he decked the Varsity quarterback who was hassling him with a single uppercut, and knocked him out cold.
Karen King, we all hear that same speech but, when it comes down to it, it's almost always the families of these "good Christian families" that these bullies come from. It never fails. And these "good Christian families" always have an excuse. Let's be real......these Evangelical churches do not teach the words of Jesus of Nazareth. They teach the Old Testament, John 3:16 and Revelations and skip the rest of the New Testament, especial all the icky parts that talk about helping the poor, loving your neighbor, not being materialistic, etc. Evangelicals are only interested in the afterlife and in "being saved", because "being saved" seems to give them license to be the biggest jerks on the planet because it doesn't matter how they behaved, their sins are forgiven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as their own personal savior. That's why these bullies behave this way. They are taught early on that being a jerk is acceptable behavior and their parents let them get away with it. Add in Texas' fanatical love of high school football and these kids will never see any kind of repercussion for their crappy behavior!
Children with a disability should be in a special class for that reason until able to handle a normal class..why should normal children attending a normal class suffer/delay for any possible disruption by a student who can't handle the normal class routine.
How are disabled children a disruption? Give me a break! A kid in a wheelchair isn't going to 'disrupt' your precious angels' education and might actually teach them something about humanity that you obviously are not teaching them.
I have a child in grade 1 who is homeschooled because of his disability (bowels don't work, still in pullups). Our local public school and school board are positively relieved that I am not bringing him into them because they have publicly stated that they could not protect him from the bullies. Other parents have told me to put him in because "learning to cope with bullies is a part of school". Someone tell me where that is written in the curriculum?!?
I am so sorry that the Molina family is continuing to suffer from the actions of this "wolf pack". There will never be any words to comfort.
Mike277, That is the system, providing special education in special facilities, that was set up for decades after public education was institutionalized in the 1930's. The need (or apparent need) for budget cuts in most states have eliminated many programs for the disabled. This means that schools have added responsibilities, which they are just going to have to accept, but apparently with the trend of bullying increasing, schools are being evasive in their newer, perhaps unjust responsibilities. But schools are going to have to do something, because social programs are the #1 target above anything else for cuts.
But taking the point of view that 'they are just in the way' is not a solution, though some of the bullies are being taught so. And so, the question remains, is a disabled child supposed to learn something from these bullying situations? You have not answered, Paddleboard.
King, please look up "No True Scotsman" on wikipedia and quit with the "real christian" bs. There are real christians in state assemblies right now trying to make it legal for christian students to persecute gays and non-christians by claiming it's religious freedom.
fgh - education spending by the states has risen faster than healthcare costs. Money isn't the answer. And you'll want to check the actual figures, disabled/mentally challenged kids typically have 3 times the amount of money spent on them compared to the average student. I could say : Every kid should have the exact same amount of money spent on them - but then those special needs kids would be looking at massive cuts.
As for bullying, take it to the police if it is at the level of a crime - or deal with it.
That is exactly what every adult lives under. And we are trying to educate them so they can be adults that are productive members of society. We might as well let them understand that every bad act isn't a crime, and the police can't come rushing in to "save" people from ridicule.
Yes, that's hard and cold - but so is life. The weaker people get, the easier it is to bully them.
As for a handicapped kid, I'm sure there were plenty of kids that found the bullies to be disgusting. So the handicapped kid should really only care about those decent kids. Do you really want to live your life based on the opinions of people with low moral character?
I firmly believe that we have to toughen our kids up - and also have tough punishments for actual criminal acts. The problem lies with the bullied, as bullies have existed longer than man - every primate has bullying. Heck, I wish kids could see a farm with an animal as basic as chickens.
There you see them establish the "pecking order". I think it would be informative for the kids to see that what we often call "bullying" is really just the way we establish a heirarchy when actual physical means have been prevented by rules or laws. You can easily see how the dominant birds don't have to pick on the weakest birds. They pick on the ones who are competing with them. Then the next level establishes that with those under them.
So really, anyone picking on a handicapped kid has to be pretty low on the pecking order already.
The knowledge of this allows the lowest rung kids to opt out of the game. Granted, in nature that would mean they go off and find another area, which we cannot do since Public Education forces the kids to be in the same place, but it is an important fact the youngsters should learn.
Then they would understand why they are being bullied, and that is important in not over-reacting to it (such as committing suicide).
There are no easy answers in life. Sometimes standing up against the bully is best (legally or physically), other times ignoring it and understanding that it is THEIR moral failing works. Just understand that this is something that predates us on Earth, so expecting it to go away because we pass a law is unrealistic. Murder is illegal and in Texas punished to the maximum extent - but it still happens.
Mikey could you please cite your source.....I have three kids...all three have had their share of tormentors...The kids that tell my daughter she is just too white...or have tried to extort money from her because they consider her a "rich kid" then there was her stalker who stole her purse and took a picture of what appeared to be his very tiny penis and forward it on from her stolen cell phone. Now with my two guys...there are any number of reasons that they are harassed.. the vast majority of their tormentors are actually Muslim there has been the odd Indian child and well the local Nigerinan kid who used to be best buddies but well his antics became a bit too dangerous for my kids to hang with...besides as it turned out he liked to steal their luches. Rarely do they have an issue with another American kid (this includes those kids that are white, African American and Hispanic as well as the second generation Indian kids.)
I can honestly say that the only time any issue has arisen that was sexual in nature, for the guys, was over this past Christmas break. One of my son's received a text from a friend of his with a sexual picture attached and a request that he respond in kind. My son said no and don't send any more and just didn't respond to the child's emails after that by the time school started both boys were picking at each other and it was getting bizzare because they had been friends. My son was very uncomfortable about this situation and tried to avid the kid. After about four weeks of both boys being in constant trouble for fighting it finally came out what had transpired. My son was trying to deal with the situation without any scope of experience and I think the other boy was going through the days terrified that my son would say something at school that would cause him harm. Fortunately, my son eventually told me what had happened, talked about his concern and confusion over the boy who was his friend. I contacted the mother of the boy and she acceopted the information reasonably. Since then they had discovered the child was being abused by his older cousin. So if you somehow wish to equate mollestation with homosexuality, which are not necessarily compatable situations, I think you are wrong to say that...
I think your assertion is rather simplistic and the arguement you are trying to make serves no purpose. Children are targeted for a vast number of reasons. Yes some would be sexual...I would venture to guess that more kids suffer humiliation about a lack of sporting ability or being perceived slower in class than are targeted for bein gay. Unfortunately, the way I see it by the time kids get to high school there are so many organizations popping up in communities that some how encourage kids to expore homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle instead of simply promoting acceptance of kids who are gay. So daughter had a friend who dared my daughter to makeout with her. Daughter said no she hadn't even made out with a boy yet, darling girl was very confused.
I can honestly say it has been my experience that my gay and lesbian friends were ever so much more jugdemental than my straight friends....but then these were adults not kids.
First off I can tell you Lynn Kaylor is lying. She and the school did know of this. 2. Maybe it's time Wolf's were in season. Most pack's of COWARDS don't like their A$$'$ kicked for several years.
This is no small matter of course and any parent should be afraid for their child. I have a child with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and this topic really worries my wife and I. I was an amateur boxer for 8 years but I cannot even rely on this to teach him as he will consistently get weaker and weaker. At four years of age he already cannot defend himself . . .
I had no disability. I was a smart girl, a pretty girl, just different. Red hair, left handed, black-brown eyes and raised in a violent family, so I kept to myself. That made me a target. As a child I dreamed of learning karate and boxing so I could 'school' the bad kids. My dreams kept me sane. When I was older I learned to go track down the kids who threatened me and offer to meet them after school. I told them I would fight them and probably loose, but I would get in some good bloody licks before I went down. They never showed up. I was so relieved! It could easily have gone the other way...
Bullying must be stopped. No more telling kids to 'get tough!' That's not the way to teach 'tough'. These bullies need to be stopped right off; it must feel like 'a punch to the gut' (metaphor) the first time they get caught, so they will be more likely to turn their behavior around.
God bless Teddy's family. I've lost a child. Nothing can fill that void. They will need each other now, more than ever.
Expell those who bully and make that part of the school's plan of action and be sure ALL students are aware of the consequences. If this is a "gang thing" off premises, then the police should be involved.
The whole culture of 'manhood' in this country is an attempt to hide the fact that MEN are the WEAKER sex. More male babies die early, men die earlier than women. Married men live longer but their wives shorter. As far as society is concerned, I grew up on the moon. I managed to avoid just about every rite of passage in almost total isolation from society. All this crap about standing up for yourself is preparation for the gauntlet of @!$%#s you will have to deal with. Well, maybe something should be done about them too. You are all very different in some ways and all too predictably the same in others. You claim to be civilized but love to become part of a mob as sports fans and a bevy of other ways. What is most important is to have the best bragging rights about things that are truly meaningless. You cannot risk talking about religion or politics because it is not acceptable to be an intellectual or speak your minds, if you even have one. We are getting close to the end of life as we know it because we are using the whole world as our toilet.
I suppose you think all of this has nothing to do with the suicide of this young man. Well think again, you are reacting just like lab rats dealing with overpopulation. You turn upon the weak and defenseless and chew them to pieces. There are too many other similarities to even list. Bon Voyage, the real poop is almost as deep as the bs now.
yashmak and TX mom, here's a few sources for you to consider:
http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=CA866DCF-1372-4D20-C8EB26EEB30B9982
http://www.nyaamerica.org/2010/11/07/gay-bullyin/
http://urbandojo.com/2010/06/09/how-to-prevent-bullying-part-1-bullying-statistics/
Well, everyone knows that Texas is the Anus of America...
.its even shaped like a stomach,with the intestines attached,and the anus at the southern tip..it looks like a medical diagram...the Anus empties into the Gulf of Mexico, too bad the thing doesn't swallow up all the turd blossoms who live there.
They didn't protect this kid for numerous reasons. One, he was not the right shade of skin color, two, they were the school's football team that get away with whatever. They bring in money for the school, so no way in hell were they going to toss these azzwipes outta school.
Now the school is tossing the evidence that the mother called and reported the harassment and bullying of this young kid.
F U Texas! One of the most racist states we have in America.
RIP TED MOLINA, and condolences to his family and all his friends.
Go ahead and collapse - just raising a bunch of pussies in this day and age. /endrant /begin rage
@Arieus - you know nothing - pull your lips over your head and swallow you rascist pimp.
Bullying is the American way. If you look at how this country was stolen from the Native Americans, slavery, our invasion of small countries, the way corporations, police and government bully us, the way people with guns and big trucks and big dogs bully others, it's a bully culture. The kids in these schools are doing to their peers what our military does to tiny countries. It's the big and powerful picking on the small and weaker. American is the world's #1 bully.
Who hasn't faced bullying at some point when in schools quit raising a bunch of deballed, wimpy, pansies! Quit telling everyone they are a winner when they lose, tell them they lost but try harder and next time they maybe the team that wins. Quit NOT keeping score so everyone feels they win, that does not set an environment for kids to try there best and earn to excel at anything. REMIND THEM words, matter not. And start teaching them to stand up for themselves. We are breeding a generation of children with no self-esteem and no idea how to cope with difficulties cause they are not even allowed to lose a stupid baseball game. No every child does not need to play, not every child is good enough and they should learn everyone is not able to be as good as everyone else at everything, but that there is something that they can excel in if they are allowed to actually try and fail at something.
Since this thread has turned into a religious one.....
The problem with children who call themselves Christian is that they generally aren't followers of Christ by choice, rather they have been forced to go to church their whole lives to appease their parents. When I went to school in Oklahoma, most everyone was "Christian," but they also generally still did everything that teenagers and kids tend to do: sex, drugs, running around in cliques, and occasionally bullying. The only real difference was that they'd be the first to argue about the basic conservative issues (evolution is fake, gays are bad, etc).
Long story short, I don't think the behavior of kids necessarily reflects a religious belief, unless an intolerance based on their religious belief is the reason for the bullying. I think you really only see that in cases of gay bashing and in the bullying of those of varying faiths. Everything else is kids doing what kids do, and adults need to be involved when they can be.
All these theories but it all boils down to this. Kids are the same everywhere. Those who are perceived to be different are usually the targets. Who are usually the worst offenders? Many types of kids but football athletes are the worst. I recall seeing football athletes act up on the practice field and attack fellow players and I sure didn't see the coach getting on them. When I was on the football team in high school there was a guy on the team, a sadistic guy in my opinion, who on purpose ran at me, elbow first, and slammed me through the opening in my helmet right on my nose. This was when I was turning to hand off the football to him. His elbow hit me with all the weight of his body behind it and my face went numb and the blood poured out of my nose like a faucet had been turned on. The coach could see that I was bleeding pretty profusely but never once came over and asked how I was or what had happened. In my opinion, teachers and coaches turn a blind eye because they're weak and don't want to get involved. Possibly the school system won't back them up. The educational system must share part of the blame for not teaching students how to behave. I suspect parents must also share part of the blame. For those who think what happened to me might've been an accident-- well this same guy and another guy from the team saw me walking on campus and started laughing like it was something funny. A postsript: 2 years later I saw him walking with his girlfriend at the mall and he saw me and half laughed and I insulted him right to his face in front of his woman and wiped that smile right off his face. Even his girlfriend was shocked. But you know what? He just walked away looking mad as hell but didn't do jack. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. You get older and you get wiser but when you're young you often need the help of adults to get certain jerks in line.
Many of these posts show a tendency to bully. They sure aren't written by adults.
I grew up in 60s and rode a bus every single day to school. We were a rural bunch. Many were kids raised on a farm, and most were lower middle class. I was a big girl. Nobody bullied me and I NEVER bullied anybody. I can only think of one girl that got harassed and as a BIG girl I stopped that. I became friends with her and the teasing stopped. It never escalated because the bus driver would not tolerate bad behavior and most kids wouldn't either. I knew most of the kids in my high school. I never believed in clicks. My life wasn't dependent on a small group liking me.
I had a friend in 6th grade that sassed back the principle. She got paddled - hard. She stopped sassing back her teachers and went on to be an A student.
I went to a big high school. There was about 1500 in the school which back then was a lot. As I said, I knew most kids and to the best of my knowledge there was no bullying. I am not saying boys didn't tease, or girls didn't write stupid stuff to each other, but as far as fearing another kids - NO WAY.
So why is bullying such a big issue today. What is missing? I would submit that kids bully when they themselves feel vulnerable. So unhappiness makes people pick on others.
The truly sad thing is that where were all these people when this child was suffering? These bullies never quit. It's a shame when innocents have to leave their schools because they feel they are not protected. The faculty surely knows who these bullies are. They should be expelled until they graduate , preferably from an alternative school. Ten bucks says some of them are big men on campus or have "connections" in the community. Such a beautiful child. What a waste of potential and of a precious human life.
When I was in school, kids got paddled for misbehaving. Then they went home with a note and got paddled again.
End of story.
@ Jack Colton
I agree entirely. Homosexuality is seen as a taboo to just about all faiths. And even in just society. It doesn't matter what their religion is. The simple fact of the mater is; a lot of high school kids are a$$ holes. When I was in school I saw kids who were being bullied bully someone else themselves. I'm not saying this is always the case. I know there are some very accepting, open minded teenagers out there. But the typical mentality of the teenager is "I'm a bad a$$, I'm invincible, and I'll prove it."
Dear Texas; if you want the posters (humans?) at Newsvine to stop making fun of Texas - then just come join the rest of us in the 21st century... we are only bullies on the Internet. You might like modern civilization.
Religion is why I chose spirituality - that trying to straddle the line between religious upbringing and the modern world, is an impossible act. When your faith doesn't come from a text, it is up to you to decide where the lines are and how to handle situations. Self reliance sounds very spiritual too me, following what a book tells you to do sounds awkward to say the least.
I'm also of Spiritual alignment, it has brought a lot of peace to my mind. I was raised christian, but eventually the number of things I couldn't go along with became too great. I can't go along with the idea of hell, or that homosexuality is bad. I can't even read the bible without become irate. There is just as much evil in the book as there is good.
Thankfully I've learned to not discount a text, just because some of it is wrong, nor to believe blindly in a book, just because it has good things to say. Say what you will, condemn me to hell on behalf of your god if you may, I don't care.
And as for bullying, as a 26 year old, my memory of HS is at least somewhat fresh. Homosexuality is itself a cause of bullying, however the terms "Gay" and "Homo" are used to describe anything that stands out, is annoying, or is not the pinnacle of masculinity.
There were many homosexuals in my school, mostly Lesbian. I hung out with them mostly. (I was secretly Transgender myself) I know one gay guy who was constantly bullied. I recall one event where he was locked into a bathroom stall, and the ones on the other side began throwing pencils, erasers, rulers and whatever else over the stall door to pelt him with.
The biggest problem is NOT our religion. It IS the fact we are a patriarchal society that venerates an obscene caricature of masculinity above all else. We've created a warped sense of what it means to be a man. It is this force that drives our Business and political leaders to the extremes they go. It's what generates our massively higher rate of crime then any other society. It's the basis of at least half the bullying in schools. It promotes a way of thinking that is narrow minded and overly simplistic.
Enter any of these toxic corporate environments, or in the tea party corner of congress, and you will think you had stepped into the mens locker room back in High school.
Why does all the blame seem to focus the responsiblity totally on the school & school staff. Children aren't born bullies. And parents why aren't you following through & helping your children through this and not just sending children to therapist. I'm not saying I knew everything going on with my children when they were teenagers, however, I worked hard at building a strong & trustful bond with all three before they reached the age of puberty. And I have never been a mother that would say, my child would never do that or they know better, instead I would reply I will investagate & get back to you. I also taught themto stand up for themselves & their siblings instead of running. Every school office & teacher knew me on site. I'm wierd, I know, my children were more important then friends, social caldendars, & self indulgences. I worked to support them not to build a self serving career because I chosed to be a parent. No saint, I was just inflluence by a great mom.
We are taught, in lots of ways, that winning is the only object of life. Cowards try to distinguish themselves as dominant, or winners, by picking on those they feel are least able or likely to fight back. This is the natural order of things in the animal kingdom too. Children act like animals if their parents don't provide the right example in the first 5 years of life. Abused people seem to always become abusers too if they can find a victim. Children are an easy mark. All too many abusers do not realize what motivates their actions or admit they are abusers. They are good parents, providing appropriate discipline. Bullies grow up physically but seldom leave behind their childhood behavior. That is why these kids need to be retrained in school. There is no other opportunity to do it. Problem is, teachers were kids once too, and have brought their baggage with them.
I wish Discovery channel, or some other educational channel, would do a piece on bullying. I mean a complete piece on the psychology and effects of bullying from both angles in order to educate our kids. The school where my two boys attend did a full educational process for the entire school and the effects were incredible.
I was bullied when I was in school (I am now 47, so it tells you how long ago that was). It wasn't because I was different, but because I was painfully shy and wouldn't stand up for myself. The kids who bullied me were insecure and wanting to be part of the "in crowd". They were trying to be tough and popular. Many people on here are saying today's kids are too soft, or trying to blame the bullying on something other than what it really is. Insecure kids trying to be cool will find the kids who they believe won't fight back and will belittle them to make themselves feel better. The kids being bullied are not the ones with the problem - even today, I am successful and have gone far in my career, but I am still very shy and avoid confrontation at all cost. It isn't easy to just stand up for yourself when you're young and unsure of yourself. I know that is hard to understand for someone who doesn't have the shyness issue. I never told my parents, only once told a teacher, and only because she overheard something that sort of put me on the spot. Teachers back then had a lot more power to punish a bad kid without worrying about parents storming down to the school to complain about how poorly their "little angel" was treated.
I really don't think it has anything to do with religion as some have implied but more on how kids are treated at home. If they are treated with respect by their parents (that doesn't mean letting them get away with stuff, or trying to convince themselves that their kid's bad behavior is just a phase). That means punishment when it is due, saying please and thank you, never calling your kids names (stupid, idiot, etc), and treating them like you'd want and expect to be treated. If you raise your kid respectfully, you will have a good kid that won't bully, will probably have compassion for others, and probably won't be bullied himself.
MikeyMike...
I appreciate the links...although the stats didn't coincide between the first and second article. I am not attempting to diminish bullying for GBLT kids at all. I just get frustrated when all bullying turns into a GBLT focused discussion. Bullies, particularly when they run in "packs", will choose several victims and the victimology is generally based on a perception of weakness or vulnerability. Unfortunately, middle school and high school are tantamount to a fish bowl filled with piranha's. The more we encourage our schools to be a home away from home or a social center rather than a respected place of learning the more we will see kids suffer. I am not saying that our schools have intentionally created this situation but when we have gone to such lengths to make schools an extension of home where they become daycare, family kitchen and before and after school programs we have created a community that is not necessarily safe or health for kids who are forced to mingle instead of finding a natural sub-community of people who care. Schools need to get back to their primary purpose of providing an education first and foremost and shed the need to be a home away from home. Or restructure their social aspect so that sub communities can support each other without the heard mentality.
Unfortunately, our schools have become one big daycare and the kids that suffer at the hands of bullies need support from the schools and a way to find safe peer support. The victims need to know what consequences fall on their tormentors, there is a whole can't discuss the punishments for the bully because of privacy rights. What I find absurd is that when having a meeting with administrators the name of the tormentor isn't even used. Parents of a bullied child are not privy to the outcome because of the bullies rights. It is just absurd to me that the bullies have rights that supperceed the victims need to feel safe and protected.
So with regard to GBLT kids and growth to adulthood...they do have an added set of needs to be met from those trusted adults who are charged with supporting them. much of their frailty intersects with straight kids learning to integrate their sexuality as part of their whole being. Like any kid discovering sexuality goes far beyond just a physical action. Where all kids in MS or HS are learning about themselves, their sexuality, their attractions GBLT kids must learn to integrate a different set of stresses in addition to sorting how their sexuality is a part of their whole being. So to council them in the same way as straight kids seems to minimize their discovery of self. All kids need sound support in growing and safety in that discovery is key to a healthy self-image to become a balanced adult. In cases where parents and family cannot bring themselves to accept the reality of sexuality in their own GBLT kids, these kids a dynamic of hiding a part of themselves and are forced to suffer this growth along and at times in silence because if those who are closest to them cannot accept them then the world will become a very cruel place and school will be tantamount to the 7th circle of hell for them. This is where community does need to step in and more than fill a void because of the betrail at home. By community I mean the whole sane community both adult GBLT and adult straight. GBLT kids who have parents who embrace them for who they are will have a much easier time through those early years of understanding their whole being. They will grow to be stronger and can help support their contemporaries who may suffer holes in their safety net.
Typically, I am not a fan of peer driven support on the whole but I do see a need fo GBLT kids to support each other and not isolate themselves because alone they are a greater target. From a Christian standpoint, I am very disappointed that more Churches do not have youth groups that specifically meet the needs of GBLT kids when they will easily open their arms to other issues that face children in contemporary times. I get very disappointed when I read about schools that resist organizations for kids that are GBLT and straight...again this community can offer a safety net in school against bullying. When kids are not isolated they can draw from the strength of the group because they can see themselves as an accepted part of a bigger community and learn to sort their sexuality from a safe and healthy perspective. In short they can take a breath and know they have a valued place in the greater community. I get upset with the GBLT organizations that will yell and scream and bereate but where are they in supporting the individual needs of council with the GBLT kids. Where are the GBLT adults who should be volunteering with the kids as an examples of growth into healthy and well adjusted adulthood. Good lord you hear of one on one advocate programs for many adoloscent needs but where are the one on one adult advocate for GBLT kids. If you rely on media for what is normal then we are going to have a really messed up generation of kids. They need to see adults who successfully integrate their sexuality with every other part of their being. They need to see successful partners living a mainstream life, who share with a partner, who raise children, who are productive members of their community. They need to know that life doesn't have the be the freak show of flamboyance that meadia focuses on.
The commonality of straight and GBLT kids....all children need a safe and supportive environment to come to their whole person without ridicule or assault. All children need adults in their lives that will accept them and support them to be a whole person and a sexual being before the actual adult behavior of sexual encounters begin. GBLT and Straight is more than just sex it is where people find comfort and safety with another. We seem to do a very poor job of raising this generation of children to feel valued for who they are and what they can accomplish as adults....not just straight not just gay but adults.
Kayner, truth319, you're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Thanks for your thoughtful response TXmom.
If you had read the article, you would have seen that the parents tried to protect their child.
Too bad the bullies didn't call themselves the Marauders and claim they were Gryffindors--it would have been all right then. If a school can't stop assaults happening inside its jurisdiction, then they need to have cops on patrol in there. No one should die because they go to a public school. Assaults are a criminal act, and allowing them to continue even after knowing about them is being an accessory after the fact.
It sounds like the administration is just covering things up. As usual.
If a school has a group known as "the wolfpack," and everyone knows who the wolfpack is and what it's about, then the school knows it has a pack of bullies run around. They can't keep denying this. Our schools have the same problems, and administration has always denied the problems.
Hey administrators--wake up. This isn't the first child who has harmed himself because of bullies. It won't be the last until YOU make it end. If you talk the talk, you'd better starting walking the walk. We've butted heads with you here, so you'd better buy a helmet. My head is harder than yours when it comes to my kids. This is a global problem, and naysaying its existence is nothing but BS. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it.
You know how to stop it, and it's time you got started. Having parents pull the innocent kids out of the school isn't the answer--and that's what is happening. Wake up, it's already too late for a great number of bullied children. We don't want anymore dead children because you are too cowardly, ignorant or self-absorbed to handle the problems.
The only way to fix a problem is to admit there is one. Next you teach the students. 3rd you give the students a safe place to talk about what's happen at school. 4th you keep your eyes and ears open.
Obvious, the school administration doesn't have a clue whats happen unless it reading, writing and ect.
Abuse of any kind is leans to a student looking for a way out.
VETNU -
Fourth, you have an all school assembly. You line up the wolf pack in front of the entire student body, restrain them, humiliate them, and horse whip them until they beg for mercy.
Oh yeah, and be sure to invite their parents as well.
It's time for accountability and example, not whiny, touchy-feely false compassion and victimhood.
It's time for justice.
mandatory 1 year in juvenile or jail for bullying
randy THAT HAS to be the 2nd dumbest comment i have read so far! Arieus has the first.
PeteMt I like the way you think.
JoeCal -
Thanks. I do too, but I also don't.
I was on the receiving end for the first 18 years of my life, and in my opinion, people who post about dealing with bullies are not qualified to do so unless they themselves were bullied growing up and can understand the situation and the mindset of a bully. What they respond to. What they respect.
It's too bad, really, that it's gone as far as it has, but children today don't value human life, human rights, their parents, or the rules of society. It's a reflection of our distracted consumer culture, selfish, indifferent, valueless, just like the parents that are raising them.
Of equal concern - why when one child is being beaten to the others nearby not step in and stop it? My 'friends' growing up never intervened once, not once. They just stood by afraid.
Again, bullies are sociopaths and must be dealt with using methods they understand and respect: humiliation, powerlessness, and violence.
Yeah.
Until they stop.
peteMT, so true. You have to experience something to understand how it feels. I was also bullied and those times were never forgotten.
Our schools are not doing enough and should be held accountable! We entrust our children for more than 1/2 of the day and the most important learning years of their lives to school systems. Although teaching children how to be PROPER adults starts in the home, schools need to stick to a strict anti-bullying principle. If children are out bullying other children, PARENTS are failing their duty and only ENABLING this behavior by NOT addressing it!
And yet we give teachers low pay, demonize them if they want better working conditions, and cut their budget so badly they have to buy their own school supplies. Texas cut millions from its education budget instead of eliminating tax breaks for corporations. If you want the schools to do more against bullying, then give them the means to fight it. When they have that and are still not doing enough, only then complain that they're not doing their jobs.
Alverant Why should we be raising schol budgets?? As a country we are falling farther and farther behind the rest of the world in the basics of education. Maybe instead of raising school budgets we should worry less about building nice new schools. Giving kids laptops to take home, and teaching everything BUt the basics to our students! I am soooo tired of having to actually tell a cashier what the correct change should be because they typed in the wrong number on the register and cant do simple math.We should go back to teaching 5 subjects, reading, math, science, english and history, ACTUAL HISTORY NOT THE REWITE version. when teachers and students can pass these subjects THEN we can think about adding in EXTRA classes
As long as you bleeding hearts refuse to allow schools to discipline kids they cant prevent much of anything. And now it would be about impossible to actually discipline kids in school. Do you really think suspension is a punishment for kids who act up in school, no it is not. They now dont have to go to the school where they did not want to be in the first place, parent or parents are at work and so they can do whatever they want. Why should school budgets be raised???
Blu..
Don't blame teacher for decisions of school boards and state politicians. Teachers don't decide what is to be taught. They teach what they are told and, in many cases, they teach how they are told.
Most teachers would prefer to teach the basics until students are proficient, but between parents not wanting to scar their children by having them retained and teachers being required to dumb down requirements so the local schools can score high on their report card, teachers don't stand a chance.
Please don't blame the foot soldiers for the decisions made by the high command.
AS an older American who was lucky enough to grow up in America when America was a Conservative country and liberals and Progressives were a joke it saddens me to read about this. This is the result of liberal influences in child rearing and nothing more. Had I bullied anyone as a child, my folks would have beaten the living daylights out of me, but today parents cannot do anything as some lefty social worker will get involved and the parents end up in court. Thanks Progressives.
bingo.
You are out of touch. Racism and bullying tend to occur with people who are less accepting of others. Yes, that means conservatives. Ofcourse, you want to blame society as thats your easy answer.
Jeff, try going back to school and actually learn something. Nice picture Marla I see you were a victim too.
What a load of BS. People who are obsessed with partisanship really need to seek professional help.
Your welcome for that progressive socialist security and medicare you get....and no, you didn't earn it,..
I'll bet it would surprise you to know that most bullies come from white , 'conservative' households...but think what you want about the other 3/4 of the country
Jeff and Marla, you are full of ****. Parents like yours that thought it was OK to inflict physical and emotional pain on their children is why kids today think it is OK to do the same to their classmates. I'm an older American too, and parents beat the hell out of their kids when I was in school, as did teachers back then, and bullying was alive and well during my school years. I know. I suffered it for all twelve years I was in school.
Liberals teach respect, love, and tolerance - which is what kids need for each other. Your party teaches bigotry, racism, and intolerance for anyone who isn't just like you. You are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.
Sorry -- but the conservatives are so busy preaching hate and intolerance right now, that it is inevitable that their children would be exposed to this and act out their own intolerance at school. Liberals teach their children to respect other races, religion, gender, sexuality..... so, if you are looking to blame someone, look in your own backyard....and stop preaching INTOLERANCE and HATE to our kids. Thanks, Conservatives.
Jeff that is a load of cow manure and you damned well know it. I grew up in the 60's and bullying was just as bad especially in small schools. I had to endure it every day and no matter how much my parents complained the school did absolutely nothing. So your assertion is bull pucky and probably coming from someone who was a bully themselves. Some of the WORST bullying comes from conservative and religious households because religious conservatives preach and think they are better than everyone else.
Exactly correct Jeff. I honestly could care less about republican'ts and democraps because they are both equally worthless, but I agree that if your kid has a problem, YOU PARENTS need to take charge of protecting your family and go contact the family of the bullies as a first step. Most of these kids are punks with silver spoons and if their parents knew about it, many of them would do something. The problem is that so many parents these days are pussies themsleves and want someone else to do their job.
Pull up your panties, man up, and go protect your family parents!
I quite honestly don't think I've seen a more bilge filled post in my life.
Your post is ridiculously lacking not only in facts but in any understanding of the issues.
Jeff1570172 ~~ I think you are waaaaaaaay wrong. Parents are so busy these days trying to make a living, that they do not, or cannot take the time needed to spend with their children. The schools have our children for the better part of the day, and practically raise them. Sad but true. We live in such a fast paced world, a world of instant gratification, instant information, and most parents/people now days are very self absorbed, even if they are NOT liberals.
The sad truth is, that a lot of what used to be disguised as 'dicipline' was actually abuse. Parents do not automatically have the tools by which to problem solve when it comes to their children. THE SCHOOL needs to take a very serious and active roll in the bullying epidemic that is happening everywhere. The consequences of bullying need to be dealt with swiftly, and severely. Kids have always had a knack for being cruel, and I think it's time to give them some EARLY TRAINING in compassion, kindness and patience.
To torture a kid relentlessly with bullying shows me that there is something VERY wrong with the bully. As soon as bullying is discovered, the bully should be reported to school officials IMMEDIATELY. The bullies parents should be informed IMMEDIATELY, as well as the victim's parent(s). And a meeting with school officials and the parent(s) of the bully should be set up IMMEDIATELY. ANYONE who continues this behavior is a threat to the future of ALL STUDENTS. Most schools have a NO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to certain things, and bullying should be included in that policy.
A very terrible thing has happened here, and lives have been altered forever. The bullies as well as their families will be effected forever. The parents of the victim of bullying who committed suicide will grieve until the day they die. The bullies continue on with life, and the victim no longer has life. SAD.
Jeff were your parents brother and sister? Truly an inbred genetically deficient comment. I grew up in the "conservative" 50s and 60s and bullying was rampant then and like now nothing was done to prevent it. Your equating everything to political position is no different than Al Sharpton relating everything to race. What a cretin
So Reni, what you are saying is that having a life is more important than life itself for today's parents? This is the parents job to always put their kids first. I would leave work or not go to work IN A SECOND if I thought that my kid needed me in a situation like this. I don't agree with your excuse that it all falls on the schools because "today's parents are too busy".
I do agree with you that there should be a no tolerance policy but then you will still have these parents that want to blame the school because their kid go into a fight after school on the way home. All said and done, today's parents (generally speaking) are giving themselves excuses on why the problems in their life aren't their issues to deal with.
Typical liberal attitudes. This is the pot calling the kettle black, the worst hypocrisy. Amazing how the liberal gurus of tolerance are tolerant of everything that agrees with them, and totally intolerant of anything else. While claiming to be tolerant of all religions, they hate Christianity and attack it incessantly. They accuse conservatives of being bigots, racists, and intolerant, but look at how bigoted and intolerantly they talk about us. Who are the truly intolerant? Liberals!
And Jeff was right - "today parents cannot do anything as some lefty social worker will get involved and the parents end up in court." I found this out firsthand. You even threaten to punish your kid, you haven't even administered punishment yet, and the kid claims "child abuse", and some liberal social worker comes along and punishes you, while the kid goes unpunished. So don't blame the parents, government has seen to it that parents cannot parent anymore. Yet government will not take responsibility for the behavior of the children. The kids get in trouble in school or with the law, and the only thing they are interested in is, are there grounds to punish dad? And of course, can we attach his wages to pay for our social welfare programs?
Jeff, you moron, stop turning this into a political rant. This country has had "conservatives" and "liberals/progressives" since its birth. I guess you didn't know that most bullies are bullies because they are "disciplined" at home "conservative style."
Tobasco, why should "liberals" tolerate the intolerant? You wing nuts blame every ill on this country on "liberals," but when we start fighting back, you cry like a baby about us not being tolerant. Well take your tolerance and stick it where the sun don't shine.
So Ed ... pissed you can't beat your kids anymore cause the evil social worker might take the and then you loose your food stamps?
Things were different in the 60's when I graduated. Some were bullied..yes. Some fought back, I was tought to fight back if I HAD to and win by any means. That will stop the bullies ...guaranteed. Some of liberal puZzies need to be re-educated with a 2x4. Liberalism has ruined the school systems with it's poltical correctness.
I finished college and yes I am a redneck so what..if you dislike Texas...leave we don't need you liberal azzwipes.
justredd, you are another ignorant @!$%#, blaming all your shortcomings on "liberals."
Please don't feed the trolls
I love the tolerant liberals here who denounce bullying....who then pick on somebody's picture. LOL You guys crack me up.
raddave, you are suspended for a week for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor (more than once).
I am so sick of hearing of these tragedys. Parents and schools arent be held accoutable for the actions, along with the children of course. I know of a friend's child who is being bullied. He is an extremely intelligent kid and never had problems with friends untill they moved. Kids held him down in the class and drew all over him with the TEACHER THERE and she did nothing to stop it! They did the same thing at recess but smeared food all over him. Why arent there any displinary actions being taken against the school, parents, and the children?!?! It is a lack of responisbilty and our children are suffering because of it.
My son was Jewish in a Texas school...........needless to say I had to go to the school every year to ask the admins to stop the kids from harassing my child.
The combo of Jesus freaks, Republicans and idiots makes this state a stand out
Well, I see Jeff got collapsed before I could share my experience.
The community in which I grew up is uber conservative. Only 1 political party is recognized. It managed to stay segregated until relatively recently.
Some of the meanest, nastiest behavior I have ever encountered happened there.
You guys may want to collapse this true story but here goes:
There was a girl my age who had a severe cognitive impairment. Needless to say, she was not capable of self-protection nor appropriate social interaction. I never have understood why her parents insisted on keeping her in public school when they had the means for her to be in a more sheltered environment.
During our senior year, she was repeatedly gang-raped by the jocks, the sons of all those ultra-conservatives. What they were doing was revealed when they had an out-break of venereal disease. They were not subject to any consequences.
Human evil is not a conservative v progressive issue.
Because the teacher only wanted to collect their paycheck.That also happened to me I was pushed into the side of a moving scholl bus while the teacher stood on the sidewalk smoking a butt watching it all.I quit school and got my GED,saw those same kids yrs. ago and they are welare bums just goes to show you..
It's Texas. The bullies were athletes. That's all you need to know as to why the school didn't enforce their bullying policy.
Sorry about that jw101. Prejudice is everywhere here blond is extremely rare. All during my daughters childhood people would walk up to her in public and pet her like a dog. It took everthing I had to keep from punching people out in public. The dumb blond jokes got to her and as soon as she could she started dying her hair dark red and trying to be Hispanic. I wish that I could say things are getting better but I don't think so.
Lone that's not bullying. That's just cruel what they were doing to your daughter. You have more self restraint then me because I would have kicked their a**es up 4 streets and down the next 8. It's just stupid on what most Americans are like anymore. I think that's why I always travel to japan. Nice stress reliever and Katlynn loves playing right next to the cherry blossoms when they're in bloom.
We have a lot to learn from the Japanese. Whatever happened to compassion, kindness and respect for another human being? I blame the parents and coaches for the behavior of these jocks. If they were good role models and taught their kids right vs. wrong, this tragedy could have been avoided.
Thats the problem with religious conservatives. Whatever good they have in the form of attempting to live a good life....tends to be erased on those they disagree with. The "they aren't like me" mentality.
My son is special needs with aspergers. He has been and is still bullied. similar stories, other students holding him down, kicking him, spitting on him. He is super smart, tall and thin, not too tough though. hes tried to stick up for himself, but it just continues. He just turned 13 and is now being treated for serious clinical depression. Having a disability, being different, and the bullying has contributed directly to his depressive state. I am very involved and active with him and his care. At times, taking matters into my own hands, although I admit not right by me in some aspects. As a mom, I do what I need to do in order to protect my child. I am saddened by the loss of life over and over again. And I will fight until my last breath to make damn sure my son doesnt end up that way. peace.....
My grandson also has Asperger's Syndrome.There the similarity ends. He is 14, 5'10" and weighs 228 pounds, it is no secret why he is not bullied. Bullies are cowards regardless of athletic prowess. I have taught my boy that it is right to stand up for the weak and innocent. If they bully my boy, well, I guess I'll have to go get him. But I got the time and will leave them a memory of my visit.
@jjs189
Yea just one peice of advise if you ever visit japan AVOID hong-kong like a worst cold you've ever had.
From late grade school(5th-6th grade) through my 7th grade year I had to deal with a bully who messed with me on the bus everyday on the way to and from school. I ignored it as best as I could but it got really old dealing with it each and every day. Up until 8th grade I was one of the smallest kids in my class which is why he probably targeted me. Towards the end of my 7th grade year I got tired of it one day and told him I'd be getting off on his stop and it was going to be the last time he messed with me. I did and beat him down in his front yard. Apparently his dad watched it from inside his house and kicked the crap out of him himself - not for bullying mind you but for getting beat up by a little white kid. The guy never said another word or tried anything else again after that which is usually the case with bullies once they've been stood up to. In the end it was probably his home situation that caused him to do it if he was being abused by his - much larger dad - it probably seemed ok for him to pick on someone smaller himself.
Sometimes that's just what it takes. My bully got a text book to the face and a good old fashioned beating right in front of the entire class. He got made fun of for a long time for getting his butt kicked by a kid half his size. Never had a problem again. But that was one bully, not an entire group of kids. A kid is not going to stand up to 5 or 6 football players, I don't care what anyone says.
These stories are always really sad, the parents blame the school and the schools have programs in place but its a tough problem to enforce. Unless the teachers can catch the bully in the act, they can't really do much and a lot of it happens after school or off campus. The parents in this situation did everything they could it seems, they transferred him to another school which is a pretty extreme measure. The only thing I can think of here is counseling for the boy, maybe that would have helped but we dont know that. Its just really unsettling that people can act like that and still today be so close minded about race. The bullys parents obviously bare a lot of responsibility here for raising these little scum bags, but unfortunately no legal recourse for that, any moron can have a kid.
indybearfan: I had the same happen to me during middle school. One girl, stood head and shoulders above the rest, loved to pick on the smaller girls. She had been after me for awhile. Finally I had enough and stood up to her. I was so scared my teeth were rattling but I told her if she thought she was "woman" (like we were women at that age) enough to take me to bring it on. She walked away from me and I never had to deal with a bully again.
When my son was in grade school he was being bullied. I took a day off of work, went to the school and had a conference with the principle. I demanded a meeting with the kid's mom. The meeting was set up but, needless to say, mom didn't show. A couple of weeks later the kid threatened to shoot my son, IN GRADE SCHOOL! Well, since mom couldn't take the time or be troubled enough to show up, I stepped in, went to pick up my son after school, found the kid, and basically told him to stop the bullying or he would have to deal with the police and then me. I also taught my son to defend himself in the event that that would be necessary. That stopped the problem double quick. I found out later that the mom was just as big a bully as her son but everytime someone called her out she backed down. Not long after that he kid was expelled for bad behavior. Imagine that!
You are so right when you say the bully messing with you probably learned the behavior at home. That is the case, not in every instance, but many times and is the main reason the parents of bullies stand up for their kids. They see nothing wrong with the behavior because they teach the behavior.
And I am sure that kid grew up into a messed up adult with a father like that! We wonder where bullies come from.....all we have to look at are the homes of the kids. Bullies don't come from well-adjusted homes. They are not "good kids". Look at the Phoebe Prince case. Those kids were all defended as "good kids" but, really, would "good kids" do such sadistic things?
That's nice. But we had bullies that were relentless, and if you stood up to them you got it WORSE.
They would vandalize your parent's vehicles and your house and beat you harder.
How do you deal with that one?
sometimes standing up works and sometimes it doesn't. I was bullied along with others in my class by a boy who shouted names and humilated those of other cultures by mocking their cultures, as well as gender (girls). I never said a word, but it got him back in my own way >:D. Once he was chosen to pass out the bookbags and coats and couldn't see too well in front of him. I stuck out my foot. I swear I didn't mean to trip him; I thought that he would see my foot and step over it (or step on it, more like) but he tripped and did a face plant in front of the whole class. He got up quickly and said to me, "Did you trip me?" and I said no, afraid of retailation. He looked puzzled, and said, "You DID trip me!" and walked away. Since then, he never again bullied me, I don't know whether it was cuz of that or because I was an expert at avoiding him.
But once I saw a skinny boy being picked on by a much taller, older kid. I am ashamed to say that I didn't help, and that I was just relieved it wasn't me. The bully grabbed the kid's binder and ripped out all of his paper and threw them on the floor everywhere. The kid bent down to pick up his papers, while the bully strutted around happily. But then the kid pick up his heavy math textbook, reached up, and BASHED him upside the head so hard that he nearly fell. The bully wasn't seriously hurt, he was a big brute, but he grabbed the kid by the collar and would've beaten him into a coma if a watching teacher didn't finally step in. Since then, the bully would terrorize the poor kid, I don't know what happened cuz I moved shortly after that.
I wish this young man could have seen what I see in his photograph. A handsome young man that would have been accepted anywhere once he made it past the stage of juvenile bullying. I know that doesn't help, but I wonder if his good looks were a cause of envy for the bullies. Young people can be the most cruel people in the world.
I couldn't agree more with Billy447428. How these bullies are raised is the big factor in how they treat other children. I've seen far too many times how people who were born and raised in Texas act, they have no tolerance for anybody that isn't white. It's as if hate is bred into them. The older generation still hates anyone that are outsiders, moreso if you're a yankee. This is not acceptable!! The article makes it appear the school is taking no responsibility for doing nothing to try to stop this from happening. It's so much easier to turn the other cheek until some unfortunate child who can't take it anymore removes themselves permanently from the world, then suddenly the school is willing to take measures to crack down on bullying and prevent it from happening again. It's pathetic! No child should go through this, I personally did all my life and kids these days are far more cruel.
As you talk about an area with at least a 50% hispanic population.What is true north of the Nueces is not true south of the river. From CC South the percentage of Whites drops off until Brownsville which is 90% hispanic. Your north,east and west Texas world is not our world from the coastal bend south. The predominant culture is Hispanic as are the majority of the people. We kiddingly say this isn't south Texas but northern Mexico.
you 'kiddingly' say it's Northern Mexico? What else regarding other races do you 'kid' about! Hahahaha that's hilarious (sarcasm) Your comment says it all.
You should really travel to South Texas sometime instead of trying to make this seem like a racist issue. No where in the article does it mention the race of the bullies. More than likely, they will have hispanic sir names as the majority in Flour Bluff ,where this took place, is hispanic. The amount of ignorance in your post is unreal. It is with a very high probability that he was being bullied and teased for not being of pure Mexican decent. Take your ignorance elsewhere or at least educate yourself on areas outside of your own town before you start spouting your racist hatred.
Jeff, congratulations on posting that many words without saying something relevant or valuable. Are you seriously claiming that the bullies come from liberal homes? You know, the "bleeding heart" homes where everyone is supposed to be treated equally? I work with foster kids...how dare you claim it's a progressive agenda. It's the HUMAN agenda to help children when they have no voice and fear their abusive parents. You would rather see a parent permanently disable a child for disobeying?
Actually, he would. As long as he has his guns and beer, he doesn't need anything else. Just like any other hate-filled Texas republican.
What a tragedy, schools aren't doing enough and parents aren't teaching their kids on the dangers of being bullied of bullying themselves, I often speak to my son whose 8 years old and is of American, Korean, Hispanic and Native American descent, about bullying all the time, its my biggest fear to hear him one day that kids are messing with him so every school year we have a huge talk about not letting other kids take advantage of him and for him to have respect for his peers. I even do it with the neighborhood kids he plays with I ask and ask and ask and use trick questions to ask just in case he doesn't want to tattle. But we have a huge impact on our kids and believe me i'd be the first to pull him out of a school if the situation arose. Communication is such a big role!!! Prayers for the Molina Family
Actually Phia, I would be far more upset if I found out my child was the bully rather than the victim. Since we homeschool I don't have the bully problem. Just sayin.
Haha..im sure either side of the "bullying" issue, would be bad! and yay for you for homeschooling.
note, if he was my Son, the wolf pack would no longer be here
But, since he wasn't queer, there's no prosecution for hate crime.
Um, he was a mixed race minority and the other students say that's why he was a target. So, that's hate. Crime is debatable. Despicable, definitely.
I've always considered myself pretty liberal, except where raising children is concerned. If I had bullied a kid, my Dad would have tanned my behind for it. They still paddled in school when I was a kid and there were teachers with booming voices that came out in the hallways and broke up fights and drug bullies down to the Principle's office for detention. Were there bullies? Yes. But it never got to the levels it does today.
Frankly, I blame parents for raising these little punks. We have this "not my kid" mentality today. If my Dad was called by a teacher or administrator, I would hear all three names booming through the house. I knew he wanted answers. Not that he didn't believe me when I told the truth, but he always knew when I was lying because he spent time with us. But, he didn't immediately say his daughter was incapable of that kind of behavior. I remember getting in trouble for NOT standing up for someone when they were getting bullied.
I am the upstanding law abiding adult I am today because my mother and father were firm and loving. Bullying will stop when Parents crackdown on their little monsters. Not a moment before.
His problem was he wasn't white or hispanic enough to please anyone. It is sad but true my white kid was so pushed around that by Jr High she was doing everything she could to fit in with the hispanics including dying her hair dark. At least people quit petting her head like she was some damn dog. I got mad one day and told the principal the only thing wrong with my kid was her eyes were the wrong color. It isn't always whites that are insensitive or bullies. Sometimes the people who complain most about race problems can be the worst racists.
says the guy who secretly suck a cock when no one is looking.
For those that think this was because he wasn't white, click this link .
I realize it may shock some of you that want this to be about whitey picking on someone, but not everyone in Texas is a white racist. Some of us that were born an raised there are married to hispanics or blacks. Don't believe everything you see on TV.
I'm almost 50 and remember very well the bullying that I was subjected to in Junior High School. Had we not moved due to my dad's job, then I would have been a high school drop out, or worse. Bullying is not a new thing, but I am glad that this is getting more national attention. Bringing media focus to this topic, and making bullying something that is unpopular by the pre-teen and teenage crowd is what will finally stop this from happening so frequently.
If teenagers can create a movement like Kony 2012, then they can create a non-bullying movement that's even more successful! I think parents and schools should continue to keep focus on this problem, but I think it's the kids and peer pressure for non-bullying that will really make this stop.
Well Said! I am involved in a bystander intervention project in KY called Green Dot. Its based on the premise that we can reduce violence in any community if we are able to change the culture and not continue to have violence be the norm. We train influential (popular) kids (yes, the kids are leading this effort) to intervene when they see high risk for any form of violence. If popular kids stand up against violence, then others will not be afraid to stand up as well, eventually reduce tolerance for bullying or harassment of any kind.
Bullying is a learned behavior. Children who see bullying at home will more than likely grow up to be a bully. I call it "Petty People and their Power Plays." Anyone who feels that they have no personal power will try to gain some over someone else. (Like a boss, like a parent, like a child, the list goes on and on and on and on....) Like most of the problems in our schools - the changes to stop bullying have to begin at home in the family, no matter what type of family it is.
If that had been my child I would have kicked all the bullies butts to see how they like it.
Jeff, really? You're blaming bullying on liberals? I'm sorry, but most liberal parents teach their children TOLERANCE -- for children of other races, genders, religions, sexuality, etc. It is actually the surge of INTOLERANCE displayed by the Tea Party and your beloved conservative folks, who the children are emulating, as they bully others who are different than them. So, it is quite ironic that you accuse liberals of this, when your children are just emulating yoyur views and actions at school. Perhaps if you and your conservative friends actually taught your children the value of loving EVERYONE in America, the country and our children would be in better shape right now. Thanks, Conservatives.
Damned straight and more true words could not be said.
I was raised in a pretty conservative family that taught love and tolerance. If I mistreated anyone my parents would have disciplined me very harshly. But because I "WAS" raised with humanitarian ideals it never occurred to me to bully anyone. And wait, I'm from Mississippi and have a partner that is from Wisconsin. Everyone here treats him with kindness just like the folks in Wisconsin treated me. I have both liberal and conservative ideas and thoughts. People need to quit blaming things on just one bunch of folks. There are good and bad people all over the world. Bullying is bad behavior and the sad part is that so many parents are both working that a lot of kids are raising themselves. Kindness, un-selfishness and empathy for others is not a trait we are born with. These traits have to be taught and kids that spend way to much time on their own and travel in packs without supervision have a better chance of becoming selfish bullies. This is not an issue about politics. This is a human issue. Lord, I'd hate to show my ignorance by saying all kids from left wing families are evil or all kids from Muslim homes will be terrorists or that all African American children will grow up to be thugs. Talk about stereotyping.
You teach tolerance to all those things and then they hear your intolerance for conservatives and christians . You are just changing the targets your kids pick on.
No, lone, we teach intolerance to people who are intolerant. And don't confuse "conservatives" with Christians either.
King and lone, let me as you two simple questions.
1) Which political party in states like Wisconsin and Michigan are trying to change the laws to make it acceptable to bully students if they have a religious reason to do so?
2) What religion are those politicians?
Once you realize that the answers are "republican" and "christian" maybe you'll stop with the "the left are intolerant" lie.
Bullying/bullies have exactly zero to do with being liberal or conservative,democrat or republican,white or black,Hispanic or oriental.
All of you who are trying to make this an issue about the parents political leanings are the same people who are raising these effed up kids who go around bullying others-you teach your children that either liberals or conservatives are the "enemy" and/or the sole reason for all the problems in this country-you teach them your way way is the right way,and anyone who is conservative or liberal is wrong.
All of you blaming liberals,conservatives,republicans,democrats Christians,etc. are also part of the problem-
It is not any one political party,religion,liberal or conservative views-it's all those of you who are so blinded by the liberal/conservative-GOP/Dem-Christian/religious differences-belief/non-belief in a God-
that are so damn sure you are right-and everyone who does not have the exact same views as you is wrong-
You can't even look at a situation of any kind without injecting politics-liberal/conservative views,and religion,or lack of religion-it's the kids you morons-and the way all of you are raising them to be carbon copies of yourseleves-with the exact same views on everything as you.
Stop blaming everything on others,political affiliation,liberal/conservative-or their religious beliefs-or lack of them-try teaching your children that not everyone has the same political views,is liberal,or conservative,or beliefs in God-let kids be kids-stop trying to make them have all the same views on everything as you-the parents- do.
Some kids are going to be good athletes-some are not-some are capable of attending college,and getting a masters degree-others are not-there are winners and losers in everything-trying to teach kids that they are all equally talented at evreything is wrong-it just sets them up for failure in life-once they realize that in life-there are winners and losers-and no they can't be a doctor,or a pro athlete,or a rap-star,country singer,or rock-n-roll star-life isn't reality TV.
Kids will be bullied,or be bullies-that's a fact-punish the bullies-stop punishing the kids who try to fight back-
Parents need to take more responsibility for their kids-and learn that their little angel isn't always the person they think they are.
Liberals teach tolerance??? Since when? Liberals only teach tolerance of the people who believe as they do. Liberals are certainly not tolerant of Christians, or at least those who actually follow the teachings of Christ. To blame the Tea Party for Bullying is absurd. I in no way condone bullying, when it is actually what is taking place. Much of what is claimed as bullying, is not, much like so called "hate" speech. What the liberals claim as hate, is many times only Biblical truths being re-told. This really sends the "tolerant" Liberal families over the edge.
1) Which political party in states like Wisconsin and Michigan are trying to change the laws to make it acceptable to bully students if they have a religious reason to do so?
I'm a Christian, and I don't find that to be right. When speaking of tolerance, people need to stop judging a group based on the "bad apples," so to speak. I know people may think of the 'No true Scotsman' fallacy, but this isn't it. I'm not saying true Christians don't have imperfections. I'm just saying that these actions, which are known to be wrong but are ignored, don't define Christians.
If I gave you a compliment, but then later insulted you, I'd be willing to bet you'd remember the insult longer. Your image of me would be more easily dominated by the bad thing I said than by the good, because it had a larger impact on you. It's human nature. The same thing is to be said with Christianity/Christians. I agree they can often be hypocritical and judgemental, but those things don't define them, even though they probably have a more profound effect on people.
And by you, I mean anyone reading this message.
Wow, so all of you want kids to be more tolerant? Yet you come on this forum and immediately start belittling each other because of POLITICAL affiliations or religious beliefs? Way to go. No wonder kids are like they are today. It is because of the fine example set by all the ADULTS around them.
The school should have helped this kid, bottom line. His friends, and the article states he had a lot of them, should have told someone what was happen, since he apparently was too upset or afraid not to speak up for himself. And his family, who is apparently in a lot of pain, rightly so, should have gotten him some counseling.
News flash: bullies come from all walks of life and are of all color. To try to narrow them to one group or another is ridiculous and totally missing the point.
Ya gotta love this argument... We have a right to spew bigotry and hate because it's in our 3,000 year old magic book.
Your supposed "savior" tried to teach you to be loving, accepting and forgiving of everyone. Maybe you should try that for awhile and you would see that the rest of us will readily approve.
I'm a former educator and parent and I can say parents are not doing their jobs to raise their kids. You may say the schools dont do enough either, but the bottom line is they are the parents, we didn't birth them, we are there to teach them! I'd love to see our military return home and patrol schools and the streets, especially around school zones....at 3 pm when they are let out it's a ZOO on the streets! I try to be at my destination just so I don't have to deal with it....While I'm at it, how about putting fines on parents who've been informed and warned of their little monster's activities but do nothing to correct it? Treat these acts as gang activity because that is their mentality and actions
Suspend the little darlings, for progressive lengths of time for each incident of bullying, and MAKE it the parents' problem. After the third incident, expulsion should get the message across.
And if teachers are ignoring the problem (and I know some do), maybe they should get a few days' unpaid vacation, too.
Would all of you PLEASE SHUT UP about this liberal and conservative dum@!$%#! These kids are not either nor do they care about your adult pettit BS! You, I repeat, YOU are the problem with this being a perfect example of how you can't handle someone saying something "bad" about you. Accept the fact that you think one way and the guy next to you thinks another way. Who Cares? SHUT UP already about how your "gang" loves people more than the next or how your "gang" can manage money better. Nothing to do with this story
You're right Kayner sorry.
For 30 years in the school system I can tell you that football players and other athletes are "golden children" and get special treatment from ALL the adults around them. They are taught they are superior and nobody should be suprised then they act as if they believe it.
I had the same experience. Football, basketball, and cheerleaders could get away with everything short of murder. Mustn't threaten those booster donations, you know.
Best part of Catholic school seeing a 5' tall 71 yr old nun leap up and slap a 6'3" basketball player. All he said was I'm sorry because he knew if he told his parents he'd get it again at home. Athletics didn't get special status in our school.
Same experience up through college, and the reason that I refuse to donate money to support the college I attended.
Of course, you can read in the news now how these 'role models' like Ryan Leaf, the rapists at the University of Montana (Look! People got fired! Amazing!) and the murderers and drug dealers at Montana State University.
Most schools have anti-bullying programs merely as a smoke screen, they actually accomplish nothing. My 11 year old son is a high functioning autistic child who was the center of a group of bullies for awhile. Once I found out about it, I contacted the schools, to which they did nothing. Given very few options, I enrolled my son and myself in Krav Maga classes. I am not an advocate of violence and I've always told my son that words are just that..words. But if they lay their hands on you...that is a different story. Needless to say, as most bullies do, they eventually laid their hands on him. One kid wound up with a broken nose and some missing teeth, the other, a dislocated shoulder. They called me up at work and I had to go to the school to answer for it. In the principle's office, I heard his and other witnesses story. Both corroborated each other so my son was not at fault. In front of the principle, I congratulated my son for quickly and decisively ending a conflict in which he was defending himself. I then chastised the prinicple and the so called anti bullying program for doing nothing and if they (the school system) is inept in dealing with the situation, parents like me, will. He got a 2 day suspension and I made those two days the best he's had in a long time. Nobody has messed with him since, in fact, he is something of a school hero since these bullies had evidently been bullying other kids too.
I wish fighting back were that simple. Since I was Valedictorian and doing anything to interrupt my schooling wasn't an option I couldn't fight back. In my old school district no matter the circumstances, even if you are defending yourself, if you fight back both parties get the same punishment. I don't think that's right.
3 o'clock high trayne. Off campus. Most teens have a don't rat attitude somebody will come to school with a black eye and say I walked into a door. You don't even have to win just stand up.
That's a great story. I myself was punished (while the bullies went free of course) for trying to stand up for myself and for trying to tell the truth.
You see, when a small nerdy kid is found laying in his own blood in the hallway and when asked what happened he actually tells the truth, that's a lie, because the bully says it is.
And you get to spend the afternoon in a cardboard box for lying.
That's our school system for you.
I will guarantee that not a damned thing will be done to any of the bullies and this is because they are all ATHLETES! The athletic departments in all schools are where the money is at and they make a lot through that. So they will coddle and make excuses for the bullies just so they can keep getting that alumni money and money from the games they host.
This is so obtuse, the problem isn't athletics, seriously? It is all about how they are raised, how in touch and involved parents are from the start, good morals, good lessons on kindness, etc. There will always be some unexplanable bad apples but the reality is bullying gets worse and worse every year because parents are "raising" their children, they are letting them do whatever they hell they want and spoiling the crap out of them. And note i did not say all parents, but way too many are too busy, too overwhelmed, too caught up in their own worlds or whatever to make their kids their priority. Wake up!
Athletics is a huge contributor to the problem. How can you possibly be so out of touch with reality?
Athletics acts as an amplifier for bullies. They are praised for being violent and are given much leeway in their behavior because they are athletes.
Honestly. How can you not know this?
I'm proud to say I was both bullied and bullied other kids when I went to school. It taught us all to be stroger, and to fight harder. It is very important to have bullies in schools to help kids along, and remind them that life is hard, not just some of the time, but most of the time. It's filled with disapointment, hardships, and let downs, with very little to look farward to. It's too bad when people can't accept that hard truth of life, but one can hardly blame the bullies. Guess the best thing to do, is man up and deal with it.
That is about as stupid a comment as I have seen.
You are an absolute idiot!!! These are children were talking about. and the bullying is a hell of alot worse these days then when we were younger. and you say you were both bullied and did the bullying...being teased for a second is alot different then bullying. Any kid who is enduring true bullying will not ever do it to anyone else. and theres alot of hard truths in life that kids are not meant to experience at there age because there not old enough to handle it!
I really hope you don't have kids
Spoken like a schoolyard bully, Chris150.
What, I always support my son when he has a problem with a bully, but remind him that he should Man Up when it comes to dealing with a bully. The last thing I want him to do is to report it, everyone knows not be be a narc on the playground. Build pride, stand tall, and if you need to vent, doll it out to others around you. Pass the grief along.
Chris - I feel sorry for your son if this is the attitude towards bullying that you have. What an awful way to think. No wonder kids today are so messed up with parents like this.
Wow. Please get some counseling and take a few parenting classes before you or one of your children hurt someone.
You must be a miserable person to condone making others miserable just because you need to vent. How sad for you, for your son and for your victims.
Gee, that might be the stupidest statement I've ever read on the internet, Chirs.
Sandy that was life when I was a kid. You either stood up or got pushed around. You didn't take it to parents. And it was behind the library after school if you were ready to put an end to it. The kids on your block were your backup if you got ganged up on. I'm just from a different time than you I also went downtown on the bus by myself at 12 for dental appointments.
wow chris- pardon me but, that was a dumb comment. People that are proud of being a bully are at least half the problem.
Chirs, proud, really!!! It's parents like you that enable the bullies.
BTW, I wouldn't advertise being a bully too much, someone that you bullied may just look you up.
Morons like you should be tied to a tree and stoned and whipped. Guess how much more stronger you will be then. How about if your dykk is cut off? Then you would be even more stronger. If your heart is ripped out then you wouldn't have a heart and no fear at that point you will be the strongest.
And Chris is the perfect example of why we have a problem with bullying. Fathers like him (and it's usually the fathers!) are the reason we have bullies. And it's usually because the fathers are bullying the families.
Ever stop and wonder how many suscides you caused or how many lives you ruined?
Well I agree with you there Sandy. It is safe to say that suffering through "bad stuff" can make you stronger and wiser, better able to cope, but this doesn't mean that anyone should have to go through something like this or that it is a "right of passage" or some other stupid crap like that. It certainly doesn't make it right and for you to be proud of having been and done the bullying is ridiculous. Good Parents keep it up...to you lazy parents who want your children to be perfect, always win, be the prettiest, and never be without, have the best clothes and the best vacations, who think their children never do anything wrong or are never mean, please don't have anymore and while you still have the ones you do get a a reality check and pull your head out of the sand...they aren't perfect they are human, they need discipline as well as love, they need no as much as yes...
Wow, looking at Chris, maybe some bullies think they are actually helping kids by beating them up.
@Chirs150
And you are the shining example of all things stupid in this life.
Chuck, I think Chirs' parents were brother and sister and I bet he has green teeth
Glad the post provoked some thought. No, they aren't even from the same state, or region for that matter. They were green a few days ago, but that was a result of watermall sourpatch kids, oh well, don't get to have them everyday.
Chuck, I think you're a great dad! In grade school, I was a tall, thin white girl who wore glasses and was quiet and shy. I was also a nice person. However, the girls in my class picked on me relentlessly for years. They isolated me, made fun of my clothes, put tacks in my chair and wrote horrible notes to me. The weird thing is that most of the mean girls grew up to have major problems, including having kids who went to prison or marrying men who are alcoholic wife-beaters.
It is the schools responsibility to make sure children are safe and not misbehaving! If not then what are we paying them for?! If a student is bulling and acting uncivil and can get away with it, then they are not learning anything in their schools. What are we paying the school staff to do? To put the children in a classroom and let them bash each other. No! They are not there to live in fear that something terrible can happen to them! And bullies should not be tolerated by school staff! Children are there to learn how to be civil towards each other to make it in the world as an adult. Students should pay the consequences and be "expelled" if they are bulling. If someone in the work place were to bully another colleague they sure as hell would be called into the office and be reprimanded or fired! You would not be calling mommy and daddy to bail you out. I bet these parents of these terrible children are their winning example of how to be a bully, so telling them would be a waste of time. And as far as I can tell...this woman at the school could care less. She looked like a liar!
, so telling them would be a waste of time
Lisa, so you're saying its just easier to blame someone else huh? And what if you actually acted like a parent, reached out to the family after the fact and found out that they had no idea what their kid was doing. You find out that it would have made a difference, yet because you are so smart that you already knew that they wouldn't, you never did anything but point your finger. That's a great solution solver Lisa, exactly why this is such a problem. Parents just want to convince themselves that they are right and not actually go and find out.
As a teacher, I'm going to be honest. There's only so much we can do. Our school has an anti-bullying program. Anti-bullying programs only work if kids are willing to step up and make one another stop bullying or if they let people know what is going on. Teachers can't be everywhere. At our school, we try our best to cover problem areas. All teachers and aides are in the hall between classes. Of course, if someone says something to someone in the classroom, while I'm in the hallway, I'm not going to know it. Teachers are assigned to the bathrooms to make sure bullying doesn't occur there. Of course, then you have someone who has a problem with a teacher being in the bathroom while students are going in there. We can't be on the buses. There is only the bus driver there, and the kids say things happen there. Again, we don't know unless someone tells us.
When someone is accused of bullying it's usually one person vs. one person. Sometimes there are witnesses, but no one wants to talk. Punsihment for bullying is usually character education and a detention. We can give a child detention, but what's that really going to stop?
I had a student in my class who was bullying others. When I called the parents, I was told that I was bullying the child, because he was bigger than the others, and I was singling him out by calling them. His size had nothing to do with the call. His behavior did. Mother didn't see it that way. Kid continued to bully and worked his way through the system, until a "complaint" was filed against the "mean teachers" who were singling out the child for discipline. SO WRONG! Most parents when contacted say not my child. Several parents when I have called them have told me that their child was bullied first so it's fine!
We are damned if we do. Damned if we don't. I don't know what the fix is. I just know that blaming the school isn't always the answer. There are other teachers like me, I know, who try to help the kids. Not every child is perfect. Not every school is the villian.
Perhaps we need to have laws for use of video cameras in schools to not only protect the students but the teachers also.
Mark-3140636
Mark I like that thought, however the Liberals along with the American civil liberties union would have a **** fit.
It's a public place no different then having them on the streets or on the buses. I'm still perplexed though by all these cases, I dealt with it many years ago with just a meeting with the principle and he was very obliging once I got my point across.
Funny how people want to blame Liberals or Conservatives. Its exactly that attitude that creates the hostility witch bullying is created. I rember when we were all Americans. No wonder this country is going to hell in handbag, its always someone elses fault. The new American slogan " It there fault"
eem1000, no it's your fault you independent.
My daughters school district put the kid off the bus and called the parents to go get them. Of course in that town you probably had relatives on every side of town. So the kid could go to aunt or uncles house.
Wait for the parents, when the bully sees daddy KO'd on the front lawn, that's a warning. Under 18 can't touch them, unless you are protecting someone, BUT over 18 is fresh meat.
The fact that this tragedy ever had to happen simply amazes me. The entire staff at the school should be held accountable. This is not the only situation that should be investigated by officials in the school but by the police. The so called "Wolf Pack" should have to answer for their actions. Where the parents of these boys...good thing one of them is not mine. Matters not about their ages they should have to pay for a murder of an innocent young man. God Bless you Teddy and may your family find some solace in Gods word.
I'm just disgusted with the response from the Superintendent's office, especially Lynn Kaylor. I saw her respond to reporters in another interview; her facial expressions disgusted me. There was denial and even defensiveness. She couldn't even consider the possibility that she had let the problem slip by.
Trust me, if someone's child was being threatened to the degree that Teddy was, you can be sure they would be aggressive and persistent in getting action. She should just admit that she couldn't care to pick this case up among the lot. Rather than confess that, she completely denies it. What an insult to the family. She basically calls them liars.
Disgusted, I see 'liability' smeared all over her.