Dealing With The Bully

By now, most of us have probably seen the video of the recent bullying incident in Australia. If not, let me quickly recap:

A little punk displays his inability to keep his hands to himself by instigating a fight with another schoolmate. Although the victim in this case is much larger, it's clear that he doesn't want to fight. After taking a punch to the face and a few body shots, the big kid finally decides that he's had enough and it's time to take care of business. He effortlessly picks the the little punk up and whips him to the ground. The dazed little bully struggles to his feet and limps away with his deflated ego. It sounds like a happy ending but not so fast....

Both kids were suspended in this case! And although this incident took place in Australia, the same thing is happening in America. Why is it mandatory that both kids involved a schoolyard fight get punished? It's probably fair in some cases. But, if little Johnny walks up and punches little Billy in the nose, shouldn't Billy have the right to defend himself? Again, why should both kids get suspended? I think it sends a message to the good kid that fighting is never an option no matter what the circumstances. Hey, the French had this attitude during World War II and we all saw how that worked out!

Maybe if the schools did more to prevent the bullying in the first place, it wouldn't come down to this. I knew someone who was bullied several years ago. The schools' attitude? If we don't see it happen, there's nothing we can do about it. Yeah, thanks for your help.

With bullying being a recurring problem in today's schools, it has literally become a federal issue. And this is where it gets interesting. Instead of addressing bullying as a general harassment issue, the Department of Justice has thrown race into the mix. Surprise, surprise.....

Our wondeful Department of "Justice" will only investigate bullying cases if the victim is considered protected under the 1964 Civil Rights legislation. In essence, only discrimination against a victim’s race, sex, national origin, disability, or religion will be considered by DOJ.

Are you kidding me?

What happens if a white Catholic boy bullies another white Catholic boy? Or perhaps if a black Protestant teenage girl bullies another black Protestant teenage girl? Hey, here's a tough one.... What if a blind kid bullies a deaf kid. According to to the DOJ's guidelines, I guess there's no problem since they're both disabled? Sounds a bit ridiculous, doesn't it?

Bullying has been going on forever and unfortunately it will probably continue. Sure, the bullies often go on to a life of underachievement and a guest spot on The Jerry Springer Show. But it's no consolation to the kid who continues to get tormented.

In my opinion, a little "schoolyard justice" seems to be a better approach than what our Department of Justice has offered. Maybe our DOJ and school systems could learn something from a school kid in Australia who refused to take it anymore....

KW