Solving the problem of bullying in our schools and on our school buses etc. is perhaps made more complicated in the way justice is applied. In this morning's paper there is the moving story of a 12 year old girl who is becoming a poster girl in the anti-bullying campaign down in Florida. She has cerebral palsy.
Her symptoms are primarily exhibited in speech and posture. She has been relentlessly bullied on the school bus and in school. Kids have been spitting in her hair, calling her names etc. Same ole, same ole. Her parent's complaints have not stopped it.
She has now come forth and is speaking out and of all things, saying to paraphrase her, she is thanking her bullies for bullying her because it has given her the experience so that she can speak out about it.
And now comes the part that I homed in on.
Her father was arrested back in September for boarding her bus, WHICH HAS VIDEO SECURITY CAMERAS ON IT. He berated the students for their harassment of his daughter. He was arrested for his harassment. He is now out on bail.
My question is, IF THAT BUS HAD VIDEO CAMERAS ON IT, WHY WERE KIDS WHO WERE SPITTING ON THE GIRL WITH CEREBRAL PALSY ALLOWED TO DO THAT without being taken to the woodshed!
The bus driver, and the school administration should have been all over that, especially in light of the parent's complaints about the treatment the girl was having with those kids.
As I said in the beginning, we don't solve the problems of bullying when the victim is further punished by drawing attention to the fact rather than shutting down the person(s) who are doing the bullying. Shutting down doesn't imply harming them, but putting up barriers such as we do in every day life when we correct our youngsters or others in society for not following decent concepts of behavior.
Respectfully,
Kenneth Fenter
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