Originally posted by: lordjedi
Actually, surprisingly enough, I haven't heard anyone blame anything except bullying. According to the video he released, his bullying took place in middle and high school. I guess he was a little slow on the uptake if he was exacting revenge at VT for things that happened in high school.
I have heard plenty of how we need to take a stronger stance against bullying. My thoughts on that are that parents need to come down harder on the school administration when it happens. Having been there (I was bullied) and knowing how the administration works, I'd tell my kid "If he pushes you, hit him". You don't have to win the fight for the bully to leave you alone. The worst that would happen these days is that you'd get expelled (I don't think you'd be expelled for hitting someone though). At best, it's a day or a few days suspension. I think I can live with that, but I won't have to deal with it for a while.
The problem with looking "within" at society is that people are bullied everyday, yet kids aren't going on rampages everyday. I really don't think this was a problem with society. I think he was mentally disturbed (he was in a mental hospital for a while) and needed to be under close supervision.
Originally posted by: eros
It's the big morality part of the 'dream' that is the problem. as soon as something like that school incident this week happens the morality establishment are running around lokking for a scape goat. You know the usual; .....too much Grand Theft Auto, Heavy Metal, Violent movies etc. (an easy target to blame). Instead at looking at society within and the problems that lead to these incidents. Don't get me wrong the UK is bad with violent crime these days but it doesn't get world wide coverage when someone goes haywire like the US does.
It's the big morality part of the 'dream' that is the problem. as soon as something like that school incident this week happens the morality establishment are running around lokking for a scape goat. You know the usual; .....too much Grand Theft Auto, Heavy Metal, Violent movies etc. (an easy target to blame). Instead at looking at society within and the problems that lead to these incidents. Don't get me wrong the UK is bad with violent crime these days but it doesn't get world wide coverage when someone goes haywire like the US does.
Actually, surprisingly enough, I haven't heard anyone blame anything except bullying. According to the video he released, his bullying took place in middle and high school. I guess he was a little slow on the uptake if he was exacting revenge at VT for things that happened in high school.
I have heard plenty of how we need to take a stronger stance against bullying. My thoughts on that are that parents need to come down harder on the school administration when it happens. Having been there (I was bullied) and knowing how the administration works, I'd tell my kid "If he pushes you, hit him". You don't have to win the fight for the bully to leave you alone. The worst that would happen these days is that you'd get expelled (I don't think you'd be expelled for hitting someone though). At best, it's a day or a few days suspension. I think I can live with that, but I won't have to deal with it for a while.
The problem with looking "within" at society is that people are bullied everyday, yet kids aren't going on rampages everyday. I really don't think this was a problem with society. I think he was mentally disturbed (he was in a mental hospital for a while) and needed to be under close supervision.
This is the problem, most schools in my area do not even consider an expulsion for fighting like they used to just 10 or 15 years ago. Kids, and parents, are scared to engage in fighting around here for several reasons with the primary problem being the wretched idea of Zero Tolerance. For example, and this is based on actual events that I encountered, a 14 year old boy is being bullied by a 16 year old boy on a regular basis. One day the 14 year old had enough and when the 16 year old thumped the 14 year olds ear, the 14 year old kid jumps on top of the 16 year old and started to whale on him. Totally took him down and left the 16 year old bully with a busted lip and black eye, no other injuries. Well, the school officials called the police and parents. Charges were filed on the 14 year old for assault while the 16 year old bully was disciplined for simply causing a disturbance and moved to TEAM school for a month, which is a highly monitored and regulated school for the bad apples where they have to wear uniforms and can't talk at all. After being convicted of assault and spending a couple months in a juvenile detention center, the 14 year was made to do 1000 community service hours and attend TEAM school for the remainder of his school career. So in the end, it seems that bullying is encouraged and standing up for yourself is not, bad signal to send.