Bullying - What Can Be Done?

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There were a bunch near cross-roads in Bellevue, if you know where that is. It was ridiculous. Also had some guy raising awareness about Kony outside of Target. :hmm: Seattlites, man.

I love Crossroads! Half Price Books ... food court!

But I beg your pardon, I think both Bellevuians and Seattlites would take offense to being lumped in together as "Seattlites." :wink:
 
Not right at all that his mother gave him a stun gun, and rules are rules. But if you complain and basically the victim is blamed, for the way he dresses and accessorizes, I guess you'd feel desperate. If you follow that logic isn't any and all bullying based upon appearance (that falls outside of any one individual's definition of "normal") justifiable by a bully or a school admin? Some studies say that appearance is the number one "reason" for bullying.

indystar.com

The 17-year-old Arsenal Tech High School student who brought a stun gun to school to scare away bullies has been expelled.

Darnell "Dynasty" Young and his mother, Chelisa Grimes, found out late Monday that an independent arbitrator who presided over an expulsion hearing last Wednesday decided to expel him until Jan. 7, 2013. He cannot finish his junior year and he will miss the first semester of his senior year.

"I couldn’t believe that they did it," Grimes said. "They really kicked him out."

Grimes and Young can appeal to the Indianapolis Public Schools school board and the courts if necessary, but Grimes said they're still weighing their options. Young said he plans to get his GED and go to college.

Young, who's openly gay, was suspended pending expulsion April 16 after he brought a stun gun to school, raised it in the air and fired it to scare away six kids who threatened to beat him up during a passing period. Grimes said she gave him the stun gun to protect himself from students who repeatedly called him names and threatened to beat him up. Some students threw rocks at him as he walked home from his after-school job one day. Grimes said she and her son complained to the school staff about bullying several times throughout the school year, but staff members told them that Young called attention to himself because he liked to accessorize his outfits with Grimes' jewelry and purses.

Young's story has gained national attention. He and Grimes have appeared on CNN and "Good Morning America." Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashian sisters, tweeted a message of support to Young on Sunday.

Young said he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received. Some of his supporters in Indianapolis are planning a rally before an IPS school board meeting May 15 to raise awareness about Young's case and to pressure the school board to take more steps to prevent bullying. School Board member Samantha Adair-White has called for an independent investigation into the incident, but she said last week she's not sure if enough school board members will support her request to proceed.

The spokeswoman for IPS could not be reached for comment this morning, but Mary Louise Bewley issued a statement. It concluded, "While the district does not condone bullying, it also does not allow weapons to be brought on our school campuses for any reason. Students who violate this rule will be held accountable."
 
I love Crossroads! Half Price Books ... food court!

But I beg your pardon, I think both Bellevuians and Seattlites would take offense to being lumped in together as "Seattlites." :wink:

Never heard the term Bellevuian before, I'm going to start using it now. I definitely think both sides would resent being lumped in with the other side. Very different cultures fur sure, :lol:
 
I realized as I was typing it that I had now idea what people from Bellevue called themselves! Ha.

But seriously - different worlds, right? I'm baffled by the people in Seattle who are always "oh, the east side ... ugh! I never go there!" and the people on the east side who say the same thing about Seattle.

(Although now with one of the ways across the lake being a tollway, I can at least understand the sentiment a little. ;) )
 
"While the district does not condone bullying..."

staff members told them that Young called attention to himself because he liked to accessorize his outfits with Grimes' jewelry and purses.

Um. Yeah. Course, we're going by what Grimes said the response was, but still, if that's the case...

I sympathize with the poor kid, sounds like he's had to deal with some horrific situations. Still, though, bringing any sort of gun to school is a bad idea and he should be punished for that.

Course, the kids who've been attacking him should be punished as well for what they've done. Throwing rocks is dangerous and uncalled for, too.
 
Not right at all that his mother gave him a stun gun, and rules are rules. But if you complain and basically the victim is blamed, for the way he dresses and accessorizes, I guess you'd feel desperate. If you follow that logic isn't any and all bullying based upon appearance (that falls outside of any one individual's definition of "normal") justifiable by a bully or a school admin? Some studies say that appearance is the number one "reason" for bullying.

indystar.com

The 17-year-old Arsenal Tech High School student who brought a stun gun to school to scare away bullies has been expelled.

Darnell "Dynasty" Young and his mother, Chelisa Grimes, found out late Monday that an independent arbitrator who presided over an expulsion hearing last Wednesday decided to expel him until Jan. 7, 2013. He cannot finish his junior year and he will miss the first semester of his senior year.

"I couldn’t believe that they did it," Grimes said. "They really kicked him out."

Grimes and Young can appeal to the Indianapolis Public Schools school board and the courts if necessary, but Grimes said they're still weighing their options. Young said he plans to get his GED and go to college.

Young, who's openly gay, was suspended pending expulsion April 16 after he brought a stun gun to school, raised it in the air and fired it to scare away six kids who threatened to beat him up during a passing period. Grimes said she gave him the stun gun to protect himself from students who repeatedly called him names and threatened to beat him up. Some students threw rocks at him as he walked home from his after-school job one day. Grimes said she and her son complained to the school staff about bullying several times throughout the school year, but staff members told them that Young called attention to himself because he liked to accessorize his outfits with Grimes' jewelry and purses.

Young's story has gained national attention. He and Grimes have appeared on CNN and "Good Morning America." Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashian sisters, tweeted a message of support to Young on Sunday.

Young said he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received. Some of his supporters in Indianapolis are planning a rally before an IPS school board meeting May 15 to raise awareness about Young's case and to pressure the school board to take more steps to prevent bullying. School Board member Samantha Adair-White has called for an independent investigation into the incident, but she said last week she's not sure if enough school board members will support her request to proceed.

The spokeswoman for IPS could not be reached for comment this morning, but Mary Louise Bewley issued a statement. It concluded, "While the district does not condone bullying, it also does not allow weapons to be brought on our school campuses for any reason. Students who violate this rule will be held accountable."

Just a thought, most kids wouldn't need to bring weapons into school if there is no reason for them to feel in danger. Make school a safer environment from bullies instead of letting things escalate.


I realized as I was typing it that I had now idea what people from Bellevue called themselves! Ha.

But seriously - different worlds, right? I'm baffled by the people in Seattle who are always "oh, the east side ... ugh! I never go there!" and the people on the east side who say the same thing about Seattle.

(Although now with one of the ways across the lake being a tollway, I can at least understand the sentiment a little. ;) )

Beats me, I live close to i-90 and for me it's convenient to get to both Seattle and Bellevue. I only go to Bellevue more often because of free parking, but I love Seattle. So many awesome shops tucked away and better food. Bellevue is the land where people live in expensive, run down little houses while driving BMW/Land Rover/Mercedes vehicles and think Renton is a dangerous area. Seattle is an area where most people live in apartments, either drive cheap cars or don't drive at all, and they're a lot more interested in art and that cool new independent coffee shop than they are in the next shiniest shopping complex.
 
The spokeswoman for IPS could not be reached for comment this morning, but Mary Louise Bewley issued a statement. It concluded, "While the district does not condone bullying, it also does not allow weapons to be brought on our school campuses for any reason. Students who violate this rule will be held accountable."
Except the case has made it abundantly clear that these shitheads do condone bullying if you dress effeminately.
 
Hacktivist group Anonymous has reportedly tracked down the man who bullied Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old Canadian girl who committed suicide after suffering torment that led to depression and anxiety.
Anonymous named Todd's alleged bully on Monday in a post on Pastebin.com. The accusers allege that the man who targeted Todd, made her flash him and then turned her life into a living nightmare is a 30-year-old from New Westminster, British Columbia. The post describes him as the man who "extorted amanda todd for pictures. This is the pedophile that social engineered Amanda Todd into supplying him nude pictures."
Anonymous also revealed his address.
Vice magazine posted information that reportedly further links Todd to the alleged bully, including Google Map screenshots of his house, his Facebook profile, chat conversations and screenshots from a "jailbait" website account supposedly tied to the man.
Vice reports that Anonymous got involved in tracking down Todd's bully after nude autopsy photos of deceased Amanda Todd leaked online.
Anonymous commented on its involvement in finding those linked to Todd's suicide.
“We generally don’t like to deal with police first hand but were compelled to put our skills to good use protecting kids,” read an email sent by Anonymous to Canada's CTV News. “Ironically we have some good people in Vancouver who brought this to our admin’s attention. It’s a very sad story that affects all of us.”

Amanda Todd's Alleged Bully Named By Anonymous After Teen's Tragic Suicide

I never thought I would ever say this, but I support Anonymous in this action. Internet bullying is beyond out of control, and lawmakers are taking forever to do something about it. The internet has been around for nearly 20 years, and users have been aware of online harassment for around 10 years or more. That is too long to not do anything to stop online bullying. People are scared, reputations are being destroyed, suicides are occurring, and the mentally ill people who don't care who they hurt are not stopped.

I thought Anonymous was a dangerous hacking group made up of anarchists. But if they are taking justice into their hands because lawmakers are taking too long, then I'm on their side. As long as they are exposing these people who are ruining lives, I support them. Now if they get out of line and start to harass anyone over the slightest thing, I will withdraw my support. I also am not too crazy that they exposed this alleged bully's address, but at least they exposed his name. Now if its the wrong person, well, the most I can say Anonymous is doing more than governments are to stop cyberbullying.
 
Now if its the wrong person, well, the most I can say Anonymous is doing more than governments are to stop cyberbullying.

I disagree vehemently. In fact, I find your entire post quite troubling and downright scary.

No one really knows if it's the right person, but even if it is, all this is doing is inviting vigilante reprisals. And if it's the wrong person, then we allowed this group to ruin this person's life because of the public thirst for revenge.

As flawed as the system is, we should let the proper judicial channels deal with this.
 
The problem in many of these situations is that the law enforcement agencies know jackshit about new technology. Obviously, you are correct in your concerns that Internet vigilantism as justice is a clear slippery slope. This is the inherent issue that will not go away. The best and brightest in new technological fields aren't going to be in law enforcement or in the government. They can make way more money elsewhere.
 
Vigilante justice such as this has arisen because lawmakers and law enforcements are taking far too long to do something about cyber bullying. Like I mentioned, online harassment is nothing new. It's like the Internet is a place of anarchy where people can do whatever they want. Not always, but in a lot of cases, yes.

If no one wants a hacker group like Anonymous to stop cyber bullies, then give politicians a shove to pass laws to stop these bullies.

In fact, I find your entire post quite troubling and downright scary.

Don't you always, BoMac? :wink:
 
I disagree vehemently. In fact, I find your entire post quite troubling and downright scary.

No one really knows if it's the right person, but even if it is, all this is doing is inviting vigilante reprisals. And if it's the wrong person, then we allowed this group to ruin this person's life because of the public thirst for revenge.

As flawed as the system is, we should let the proper judicial channels deal with this.



what's wrong with you? how can you defend this person? he deserves whatever he gets. he should be stoned to death. something must be done to maintain 'honor'.
 
I find it worrying that this guy's actions are being called "bullying" and not outright criminal.

Is there something different in Canada than here where an adult spreading pictures of a 15-year-old's breasts could not be labeled as sharing child pornography?
 
bullying or not

the system is broken, bad guys have more rights than victims, anonymous can be the people's vehicle for justice.
criminals, bullies should be exposed for who they are, with pictures, their names, maps and pictures of their homes and work places available on the internet for everybody to see and use for whatever purpose

victims should not be the only ones that are afraid
 
I find it worrying that this guy's actions are being called "bullying" and not outright criminal.

Is there something different in Canada than here where an adult spreading pictures of a 15-year-old's breasts could not be labeled as sharing child pornography?

No, this guy's alleged actions are definitely considered child pornography in Canada. What this girl endured at the hands of her peers as a result of this guy's blackmail attempt is what's being called bullying.
 
That's so awful. I can't believe people bullied her over what some jackass did to her, but at the same time I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Some people can be so cold-hearted.

I too am wary of vigilante justice-I understand that lawmakers and law enforcement aren't always as quick on these things as they should be and fully support trying to get tougher on this stuff, but I also know that anytime people have tried to do something with internet laws related to trying to stop bullying they've seemed to run into a lot of complications and free speech issues and all that sort of thing (and what constitutes "bullying" can differ sometimes, too). And if they did indeed target the wrong guy in this case somehow, then we've kind of got a problem on our hands here.

That said, however, if they do have the right guy, I'm not feeling too much sympathy about his life being ruined because what he did was downright disgusting.
 
People are scared, reputations are being destroyed...

Like the reputation of this guy if he's not the right person. Dont get me wrong, if this does turn out to be him, he should get what's coming, but proper law enforcement takes greater steps to ensure people are not wrongly accused. And yet even in those cases, it still does happen sometimes.

Either way, it's fucking sad that nobody tried to talk to this girl before she killed herself. Out of the hundreds of kids at her schools, you think at least one would have a heart to sit and have a talk with her.
 
What needs to happen with cyber bullying is that law enforcement should be able to have a more streamlined system to obtain warrants to do an ISP search. The key is to propose the right ideas so that you don't have police infringing on our privacy for every minor thing but that kids (and adults) who are being bullied have access to justice.
 
The description on her YouTube video reads:

"I'm struggling to stay in this world, because everything just touches me so deeply. I'm not doing this for attention. I'm doing this to be an inspiration and to show that I can be strong. I did things to myself to make pain go away, because I'd rather hurt myself then someone else. Haters are haters but please don't hate, although im sure I'll get them. I hope I can show you guys that everyone has a story, and everyones future will be bright one day, you just gotta pull through. I'm still here aren't I?"

She drank bleach in a previous suicide attempt
 
No, this guy's alleged actions are definitely considered child pornography in Canada. What this girl endured at the hands of her peers as a result of this guy's blackmail attempt is what's being called bullying.

Gotcha; thanks for the clarification.
 
A slippery slope indeed:

RCMP say online rumours and scams are delaying their investigation into the case of B.C. teenager Amanda Todd, who turned to YouTube to express her sadness about being bullied before taking her life.

Sgt. Peter Thiessen says one of those rumours is an "unfounded allegation" by the internet activist group Anonymous that identifies a New Westminster man as the B.C. teen's tormentor.

CBC News has learned that some of the background information that was posted could not have applied to the man who was named, and that there are at least two other people online using the same name and similar email addresses.
 
Fuck his reputation. Where to next? We should let our irrational emotions point the way! yay internet!
 
I disagree vehemently. In fact, I find your entire post quite troubling and downright scary.

No one really knows if it's the right person, but even if it is, all this is doing is inviting vigilante reprisals. And if it's the wrong person, then we allowed this group to ruin this person's life because of the public thirst for revenge.

As flawed as the system is, we should let the proper judicial channels deal with this.

this reminds me of a really sad story i heard not long ago - many years ago there was a horrible killing in the UK where a little boy, James Bulger, was abducted by two school boys - can't remember how old they were, around 10/11 i think - anyway these two kids tortured and murdered this little boy, and were sent to prison, and released as adults with new identities, but the whole thing shocked the nation it was so horrific and people have never forgotten

now, a vicious rumour recently went round a community in the UK, and a young man was wrongly rumoured to be one of the killers, and the public made his life hell - he was totally innocent, was a case of mistaken identity, but he was subjected to horrendous attacks and bullying by the general public, and it got so out of control he ended up committing suicide...

when people take matters into their own hands it can get pretty dangerous...
 
Well, as I said, if Anonymous did target the wrong person, then I won't applaud them any more. But I still think that as long as lawmakers do little to stop something that needs to be, vigilantes will arise. If anyone wants vigilantes to not take matters into their hands, then get the lawmakers to. Cyberbullying isn't going away tomorrow so it is time to take action.
 
That's just hedging your bets though. You can't have it both ways. That would be like saying "I support capital punishment, but only when they execute the right person". It misses the point completely. The act of vigilantism is inherently inaccurate. Fact is, people are complaining that the police are doing nothing, yet they have no idea what the police are up to. The reason it takes time is so that they don't end up naming the wrong person like these amateur, knee jerk witch hunts so often do.
 
Wonder what they'd think of processed foods, modern art, restless leg syndrome, 2,000 page bills that no one reads before passing or people so tethered by a digital umbilical cord to their electronic devices they suffer from separation anxiety at the thought of being without it for 5 minutes. I think they'd say, "That's progress?"

And call them stupid but they could sew their own clothes, grow their own food, deliver their own babies, build their own houses, make their own wine, forge a weapon or tool and construct a boat or wagon.

How many of those can you do?


The pretentiousness to think our technology and education alone makes us "wiser" than previous generations I find very off-putting.

I've come late to this party....... (still catching up)

Well, we've also subdued infectious diseases.We can connect and learn from people around the world. Travel to see or see in books many natural wonders and human creativity around the world. I'm very tired so this what i could come up with right away.

You know, the Native Americans did almost all that (excpet for the wagons, i'd say) and yet because they had their own religions they were considered heathens, stupid etc and usually brutally subjugated. Talking about "bullying".

(And stop dissing Modern Art; some is quite wonderful/or thought provoking.)
 
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