Indiana Mom Sends Son To School With A Stun Gun

[Nyoibo]

Another fallback, which very few people seem to do, is press charges, it's assault, treat it as such, people call it bullying which makes most people go "Oh, it's just kids messing around" call it assault and suddenly people start to take more notice.

[DrFaroohk]

Oh I'm all for not delivering severe beatings except when necessary, but I wasn't talking about that.

First, I believe that if someone starts shit with you, then it's on them. Similar to stand your ground, even though it's a school. I have the right to stand here and mind my own business. You do NOT have the right to come over and hit me, and if you do hit men, and I have any inkling you might do it again, I have the right to hit you.

Second, it's not always so easy to get away. Hey, there's someone attacking me. I think I will turn my back on him in hopes to esca-OH FUCK he just kicked me in the back of the head and now I'm dead.

Third...well...don't start nuttin', won't be nuttin'. That simple. The world would be a hundred times better if everyone went by that logic.

[bex1218]

My judo (way back when) class had a "zero tolerance policy" on defending yourself. They always thought that you can get away. If you fought, you were kicked out. Sometimes you really have no choice. These days, I would fight. My parents would back me up. I have been bullied since I was 5 until I was 18. Even with karate and judo classes I would not fight. And its not from being afraid of being expelled. Just didn't. Its sad that bullies can get away with things but those who defend themselves get screwed over.

[KnitShoni]

Oh I'm all for not delivering severe beatings except when necessary, but I wasn't talking about that.

First, I believe that if someone starts shit with you, then it's on them. Similar to stand your ground, even though it's a school. I have the right to stand here and mind my own business. You do NOT have the right to come over and hit me, and if you do hit men, and I have any inkling you might do it again, I have the right to hit you.

Second, it's not always so easy to get away. Hey, there's someone attacking me. I think I will turn my back on him in hopes to esca-OH FUCK he just kicked me in the back of the head and now I'm dead.

Third...well...don't start nuttin', won't be nuttin'. That simple. The world would be a hundred times better if everyone went by that logic.

Exactly. Why does it seem the responsibility to do no harm falls on the person being attacked? You lost the right for me to not harm you when you put your hands on me without my consent, and with intent to cause me pain.

[KabeRinnaul]

As I alluded earlier, I was bullied in high school. I was suspended four or five times in high school for "fighting," with two of those being when I wasn't fighting back (read: I turtled, and they rained punches on my back). I do understand what DrFaroohk is saying when he says he, "wasn't allowed to fight back" (although I think that's a rather melodramatic way to phrase it).

My Junior High was like that. According to the administration, there is no such thing as a one-sided fight. Their logic was that nobody starts a fight for no reason, so the one being hit must have somehow provoked his attackers. This let them skip any investigation or judgment calls and go straight to "punish everyone involved".

[blas87]

Or, rather, punish the outcast(s) for daring to stand up to their precious jocks and cheerleaders and honor roll students, because it would make the school suffer if Jimmy and Johnny missed a football game because the mean outcast girl got sick of them calling her a slut (with teachers ignoring it) so she fought back.

[tropicsgoddess]

I'm not sure what the problem is. There's no excuse for bringing a weapon to school. Is this supposed to be a bad parenting thread?

The problem is that the school hasn't done enough with the bullying problem and that it got to the point of the mom having her kid bring in a stun gun for self defense against the bullies. I understand your point of view on the no excuse to bring weapons. Sure the kid could've at least gone to some self defense classes but then he would be suspended or even expelled for doing that too simply because he hit other students. The school administration really needs to take a look at the bullying problem and thoroughly address it. Bullying is serious business and that affects the learning environment of not just one student but others too.

[Greenday]

The problem is that the school hasn't done enough with the bullying problem and that it got to the point of the mom having her kid bring in a stun gun for self defense against the bullies. I understand your point of view on the no excuse to bring weapons. Sure the kid could've at least gone to some self defense classes but then he would be suspended or even expelled for doing that too simply because he hit other students. The school administration really needs to take a look at the bullying problem and thoroughly address it. Bullying is serious business and that affects the learning environment of not just one student but others too.

I agree schools need to be stricter with bullying and I'm glad my state is probably the strictest when it comes to anti-bullying these days. But if a parent thinks that sending their kid with a weapon to school is a good idea, they are doing it wrong and probably shouldn't be parenting.

[Andara Bledin]

This entire episode is full of fail. The only person who acted reasonably seems to be the kid, and he's the one being punished the most.

Schools really need to step up to the plate, acknowledge that bullying happens, admit that it's unacceptable, and then take steps to punish those responsible.

Parents also need to step up and start taking bullying more seriously, but not by arming their children. More parents need to be willing to use the law to force their children's schools into doing their duty to protect the children in their care. And in cases where the abuse happens off of school ground, they need to start filing proper assault charges. If there were some real consequences for the actions the bullies were taking, then perhaps it would become less attractive.

^-.-^

[crashhelmet]

The biggest problem with doing something about bullying in schools is that they're treated like a lot restraining orders are treated. The bullies have to be caught in the act in order for anything to be done about it.

Sure, they could take the victim's word for it, but all it takes is one single false accusation and a lawsuit stemming from it to stop that. Ignoring the situation can and has lead to incidents like Columbine, suicides, and other travesties.

It was probably an incident similar to the Zangief Kid that created the zero tolerance policies that punish the victim for fighting back. Or maybe those were based off of false accusations as well.

They could hire more security, install surveillance cameras, and turn the schools into a prison-like building, but parents would probably complain about that too.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Rageaholic]

I would love it if someone got the bullies on camera, but that will never happen because Public Schools have zero tolerance for electronics (specifically cell phones). They love to micromanage everything, but they can't handle bullies. You can't have it both ways, either allow the kids more freedom to stick up for themselves or do something about the bullying problem.

[Andara Bledin]

Small digital cameras are cheaper than cell phones and often can take halfway decent video, and a kid could wear one on a ribbon around his neck, tucked under his shirt for ease of use. They don't make calls, do texting, or have games, so most of the reasons why a school bans cell phones are not applicable.

^-.-^

[Zod]

I'm not sure what the problem is. There's no excuse for bringing a weapon to school. Is this supposed to be a bad parenting thread?

So you don't believe in people carrying weapons to defend themselves?

Had he used a real gun, would this have been a 'Stand Your Ground' situation?

[Greenday]

So you don't believe in people carrying weapons to defend themselves?

Had he used a real gun, would this have been a 'Stand Your Ground' situation?

I am a firm believer in being allowed to protect oneself. I just believe in appropriately protecting yourself and a weapon isn't warranted in this situation. Yet again, i think steps were skipped in handling a bully situation. If it gets physical,, have the bully arrested for assault.

[MrsEclipse]

Small digital cameras are cheaper than cell phones and often can take halfway decent video, and a kid could wear one on a ribbon around his neck, tucked under his shirt for ease of use. They don't make calls, do texting, or have games, so most of the reasons why a school bans cell phones are not applicable.

^-.-^

In some states like mine there are laws that no one can be recorded without their express knowledge and consent, and operating a recording device in a public place without a permit is illegal. So if you proved you were being attacked via hidden camera, you would be slammed twice- once for fighting at school and once for using a recording device. And knowing the school system, the bully probably would be let off because they couldn't punish him based on a recording you weren't supposed to do.