Are You A Bully

The Obama Justice Department has issued a new edict. From now on and henceforth forever more it will be against the law to refer to people as felons or convicts. According to our leaders it might hurt their feelings as they are reintegrated back into society. (I'm serious as a heart attack about this). Evidently, calling convicted crooks and thugs is a blatant form of bullying.

Anyway, this got me to thinking about a story in the news that came out of Shawano, Wisconsin. If a child under 18 is charged with bullying their parents receive one warning from the police. If there is a second instance of bullying the parents can be fined up to $641. Plover and Monona, Wisconsin also have these laws. All communities have populations under 10,000 but Monona doesn't count because it's an island surrounded by the Union of Soviet Madison. I would imagine the higher the population the less likely it is for the police to have bullying high on their list of serious crime. If you visited the South Side of Chicago serving a parent with a fine for their child's bully tactics just might be a qualifier for a bullet in the brain.

My first take on the Shawano thingy was to write it off. Kids need to learn to deal with bullying. Then, with mind changed, it might be a good idea. As a kid I was never really bullied. Oh sure, there was a 'Big Kid' named Buddy Stumbo who went around terrorizing us so we stayed out of his way. Buddy stayed on the north side of the Chicago Northwestern RR tracks and we smart guys stayed south.

I was larger for my size as a youngster so I wasn't often intimidated. Little did the other kids know I had an alligator mouth and a hummingbird butt or I'd have been picked on constantly.

In reality bullying is a crock of garbage. I suspect parents are most responsible for what these punks or punkettes do to other kids either by omission or commission.

Girls can be brutal, of course and the social media only enhances bullying. It must be terrifying for a 13-year old young go to go into the shower when she can't even wear a bra meant for a second grader.
Then there are texts and photos and Lord knows what and before one knows it the poor child commits suicide. Trust me. I happens more than one thinks.

Teachers need to be observant of bullying, too. In all my years of teaching I would submit men are more adept at handling bullies than their female counterparts. Only two women I can recall, Ruth Huermann and Joan DeVrieze both at Davenport Assumption High School were not at all intimidated by the naughty, obnoxious ones. Most of the time, in dealing with bullies, I'd get a rap on my classroom door, an explanation of the situation, then an exhortation for me to do something about it. Have you noticed how many female administrators there are in our educational system, primary through university? Have you also noticed how uncontrollable many of these institutions have become? I rest my case.

End of story.