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yd inman's avatar

I think bullying within the school environment is institutionally supported. I'm the parent of a child who was bullied from her middle to senior years. The great culture shift that happened in US schools, "zero tolerance for violence" led to more victims than aggressors being punished by authorities.

The typical design within this policy is to speak up as a victim. Name your tormentor. "We will deal with it." The aggressor is spoken to with little to no other consequence for harming another. The school then indicates this matter was successfully handled.

But as most of us know, bullies are emboldened under such policies. More torment. Then more torment. The victim realizes going to the "authorities" does nothing.

Eventually the victim lashes out in an effort to make it stop. Finally, the relationship turns physically violent because the victim fought back.

Well, then. The school can finally act on the zero tolerance policy and the victim is punished.

I so fully agree with you and your article above. Bullies are part of the institution of our society to make sure the 80 % stay in line.

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Alex Ilex's avatar

Thanks! You're absolutely correct - I do believe school boards support bullies because the bullies never get really punished, the 'educational conversation' is the worst they get. Ofc it encourages more bullying until victim lashes out. Vicious cycle.

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Mediocrates's avatar

School bullying is a frequent theme of teen movies where a hero vs villain narrative involving an attractive girl is the "normal" parable. This is always drawn out until the end of the movie where the bully is finally vanquished by the hero who was previously non-combatant but now able to gain ascendency (and the girl) via recently learned self defence. Prior to this the bully is "respected" by the mewling crowd and is impervious to adult intervention (which is usually weak and ineffective). I suspect this scenario is frequently mimicked in real life and will continue whilst the entertainment media supports the explicit portrayal of physical violence.

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Alex Ilex's avatar

Sadly, bullying isn't in most of the cases about gaining an 'attractive girl' (and girls are often bullied too, by other girls) and in most of the cases victim doesn't gain strength to stand up for himself or herself. So, in real life it's much uglier than in the movies, and different overall.

But you have a point though - while entertainment industry will keep showing bullying as a 'normal part of school life', this shit will continue, and much uglier than in the movies again.

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Timothy Cary's avatar

That was me on my knees in High School, but one wonderful woman walked over to the bully and slapped him with vigor. He was more important than I, as a star football player. Was he punished at all? Nope, for the dope! So which person is more valuable to society? Ms. Anderson, the Junior that slapped the bully. As we all should recognize, political schooling did not, and will not bring about neither knowledge nor justice. The fools wanted me to become a star basketball player. Na.

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Alex Ilex's avatar

So you were also bullied in school? Me too, not for my sexuality ironically, just for being a weirdo with different interests.

Brave woman. But yeah I do believe school system encourages bullying and globally, not just in the West.

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Inverted Pyramid's avatar

The bullying extends into the Internet. Bullying on Facebook is rampant as it empowers the Bully beyond the high school’s jurisdiction.

Memes, innuendoes, and double entendres bully a target with very few words which provides a plausible denial.

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Alex Ilex's avatar

That's sadly correct. Bullying is transferred everywhere in our society from schools sadly. It's perhaps the root of all our problems and must be uprooted.

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sram54's avatar

I fully agree- I see clear evidence of bullying, even in Substack or X, when I suggest a different point of view. Even a very mild-mannered opposing view is responded to with filthy language and shocking vulgarity-to respond in kind to such abuse, one has to stoop real low. Just one point, where we differ in nuances- the bullied (victims)are not always weirdos or gay-they may be just physically weak, nerds with an intellectual bent of mind or even socially inept.

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Alex Ilex's avatar

If your 'point of view' is DemoNratic lies, propaganda and slander, I understand why people are losing patience with you. Bullying and insulting you is still not goodind you but I understand their emotion.

And if you don't like this attitude perhaps you should think on how YOUR side used to abuse, bully, cancel, censor and deplatform people on FB or former Twitter for ANY slightest disagreement however fact-based and for any innocent joke., for eight years in a row. So pretty understandable why people are fed up with this shit and do angry now.

So don't pretend being a victim now and get the taste of your own medicine, maybe it will teach you to not cancel and censor people for disagreements.

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sram54's avatar

All I am asking is for decent discourse, decorum and not using foul language, notwithstanding how outlandish you think my views are and vice versa

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Alex Ilex's avatar

It's not too much but did people on your side ever give a decent discoourse to those disagreeing with them? Nope, usually it's them who were resorting to ad hominems, personal insults and bullying first.

Again, I'm not justifying the foul treatment you're allegedly getting for your views, it's bad. I'm merely saying your side is reaping what you did sow.

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sram54's avatar

Is that too much?

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sram54's avatar

Who are the people on my side. I see myself as a fiscal conservative, I have no respect for Woke policies or Identity politics or pushing LGBTQ to the mainstream-they are at best a marginal group, who should be allowed to live with dignity. I am also against any form of cultism and this whole approach of either you are with me or against me. So, I cannot figure out who are the people on my side, for whose actions I have to pay by being subject to vulgar abuse

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Alex Ilex's avatar

DemoNratic supporters in general. Also don't group all LGBT+ together, gays and lesbians have nothing to do with Woke queer TQ+ ideological crap.

But yeah you're paying for their crap, Woke and DemoNratic crap. When people hear you expressing same opinions as them say on Trump or Ukraine, they assume you're a Woke radical, and give you the same treatment as them. I don't think only Woketards hate Trump or love Ukraine, but mostly it's their view though so people automatically assume you're Woke too when you express these positions.

Yeah I agree it's unfair to you, you shouldn't be assumed Woke by default because of it and then abused as such. But blame DemoNrats and Woketards for this shit. If not for them with their bullying and cancel culture, censorship and warmongering, violent riots and sick identity politics, people wouldn't have been treating you like that for disagreements.

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sram54's avatar

Funding Ukraine or not-I don’t know. But you cannot allow Russia to usurp Ukraine

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Alex Ilex's avatar

You're telling you're not a Democrat? You're recycling ALL DemoNratic propaganda for the dumbest dumbasses, I won't even address this idiocy.

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Jan 4
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Alex Ilex's avatar

How did your school solve bullying problem though? It's interesting.

As for police in school, I dunno, sounds too much to me too tbh, why did yout dad and this guy insist upon it exactly?

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Jan 4
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Alex Ilex's avatar

Oh, then I do oppose 'restorative justice' too, I didn't realize Woketarfs did hijack one more thing and invented one more radical dangerous shit and hid it behind noble slogans.

You didn't answer though how did your school overcome bullying.

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Jan 4
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Alex Ilex's avatar

Wait, who was going behind your back?

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Jan 4
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Alex Ilex's avatar

Anti-Shakesperean club.

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Jan 4
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Alex Ilex's avatar

Oh, I see, DEI instead of bullying, snitching instead of police. It's even worse then.

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