I wrote in a previous post about the biggest problem with bullying: The bullies get away with it, and they know it. And that's why they do it.
In many countries there have been massive anti-bullying campaigns, with millions and millions of dollars spent on them. There are appeals to emotions, there are awareness campaigns, there are education campaigns... and this has been going on for at least the past 30 years or even longer. Yet school bullying continues. Why? Because they get away with it, and they know it.
That's the problem. There are no serious repercussions for bullying. They are underage, which means that they are untouchable, and we are too afraid to do anything to them. We are a culture that puts children in pedestals and consider them, essentially, gods. They are the holiest of holiest, and have absolute diplomatic immunity. No crime, no matter how horrendous it might be, has any severe consequences. They are our holy cows. We may bemoan what they are doing and organize massive campaigns that achieve absolutely nothing. The bullies are so bold and self-confident that they even engage in bullying in front of cameras. Because they know they will get no punishment for it.
The only way to stop bullying is to treat the bullies as criminals. Bullying must have actual real tangible punishment.
The parents of the bullies must be involved, and must be held responsible. And this can be done with the only language that they understand: Money. That's the universal language that even the most depraved uncaring people understand. If they start receiving ever increasing fines for what their children are doing, they are going to react. If they don't pay, then they go to jail as anybody else who refuses to pay their fines.
As for the bullies themselves, if they don't stop after a reasonable amount of warnings, sanctions and fines, then they go to prison. It's that simple. Even this might not reform some of them, but why should the innocent victims pay the price? The bullies must be removed from their potential victims, like any other dangerous criminals.
But no, we can't do that. Our holy cows cannot be touched. And the victims must suffer for our cowardice.
In many countries there have been massive anti-bullying campaigns, with millions and millions of dollars spent on them. There are appeals to emotions, there are awareness campaigns, there are education campaigns... and this has been going on for at least the past 30 years or even longer. Yet school bullying continues. Why? Because they get away with it, and they know it.
That's the problem. There are no serious repercussions for bullying. They are underage, which means that they are untouchable, and we are too afraid to do anything to them. We are a culture that puts children in pedestals and consider them, essentially, gods. They are the holiest of holiest, and have absolute diplomatic immunity. No crime, no matter how horrendous it might be, has any severe consequences. They are our holy cows. We may bemoan what they are doing and organize massive campaigns that achieve absolutely nothing. The bullies are so bold and self-confident that they even engage in bullying in front of cameras. Because they know they will get no punishment for it.
The only way to stop bullying is to treat the bullies as criminals. Bullying must have actual real tangible punishment.
The parents of the bullies must be involved, and must be held responsible. And this can be done with the only language that they understand: Money. That's the universal language that even the most depraved uncaring people understand. If they start receiving ever increasing fines for what their children are doing, they are going to react. If they don't pay, then they go to jail as anybody else who refuses to pay their fines.
As for the bullies themselves, if they don't stop after a reasonable amount of warnings, sanctions and fines, then they go to prison. It's that simple. Even this might not reform some of them, but why should the innocent victims pay the price? The bullies must be removed from their potential victims, like any other dangerous criminals.
But no, we can't do that. Our holy cows cannot be touched. And the victims must suffer for our cowardice.
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