NationStates Jolt Archive

I swear this is straight out of an ABC Family After School Special on bullying (http://thechronicleherald.ca/Search/858884.html) but damn if I'm not impressed.

Two students at Central Kings Rural High School fought back against bullying recently, unleashing a sea of pink after a new student was harassed and threatened when he showed up wearing a pink shirt.

The Grade 9 student arrived for the first day of school last Wednesday and was set upon by a group of six to 10 older students who mocked him, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up.

The next day, Grade 12 students David Shepherd and Travis Price decided something had to be done about bullying.
...

They used the Internet to encourage people to wear pink and bought 75 pink tank tops for male students to wear. They handed out the shirts in the lobby before class last Friday — even the bullied student had one.
...
David and Travis figure about half the school’s 830 students wore pink.

It was hard to miss the mass of students in pink milling about in the lobby, especially for the group that had harassed the new Grade 9 student.

"The bullies got angry," said Travis. "One guy was throwing chairs (in the cafeteria). We’re glad we got the response we wanted."

That's just rockin'. Bullying exists in the tacit notion that the bully has the crowd, so to speak, and is making his or her target the outcast. Better than beating their ass, making them the outcast is the greatest show up I can think of. (I can see this as a spiral, but fuck it...I'm sure that will be a topic of discussion...)

This is the second time this has stumbled to me, the first being a Dan Savage article where he looked at this-

Travis said that growing up, he was often picked on for wearing store-brand clothes instead of designer duds.

- and thought that a lot of people who suffered bullying for their orientation now could afford designer clothes might show their appreciation by sending these guys certificates for some.

I don't know that they really even want designer clothes (I wouldn't) but it's a killer gesture anyway. I don't normally like Savage (too much of that audience abuse thing) but that's a class move as well.

Since there are a lot of younger and perhaps socially awkward people here I thought it'd be appropriate to share. I did a search for 'pink' and didn't see it posted yet, could be wrong-but don't slag me if it was, I tried.

I usually try to end with a question but I can't come up with one.

I know, what should the question I should have ended this with be?

Next they should all sport some daisy dukes

A real leader does something because it'll be for the greater good and not because it will give him publicity. These two students have leadership qualities.

There are conventional ways of solving bully problems and unconventional, and the unconventional won school support. Thinking outside the box has its perks.

Ah just settle it over a game of dodge ball...like the good ole days

Ah just settle it over a game of dodge ball...like the good ole days

Seems already settled to me.

A real leader does something because it'll be for the greater good and not because it will give him publicity. These two students have leadership qualities.

There are conventional ways of solving bully problems and unconventional, and the unconventional won school support. Thinking outside the box has its perks.

Indeed!

Don't stand up for bigotry, kids! The line must be drawn here! This far, no farther!

And you will make them PAY for what they've done!

...

Excuse me...I seem to have suddenly started quoting First Contact.

kewl, It's nice to see a school body work together to stop bullying in a non-confrontational manner.

for now

I had meant to comment that this news came on the heels of Stephen Colbert prodding the younger generation for inaction 'at the scene' (in reference to the tasering incident) in lieu of going home and 'blogging about it.' I like Colbert but I think to a degree he was off the mark here, being a little unfair to that generation and to the situation. It seemed unreasonable for the crowd to over take the security at the lecture and this story proves that at least some members of the generation are willing to do something in creative and effective ways that don't involve mob violence.

I had meant to comment that this news came on the heels of Stephen Colbert prodding the younger generation for inaction 'at the scene' (in reference to the tasering incident) in lieu of going home and 'blogging about it.' I like Colbert but I think to a degree he was off the mark here, being a little unfair to that generation and to the situation. It seemed unreasonable for the crowd to over take the security at the lecture and this story proves that at least some members of the generation are willing to do something in creative and effective ways that don't involve mob violence.

i dont think it was so much a serious diss on the crowd not doing something (especially since they were probably glad that the cops got that jackass off the stage) but as it was on "blog activism" where writing about stuff is as good as doing something.

but the kids at that school have a good grasp on what it takes to deal with a bully. the kid who is being bullied is almost powerless. very much powerless against a group of kids. but the popular kids CAN do something about it if they can be bothered to. these kids have my admiration. they risked looking like fools AND put a good chunk of teenaged change into the project.

Shoulda just beat the piss out of the bastards.

i dont think it was so much a serious diss on the crowd not doing something (especially since they were probably glad that the cops got that jackass off the stage) but as it was on "blog activism" where writing about stuff is as good as doing something.

I can accept that. Without listening to it again I can see how I snagged on an impression early rather than evaluating the overall.

I would argue that there is a bit of weight to 'blog activism' (even if my blog gets less traffic than my dismally performing threads here...but then when you only update it like every two months in spurts and don't tell anyone about it, what should I expect?)-even these kids used the internet to get their job done. To tag Burroughs (who might have been quoting someone else, I don't want to look it up right now) Word begets image and image is virus-if the last few years have proved anything is that if something is said often enough it gains it's own weight-hell, it's something Colbert has played on repeatedly himself.

but the kids at that school have a good grasp on what it takes to deal with a bully. the kid who is being bullied is almost powerless. very much powerless against a group of kids. but the popular kids CAN do something about it if they can be bothered to. these kids have my admiration. they risked looking like fools AND put a good chunk of teenaged change into the project.
Agreed.

for now
Granted the bullies are not likely to go quietly into the night, but they don't have the same confidence they had, they are properly marginalized and anything they do now will be under that light. They aren't going to have that power to create 'otherness' anymore.

Shoulda just beat the piss out of the bastards.

This was, I'd argue, way more affective.

As someone who suffered both economic and masculinity related bullying in school, I say RIGHT ON!!!

That's exactly how you de-fuse a bully -- you tke the crowd away from them and turn them against him. Outstanding!

This was, I'd argue, way more affective.

I think they would be equally effective especially if the beating took place in front of the student body...plus it'd be a lot more entertaining to watch...

anyways on a serious note...people have made bullying too big a deal..its been going on since there were schools..you just didn't have all the violence and such kids are raised in today spilling over into it ..

Props to the people with the pink shirts bit...classy move...

I think they would be equally effective especially if the beating took place in front of the student body...plus it'd be a lot more entertaining to watch...
I don't know, the day long melt down would have been pretty entertaining.

anyways on a serious note...people have made bullying too big a deal..its been going on since there were schools..you just didn't have all the violence and such kids are raised in today spilling over into it ..
Polio had been around a long time, didn't mean we didn't try and cure it.

Props to the people with the pink shirts bit...classy move...
On this I agree.

I think they would be equally effective especially if the beating took place in front of the student body...plus it'd be a lot more entertaining to watch...

anyways on a serious note...people have made bullying too big a deal..its been going on since there were schools..you just didn't have all the violence and such kids are raised in today spilling over into it ..

Props to the people with the pink shirts bit...classy move...

You honestly don't see the irony in these two statements?

Ah just settle it over a game of dodge ball...like the good ole days

if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball

Shoulda just beat the piss out of the bastards.

Agreed.

Violence rarely solves anything, it just invites more violence until it escalates it to the point of homicide. Which doesn't settle who is right...merely who is left.

Violence rarely solves anything, it just invites more violence until it escalates it to the point of homicide. Which doesn't settle who is right...merely who is left.

If you're alive and the other guy is dead it doesn't really matter who is right or wrong, does it?

You honestly don't see the irony in these two statements?

Obviously you didn't get why before the second line I put "On a serious Note"...

Throwing wrenches would be hilarious but very very painful....

Who the hell wears a pink tank top? Shit, might as well get out my acid-wash jeans and vote for Mondale while I'm at it.

Who the hell wears a pink tank top? Shit, might as well get out my acid-wash jeans and vote for Mondale while I'm at it.

Well, it had to be something the kids can get in bulk-maybe they ran across someone who had erroneously stocked up-the kids did two good deeds, helped out a bullied kid and finally let that guy get rid of all his pink tank tops...

As someone who suffered both economic and masculinity related bullying in school, I say RIGHT ON!!!

That's exactly how you de-fuse a bully -- you take the crowd away from them and turn them against him. Outstanding!

QFT. I tip my hat to you... figuratively that is, for I am hatless you see.

I quite agree with you, having too been the object of bullying in my younger years. Though I did eventually fight back because no one did for me and I did so violently. It got one of the worse bullies off my back but it didn't win me any favours.

All it did was turn me into what I didn't want to become.

People who say that violence is the answer to bullies are wrong. Yes the initial power rush feels, good, scratch that, it feels great but then you realise that you have this power and the bully now is the bullied. Yes they fear you but is it worth it? You've become what you hate.

You're only perpetuating the cycle of violence.

This was, I'd argue, way more affective.

Undoubtedly, and probably more amusing, but nothing quite satisfies like decking some jackass.

Undoubtedly, and probably more amusing, but nothing quite satisfies like decking some jackass.

Disagreed. Sure, I've got one guy off my back, but he has a couple dozen mates, they're all stronger than I am, and I can't do much about that.

Unless you're willing to go Ender style and really fuck up the first guy, the others will simply fight you again. And again, and again. And one day they'll beat you.

I might be able to take on one guy hand to hand, but when a second guy wades in from behind me, and there's about eight of them in total, how does fighting help me? And if everyone weighs in on my side, I'll be alone eventually, and the bully will be angry and harbouring a grudge.

Far better to do it this way.

If you're alive and the other guy is dead it doesn't really matter who is right or wrong, does it?

This attitude explains a lot about US foreign policy...and why so few people like it.

When i was young, I was in a similar situation. I didn't wear name brand clothes and I was given a hard time because I wasn't Mr Masculine. Its good to see that people are no longer tolerating the bullying culture and the excuse 'boys will be boys'.

anyways on a serious note...people have made bullying too big a deal..its been going on since there were schools..you just didn't have all the violence and such kids are raised in today spilling over into it ..


Yes. There has always ben violence. But we should let children get hurt, because, it's like traditional, then?

Even by NS standards, that's pretty dumb.

Who the hell wears a pink tank top? Shit, might as well get out my acid-wash jeans and vote for Mondale while I'm at it.

I had several pink shirts.


of course, they turned pink when a red shirt got mixed into that load and 'bled' out... but the result is the same... pink shirt... socks... underwear...

When I was younger, a girl who was a bully by virtue of having a group who supported her used to pick on me, specifically in gym class. I would not hit her because I was taller and bigger than she was, and had been taught to never pick on somebody smaller. She knew this, and with her friends used to torment me. One day I had enough of it, and (as it was the start of class and the teacher was still in her office) grabbed the girl by the wrist and dragged her across the gym. Her friends tried to pry me off, but by the time I had reached the office, they all melted away. I knocked on the door, the teacher came out, I slapped the girl's wrist into the teacher's hand and said "would you please DO something about this pest?"

The teacher (who had known there was a problem but didn't want to interfere until someone asked her to) took the girl into the office amid cheers and laughter from the rest of the class.

From then on, she never bothered me again, nor anyone else, since all anyone had to do was say "pest" and the entire school would end up laughing.

So I would say yes, you CAN take away a bully's power without resorting to violence.

So I would say yes, you CAN take away a bully's power without resorting to violence.

I concede that as well. And if posters take a look at my earlier post, I do admit to having used violence to get bullies off me but it does come at a cost. It's very easy to cross the line from self-defence and become the bully yourself when you resort to violence.

Yes. There has always ben violence. But we should let children get hurt, because, it's like traditional, then?

Even by NS standards, that's pretty dumb.

No not physically hurt...but a little name calling and such nothing wrong with that to a point then adults should step in to stop it ...but they aren't going to have teachers and mommy and daddy etc etc to hold their hand and keep the "mean" people away forever...once they get into the real world...you aren't babied anymore and you need thick skin in today's world

No not physically hurt...but a little name calling and such nothing wrong with that to a point then adults should step in to stop it ...but they aren't going to have teachers and mommy and daddy etc etc to hold their hand and keep the "mean" people away forever...once they get into the real world...you aren't babied anymore and you need thick skin in today's world

Name calling is one thing but to torment a kid because they have a hearing disability*, or any kind of physical disability for that matter? I'm sorry but that crosses the line. I agree that we need to have a thicker skin when it comes to name calling but we don't have to tolerate people's discrimination when it comes to physical disabilities.

I will level with you having been down this road myself. Name calling hurts like a bitch, but it's a fact of life. One can grow a thicker skin over time, but what doesn't slide off as easily are insults and discrimination as well as teasing because you're physically limited it one way or another.

And people wonder why the bullied sometimes snap. I'll tell you it's because of general bystander indifference.




* This happened to me, and it isn't fun. I got teased ruthlessly because I wore hearing aids in school and they weren't as small and discreet as they are today. The teacher wasn't exactly helpful either. She would pull me out of class to make sure I was wearing them... so...

If John Wayne has taught me anything, it's that only Real Men wear Pink Shirts.

Anybody who thinks Pink is somehow a 'girly' color should watch out for the Duke.

Once in HS I was walking thru a door and this guy walking thru in the opposite direction and bumped into me; then started pushing me and yelling at me for bumping into him. I heard the words "Why don't you try making friends instead of enemies?" coming out of my mouth but it was like someone else was saying it. He got this dumbfounded look on his face and I walked away. He later asked me to come hang out at his house with him. I didn't mean that I wanted to be his friend but I figured it did sound like an offer I guess. I only hung out with him once because he was kind of a spoiled rich kid and was just trying to show off all of his stuff to me which was annoying. But he never bothered me again.

Once in HS I was walking thru a door and this guy walking thru in the opposite direction and bumped into me; then started pushing me and yelling at me for bumping into him. I heard the words "Why don't you try making friends instead of enemies?" coming out of my mouth but it was like someone else was saying it. He got this dumbfounded look on his face and I walked away. He later asked me to come hang out at his house with him. I didn't mean that I wanted to be his friend but I figured it did sound like an offer I guess. I only hung out with him once because he was kind of a spoiled rich kid and was just trying to show off all of his stuff to me which was annoying. But he never bothered me again.

Sometimes instincts or the subconscious know just what to say. The art of tact is knwing when to muffle the son-of-a-bitch. Well done.

No not physically hurt...but a little name calling and such nothing wrong with that to a point then adults should step in to stop it ...but they aren't going to have teachers and mommy and daddy etc etc to hold their hand and keep the "mean" people away forever...once they get into the real world...you aren't babied anymore and you need thick skin in today's world

Sure. So where do you draw the line?

How about throwing water? After all, that's just harmless fun, right?

Birthday beats? (A big UK thing)

Maybe standing in front of their bicycle?

Stealing stuff from their bag?

Obviously, no punching or fighting, but how about ruffling hair? Unwanted physical contact (not in a sexual way)?

Stepping in front of person/bike?

Holding doors shut?

Teasing, poking fun at because they're the 'nerd' and you should be allowed to?

Spitballs?

Where would you draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable? You underestimate the amount of damage that concerted teasing and bullying can cause to a person. I think I've managed to turn out okay, but there are plenty who haven't. I still have fears of people based on dress or mannerisms, am still socially withdrawn, self-conscious, etc. I currently have a good group of friends, so I was lucky. There are plenty who aren't. And I have fought back with physical violence on occasion. Once it worked, once it didn't*. It's bloody hard to deal with a gang of guys unless you go Ender style, which tends to get you in trouble with the school.

Reviewing what happened to me, I'm surprised I'm as well-adjusted to society as I am. All of those I listed happened at least once in my school life. Some of them happened many times.

*Well, I nearly choked the guy to death, until a mate of his stepped in as well, after he started it. Then I got badly beaten up (nothing broken). I then spent the next three weeks scared of my shadow, exacerbated when he punched me in the back of the head with about twelve mates of his around.

Sometimes instincts or the subconscious know just what to say. The art of tact is knwing when to muffle the son-of-a-bitch. Well done.

Thanks. Yeah, I might have learned from something that happened in junior high where someone who used to be a friend got new friends and with them all sitting together in a class we all had, he was ripping into me with as many insults as he could think of. I brought up that I knew he and his brother would jack off together and his friends all started laughing at him.

After class he followed close behind me as we headed to the next period as I tried to ignore him because I don't like to fight and then tackled me from behind. The next thing I knew I was sitting on top of him hitting him repeatedly in the face and was being pulled off by a group of dudes saying that a teacher was coming. It's scary that I blacked out like that.

He was so humiliated (being beaten up by the biggest nerd in school and all) that he didn't show up the next day and had his mother pull him out of that school completely.

Thanks. Yeah, I might have learned from something that happened in junior high where someone who used to be a friend got new friends and with them all sitting together in a class we all had, he was ripping into me with as many insults as he could think of. I brought up that I knew he and his brother would jack off together and his friends all started laughing at him.

After class he followed close behind me as we headed to the next period as I tried to ignore him because I don't like to fight and then tackled me from behind. The next thing I knew I was sitting on top of him hitting him repeatedly in the face and was being pulled off by a group of dudes saying that a teacher was coming. It's scary that I blacked out like that.

He was so humiliated (being beaten up by the biggest nerd in school and all) that he didn't show up the next day and had his mother pull him out of that school completely.

Well, that worked out...well...didn't it? Still, de-fusing without "speaking their language" (violence) is the ultimate coup.

If John Wayne has taught me anything, it's that only Real Men wear Pink Shirts.

Anybody who thinks Pink is somehow a 'girly' color should watch out for the Duke.
A local fireman at the firehouse on his route to school in Glendale started calling him "Little Duke," because he never went anywhere without his huge Airedale Terrier dog, Duke.[2][3] He preferred "Duke" to "Marion," and the name stuck for the rest of his life.
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Wayne was politically a conservative Republican. He took part in creating the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in 1943 and was elected president of that organization in 1947 . He was an ardent anti-communist, and vocal supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1951, he made Big Jim McLain to show his support for the anti-communist cause. He also claimed to have been instrumental in having Carl Foreman blacklisted from Hollywood after the release of the anti-McCarthyism western High Noon, and later teamed up with Howard Hawks to make Rio Bravo as a right-wing response. Wayne used his iconic status to support conservative causes, including rallying support for the Vietnam War by producing, co-directing, and starring in the critically panned The Green Berets (1968). In 1978 however, he enraged conservatives by supporting liberal causes such as the Panama Canal Treaty[13] and the innocence of Patty Hearst.[14]
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Wayne was married three times and divorced twice. His wives, all of them Hispanic women, were Josephine Alicia Saenz, Esperanza Baur, and Pilar Pallete. He had four children with Josephine and three with Pilar, including the producer Michael Wayne and actor Patrick Wayne. Wayne is also the great-uncle[citation needed] of boxing heavyweight Tommy Morrison.

Wayne had several high-profile affairs, including one with Marlene Dietrich that lasted for three years.[29]

In the years prior to his death, Wayne was romantically involved with his former secretary Pat Stacy (1941-1995).[30] She wrote a biography of her life with him, DUKE: A Love Story (1983).

He was politically conservative and, although he scorned politics as a way of life for himself, he enthusiastically supported Richard M. Nixon, Barry Goldwater, Spiro T. Agnew, Ronald Reagan and others who, he felt, fought for his concept of Americanism and anti-Communism.
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More recently, he found himself the target of much hate mail from the right wing, whose political idol he had been, after he supported President Carter's espousal of the Panama Canal treaties. He did not mind. Although his basic views had not moderated, his tolerance, it seemed, had. He had even shown up at a function to congratulate Jane Fonda, who was to the left what he was to the right, on winning a screen award.
Something new every day!
:eek:

No not physically hurt...but a little name calling and such nothing wrong with that to a point then adults should step in to stop it ...but they aren't going to have teachers and mommy and daddy etc etc to hold their hand and keep the "mean" people away forever...once they get into the real world...you aren't babied anymore and you need thick skin in today's world

So - you'd have no problem being called a moron for this pile of tripe?

A real leader does something because it'll be for the greater good and not because it will give him publicity. These two students have leadership qualities.

There are conventional ways of solving bully problems and unconventional, and the unconventional won school support. Thinking outside the box has its perks.
Agreed simple way to completely embarrass the bullies without causing any harm whatsoever. Hopefully those asshats will learn from this

Undoubtedly, and probably more amusing, but nothing quite satisfies like decking some jackass.

If there was an immediate threat or if the other person started escalating it to that level then absolutely

Hell I would not be particularly sad if the bullies did get decked in this case ... BUT without the immediate threat I think this was the better option. And a lot less risk of injury (weather to the kid or the bullies) in this fashion

If there was an immediate threat or if the other person started escalating it to that level then absolutely

Hell I would not be particularly sad if the bullies did get decked in this case ... BUT without the immediate threat I think this was the better option. And a lot less risk of injury (weather to the kid or the bullies) in this fashion

Not to mention that there where six to ten bullies and these guys where only two, and don't seem like 'fighters.' So if they had chosen violence it might have gone really south on them-as it turns out the crowd was with the two, but there's no saying that they would have had their backs in a brawl.

Really, their solution was the best one.

David Shepherd, Travis Price, and some other 75 students would have been sent home for wearing those tank tops had they gone to school here. Why? Because tank tops are prohibited.

I think that most were wearing their pink tank tops over their regular shirts.

Ah.

Well, I hope they had sunglasses. Pink can be a very bright colour. *nods*

Did this accomplish anything, or are the bullies still assholes?

David Shepherd, Travis Price, and some other 75 students would have been sent home for wearing those tank tops had they gone to school here. Why? Because tank tops are prohibited.

I think that most were wearing their pink tank tops over their regular shirts.

God dang homo-seckuals, acting up again.

I had meant to comment that this news came on the heels of Stephen Colbert prodding the younger generation for inaction 'at the scene' (in reference to the tasering incident) in lieu of going home and 'blogging about it.' I like Colbert but I think to a degree he was off the mark here, being a little unfair to that generation and to the situation. It seemed unreasonable for the crowd to over take the security at the lecture and this story proves that at least some members of the generation are willing to do something in creative and effective ways that don't involve mob violence.

why would anyone take action at the scene of that incident? the student was causing problems before he got to the mic, and then he started resisting arrest violently, they couldnt get his other hand into cuffs therefore they tasered him. it's how officer's are trained to do their job. anyone who stood up for the dumb ass who started the shit would have been sitting in jail right next time him.

no matter what, you CANNOT fight a police officer. All they were going to do when they grabbed him was escort him outside, since he hadn't broken any laws up until that point. bust resisting and pushing the officers landed him in jail.