You can't just make 'bullying' illegal, Gaga! What next, make it illegal to 'dis' Justin Bieber or hate on country music? What about religious or political disagreements? Will Palin or Bachmann be able to put Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart in jail for 'bullying' because these TeaBagger wingnuts occasionally receive well-deserved ridicule?
The problem is that the definition of 'bullying' is just too vague, and at a certain point it's already illegal (sexual harassment, hate-crimes, discrimination, stalking, etc.). Actual physical abuse is already illegal.
The sentiment is fine, but trying to 'outlaw' bullying is like trying to outlaw conflict or stupidity, lack of education, bad moods, in-groups/out-groups or dominance struggles, etc.. Why not just better educate kids how to deal with bullies, I mean, aside from killing themselves? The kid who kills himself because of bullying in my view hasn't been made tough *enough*, so making them softer doesn't seem to be the answer.
Filling jails with 'bullies' is not the answer, and jail will only make bullies worse (at taxpayer expense). Who's going to be the judge of this bullying? How are we going to deal with the added court costs? Are we going to put the extra prisons in your neighborhood, and who's going to pay for them? We need *fewer* people in prison to make room for *real* criminals, not bullies.
When I was a kid, I was bullied quite a bit for being one of the shortest kids in my grade. In high school, it was a madhouse the first week or so...at least until I started letting kids know I wasn't an easy target, could humiliate them with my wit or speak loudly with my fists if they got physical. Often, the very act of returning banter was all it took to nullify the bully. Sometimes, the worst thing one can do when 'bullied' is to submit. This is normal dominance behavior in children and we should learn to deal with it, not just make it illegal.
In essence, the bullying I got made me tougher (and I was already a tough kid). Is bullying wrong? Perhaps. Is it human nature? Of course. Can a kid who got bullied end up changing the minds of others? Most definitely—it really depends how we deal with it. We've all had someone we underestimated who came to surprise us and earn our respect, right? I know I have. Is teasing the same as bullying? That's where it gets messy. Who's making the call?
Anyway, I appreciate the sentiment, but education is the key here. We need to start young and let children know that being different is ok, and to realize that there's more to people than outward appearance, sexual orientation, height, etc. More educated children exposed to some early diversity training are going to be less likely to bully in the first place, but we'll never totally eliminate it because it's part of human nature.
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