Are you telling me that we’ve been lying when we tell kids that “sticks and stones” is what they should say to their tormenters? That we should instead be telling them, “if Billy calls you a doo-doo head, you just go ahead and punch him in the face as hard as you can.”?
Should we be rewriting the laws of the land so that persons on the receiving end of verbal have the legal right to retaliate with physical violence?
Should black people receive special legal dispensation to violently dispatch anyone calling them “nigger”?
Or are we a civilized society in which we agree that while the uttering of verbal insults is repugnant and may cause emotional suffering, physical violence in response to such insults is unacceptable - no matter your age or race?
All fairly easily answered rhetorical questions, and on a philosophical, even practical day to day level it’d be easy to agree with the obvious high road answers. How then to deal with people who are into pushing buttons because they know there will be no repercussions they will appreciate as such? Some people respect only physical domination, and take great joy in trolling a populace that is averse to it. Is it justice that they get to have their jollies, secure in the belief they will not suffer any consequences whatsoever? So “good” people have to endure their shit?
It was a lie wielded by people who want to avoid responsibility. Literally everything we know about stress and anger proves it is a lie. Always was, always will be.
‘Taken to hospital’ does not mean hospitalized. ‘Taken to hospital’ is the school trying to cover it’s ass. The student was treated and released. Meaning he may have received an alcohol swab and a band aid.
The beating was well deserved and the best thing for him, IMO.
There is a such a thing as a society being too civilized for its own good. Sometimes some bullies or miscreants need a thumping for a message to truly sink in. There are some bullies who are experts at gaming a school-justice system in such a way that they can torment someone yet suffer minimal consequences as long as they are “playing by the rules.” Not saying that that is the case in this case, but just that sometimes primitive-style justice is best.
I can’t believe all those who are excusing this teacher’s loss of control. It’s mind-boggling to me. I guess one could believe the teacher taught the student a valuable lesson, in some larger, real-world context, while still believing that such behavior has no place in a school setting, from a school official. In that case, ok, but the teacher also learned the same valuable (and costly) lesson as well. Namely, that anti-social actions have consequences. And it was anti-social. The teacher didn’t momentarily snap and throw one punch, he aggressively followed the kid with numerous punches and was clearly the aggressor.
ETA: Even describing the action with the basketball as “throwing” seems a little misleading to me. It was more like a gentle toss. In no conceivable way could anyone have been injured by that move.
Not that it matters but the kid certainly looked white to me. While his head and face were blurred out, the other areas of his body that were visible stood in stark contrast to the skin tone of the teacher. What leads you to believe the kid is black?
Yeah especially since it was “Nigga” so in that case it would just be a very sarcastic insult, like calling somebody “Buddy” right before you punch them.
“Words will never hurt me,” but “the last straw broke the camel’s back.” I don’t condone violence and I won’t comment about this specific case, but look at this way: some people are subjected to racism every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Taken individually, each racial slur or discimination doesn’t look bad at all, just brush it off and go on with your business, right? But when it’s constant it wears down on you. Get it often enough and even the most resolute person might flip out sometimes.
Maybe it was the first time X said something racist to Y. Maybe it was even in jest. Maybe X has done the same hundreds of times before with no consequence. But X was the last straw on Y’s back and will feel the full force of all the other Xs that were racist to Y in the past.
It’s not just racism, it’s negative stereotyping in general. Best thing is, when you see someone who might be discriminated against by others, be extra nice to them. That black guy in a white world, that other guy with shabby clothes, the overweight woman with pimples on her face. Show them that not everybody hates them or looks down on them, give them a break from the negativity, wipe some of the straw off their backs, so to speak.
Irrespective of anything else, this was a much larger grown man attacking a 14 year old kid. I don’t care how much racism this man endures, nothing excuses such reprehensible behavior. The kid was bad but the teacher responded to that bad behavior with worse behavior.
Agreed, and I forgot to mention that in my previous post. Kids are still in their formative years, and especially in a school setting, they’re there to learn. Taking it out on anybody is bad, but taking it out on a student is much much worse.
bull. teenagers have always been insufferable assholes. they can rot in hell. I can’t find it, but I remember seeing a video of this 14-year-old dickbag having a meltdown, screaming at his teacher shit like “DON’T FUCK WITH ME!”
I was in high school from 1990-1994. I remember more than one instance of those precious little angels violently attacking teachers.
Donald Trump has nothing to do with the fact that teenagers are absolutely worthless, violent, irresponsible, destructive pieces of shit.