My name is Blair Parsons and I am a father of 3 boys (20,15,10). It could be said that we deal with bullying daily between our 15 and 10 year olds. But what we have witnessed lately (since Sandy Hook Elementary School Newtown, Conneticut Dec 14, 2012) is a pattern of bullying that has an extremely damaging result!
Here's the pattern:
1) A group of kids (ie peers or bullies) decides on a target (ie mark, passive kid, or perhaps one with religious values that set him/her apart).
2) They start to pester the kid, getting inside his/her head, and even physically intimidating/abusing the child.
3) In some cases the smartphone is used to record the child's response to the negative stimulus.
4) If the targetted child mentions "gun" in any way it is recorded or misquoted turning it into a terrorist threat. This is all carried out on school property.
5) The misquote or recording is presented to school authorities and in-turn the local police arrest the "target" and he/she is incarcerated as a terrorist!
6) The real terror is for the family of the "target" who must hire an attorney (sometimes $1500.00 retainer necessary) and the child ends up with deep scarring and mistrust for the system that is claiming to promote anti-bullying!
A friend's child was successfully targetted last year right around the time of the Sandy Hook shootings. This year (in December) my son was targetted (failed attempt), but a friend's son different school district same county in PA was arrested and arraigned yesterday. The school district is falsely claiming they have police reports of damaging interrogation of the 13 year old. There is a recorded history with the school district of bullying last year of this same child. He was already receiving counseling/medication before this horrific "terrorist prank".
The districts are over-reacting, the police are not fully investigating, and the bullies are walking. No wonder a pattern is developing!
This needs to stop so that children who are victimized, don't end up revictimized by the authorities!
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