Funny Anti-Bullying Spot

[The Pecman]

This is a hilarious, very well-done, and (one hopes) describes the true fate awaiting childhood bullies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqVfoZdYaDQ

[Chris James]

My thoughts on viewing this is: where are the adults? Children should never be left alone in groups, especially in bathrooms and locker rooms. Just proves it's possible the bullied will get even in the boardrooms, and what a nice thought that is.

[Merkin]

My initial reaction celebrated the thought of sweet revenge, but then it occurred to me that perhaps we were just trading one form of bullying for another.

[Cole Parker]

Exactly the thought I had, James. Who wins when the bullied become the bullies? Treating unfairness with unfairness isn't the way to go. The bullies need to learn it's wrong to do what they're doing right when they're doing it, not twenty years later.

Chris is right. This behavior is almost instinctive, the strong subjugating the weak, in their early teens. And that's when it has to be stopped through adult intervention. If the bullies won't see the error of their ways, their lives have to be changed right then. They have to be told how to behave, and if they don't, there need to be consequences. Consequences are what most teens never think about when in the act, and having some occur for them, over and over, plus taking them out of situations where they can bully, has to be the best method of eliminating this.

OK. Anyone else want to borrow the soapbox? I'll leave it here for anyone wanting a go.

C

[Lugnutz]

Don't need a soapbox. I wasn't on either side of the equasion in school. Had fast things on the brain even then.

[The Pecman]

My thoughts on viewing this is: where are the adults? Children should never be left alone in groups, especially in bathrooms and locker rooms. Just proves it's possible the bullied will get even in the boardrooms, and what a nice thought that is.

You've clearly never been to school in America or Britain. Trust me, there's all kinds of places where kids are left alone, particularly if less than 10% of the school population is made up of teachers or administrators. Whether it's getting punched in the restroom, shoved in the shower, elbowed in the hallway, or beat up in the alley behind the school on the way home, bullies can get to kids almost whenever they want. Radio host Howard Stern has often told a story where a thug in a high school class almost forced him to give him his shoes and all his money while the class was going on. The teacher just kept telling them to "shush" and went back to her book during this study period, ignoring the violence going on.

The point was: if you look at this from a positive point of view, maybe people will see this and realize, "oh, yeah. Maybe there's some karma afoot here, and if I torment somebody now, I'll wind up paying for it years from now." I'm reminded of that great scene in Broadcast News, where some bullies throw the Albert Brooks teenage character into a dumpster, and he yells at them, "you'll never make more than $24,000 a year!"

[colinian]

You've clearly never been to school in America or Britain. Trust me, there's all kinds of places where kids are left alone, particularly if less than 10% of the school population is made up of teachers or administrators. Whether it's getting punched in the restroom, shoved in the shower, elbowed in the hallway, or beat up in the alley behind the school on the way home, bullies can get to kids almost whenever they want. Radio host Howard Stern has often told a story where a thug in a high school class almost forced him to give him his shoes and all his money while the class was going on. The teacher just kept telling them to "shush" and went back to her book during this study period, ignoring the violence going on.

The point was: if you look at this from a positive point of view, maybe people will see this and realize, "oh, yeah. Maybe there's some karma afoot here, and if I torment somebody now, I'll wind up paying for it years from now." I'm reminded of that great scene in Broadcast News, where some bullies throw the Albert Brooks teenage character into a dumpster, and he yells at them, "you'll never make more than $24,000 a year!"

That's something that would not have happened in my high school, Las Lomas High in Walnut Creek, California, or any other high school in the district. A teacher that allowed something like that to go on would be summarily fired. It's in their contract. The kid could have been suspended or expelled and sent to Del Valle Alternative School — or his parents would have to find a private school for him. Every student and a parent has to sign a statement that they have read and agree to the contents of the student handbook and the Safe School Notification and Code of Conduct. Here's a summary of the Code of Conduct.

Colin

[The Pecman]

Aw, you guys are taking this much too seriously. It's a goof! C'mon, it's a funny spot.

And I'd bet you that I got beat up and bullied a lot more in high school than most of you did. Hard to believe, but I was a short, obnoxious, nerdy, know-it-all asshole in high school. No, I really was!

[DesDownunder]

I bet my experience was worse Pec. Let's see who had it worse.

Every recess, every lunch time and even the teachers got into it during class, I was physically beaten, punched, belittled and called every name you can think of.

Why?

I had pale, and I mean pale, skin, red hair, skinny legs and a note from the doctor saying that I couldn't play sports because i had been born with a hole in my heart. My only sin being that I was different.

My cuts and bruises were a constant source of concern for my mother. She complained so much to the school that the headmaster threatened to expel me.

My mother was having none of it, so she reported him to the state education board which assessed me as a bright intelligent orangutan who was capable of achieving whatever he wanted.

This of course angered the Headmaster and his henchmen-teachers to the point where my education was stifled by isolation from projects and outings.

The first two years of high school were not much different and then puberty arrived and I was suddenly a go-to orangutan of immense talent. The next two years were very different and quite wonderful.

So it got better? I like to say, "It got worthwhile."

[The Pecman]

Oh, sure... that's Australia for you.

Actually, I was directing my comments to Colin. In truth, I didn't expect this discussion to take a serious turn. It was just a joke, guys.

[DesDownunder]

I thought referring to myself as the "go-to orangutan" was somewhat jovial.