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Bullying – Media Hype or Old-School Problem?
- By Russ Neumeier russ@geekdad.com" rel="nofollow">
- December 1, 2010 |
- 7:00 am |
- Categories: The Internet
Bullying and cyber-bullying have been making lots of headlines in the past several weeks. There’s increased media attention on the topic (although one does need to question if it’s an epidemic). So, not to be left out, groups are popping up websites to capitalize on the bullying trend.
Let’s face it, bullying has been around as long as there have been people living in community. Long before the internet even…you know, when your grandparents walked to and from school uphill – both ways – in the snow while barefoot…
Creative Commons image by Eddie~S via flickr.com
So, it’s curious as to the media frenzy on this one – and I by no means look to minimize the kids highlighted in various stories in the past several weeks – I mean all those talking heads and radio voices lamenting the bullying that has been going on…chances were they were the target of a bully while growing up or were the person doing the bullying.
Schools have enacted zero-tolerance policies on several things, including bullying. Communities have put in more stringent laws that have more significant consequences for things like disorderly conduct . States have passed anti-bullying laws.
Please.
But when someone can pop up a website, then all the better right? That’s where anonymoustips.com comes in.
GeekDad got a press release a more than a week ago announcing the website. In the release we were told:
AnonymousTips.com’s system is independent of any school district or government, so informers can be confident that they are protected from being identified. It can be used to report any kind of bullying, including physical bullying, cyber-bullying and internet harassment, child and domestic abuse, gang or drug activity, and other suspicious or illegal activities.
Schools and agencies across the country have already signed up to receive tips via AnonymousTips.com, and more are coming on board every day. Parents should encourage their local school and police officials to register with AnonymousTips.com to streamline the process of sharing this important and often time-sensitive information.
Please. Again.
Especially when AnonymousTips writes the following when you want to try to submit a tip:
AnonymousTips should not be used as a means to communicate emergency or time sensitive information to law enforcement and/or emergency personnel.
Wait…didn’t AnonymousTips just tell me they were the place to “streamline the process of sharing this important and often time-sensitive information?”
I’m sure the people behind the site mean well, but I’ve gone to the website several times for the past ten days. There is a spot to highlight bullying and to do so anonymously – however I cannot send a note to a single school or community agency… it leads me to believe this web site is a lot of hot air. For several reasons:
- Yet another system. Schools and communities already have systems and processes in place for people to report bullying. Why set up yet another account on yet another system when the current ones are likely underutilized?
- Lack of granularity. The site allows you to report abuse to either a school or agency in a state and a city. The city my kids go to school in has multiple schools…which one will get the note? What happens if one of the elementary schools signs up but not the high school?
- Anonymity can lead to abuse. Someone wanting to *cough* be a bully *cough* can put something on this site (at least whenever a school or agency signs up) that is completely false. It wastes the time of the people assigned to investigate the anonymous charge and reduces the effectiveness of ‘yet another system.’
- People are best dealt with face to face. I can yammer and type all I want and never do anything to change a person’s behavior – especially when anonymous. If you’ve got an opinion or a stance on a situation, put on your big-boy or big-girl pants and put your name with it.
Now, with the helicopter parent parenting style being in vogue, several people will just act more like talent agents than parents and do everything in their power to ensure their little prince or princess never sees a moment of difficulty. All the while leaving them unprepared for the real world. Is it any wonder more than half of college grads these days are moving back home?
No one wants their child bullied even though we know it will happen. We just don’t need yet another website trying to solve a problem best handled at the local level instead of trying to be the clearinghouse for the nation.
Enterprise Architect for emerging technologies by day; husband, father, blogger, wannabee novelist and chef by night.
Follow @russn and @wiredgeekdad on Twitter.
Meu amigo, lembro como se fosse hoje, em meio de seus irmãos todos pretos, você era o único que tinha a ponta do rabo torto. Peguei você em meus braços e levei para um novo lar.
Destruiu tudo o que estava na altura de seus olhos, tudo era para morder.
Anos mais tarde, por volta dos seus 3 anos de idade, descobrimos que tinha epilepsia. Foi um susto para todos, mas com o passar dos anos você tirou esse problema de letra. Ninguém sabe como, mas você fez com que os ataques acabassem.
Quando fez 13 anos e pensou que tinha a vida sossegada, apareceu um outro amigo, o Fred, cão que com apenas 1 ano, já era maior que você. Mas isso não foi problema, já que mostrou quem era o dono da casa, quem comia primeiro, quem dormia no melhor lugar e quem ficava com a bola.
A amizade de vocês surpreendeu à todos. Na hora de passear eu via dois cães, você com 5 kilos defendendo o Fred com os seus 45 kilos de todo tipo de cão que fosse uma ameaça. Com o passar dos anos você perdeu a visão, e mais uma vez surpreendeu a todos mostrando como um problema grande para nós, pode se tornar pequeno nos seus olhos.
Pouco a pouco percebemos que não se incomodava com os fogos que estouravam nos dias de partidas de futebol, foi quando descobrimos que estava ficando surdo.
Em um inverno rigoroso, descobrimos que tinha reumatismo em suas articulações, seu médico disse que talvez você não andasse mais. Mas curiosamente, após esse dia, você começou a andar com frequência por toda a casa, só parava quando já estava cansado.
Essa era a sua rotina nos últimos anos, acordava, andava pela casa para diminuir a dor nas articulações, cego e surdo, mas nada disso era empecilho.
Desde novo, gostava de ficar com o focinho para fora da grade na sacada, vendo o movimento e fechando os olhos enquanto sentia o vento nos seus pêlos.
Quando visitava vocês na casa de minha mãe, vinha o Fred e alguns minutos depois, você meu amigo, me cheirando e abanando a cauda bem devagar, andando como se pudesse enxergar toda a casa.
Mas infelizmente você não conseguiu ganhar a última luta, um tumor no intestino.
Hoje você vai embora com hora marcada, um lutador, um amigo extremamente forte, um verdadeiro companheiro que marcou as nossas vidas por 18 anos e mostrou a todos a sua volta que o tamanho de um problema é a gente que faz.
Adeus Tobby
Interessante esse jogo de tabuleiro, lançado no fim dos anos 60.
Com o nome "Orgia", a diversão do jogo era "Se errar, pague uma penitência bebendo..."
Talvez os seus pais conheçam!
