The bullying policy is running amok! Your local school boards, superintendents and teachers have created an atmosphere that stifles the rights of students. They do have rights and one of the most important is the right to freedom of self expression.
A young lady name Arice, it is pronounced as A-Ris, was constantly called A-Rice to the point of such annoyance that she started to express herself via an online blog. My guess is this is the equivalent of the old writing in a diary routine with it being public instead of private. Poor Arice was subjected to her teacher constantly mispronouncing her name and thus the young lady fought back in words on the Web. Because she wrote what she thought of her teachers and fellow students she was suspended from school for being a bully, she had to undergo a mental health evaluation before she could return to school also. On top of that her family had to endure the ridiculous intrusion by the local police going through her room searching for weapons.
Yes I know she also wrote in her blog “I JUST FEEL SO MUCH ANGER AN EMOTIONS IN ME! I JUST WANT TO KILL HER AND TOSS HER BODY IN A RIVER (but I can’t ‘cause I’m not old enough to kill people yet – LOL don’t kill … yet … :-o)” This sounds just like a juvenile blowing off steam and not someone who would really kill someone. But I do admit it is possible as I do not profess to be any kind of expert on human emotions.
It is just that her First Amendment rights were violated by the school system and our politically correct world is causing the suppression of freedom of speech big time. There is a law suit against the school district for the violation(s) that they have perpetrated upon this young woman. The suit states that the anti-bullying policy is unconstitutional and that the school subjected her to emotional distress and humiliation.
Our wonderful politically correct world is going to hell in a hand basket because the anti-bullying laws are just too vague and too intrusive. Here is a link to a site about our great state’s anti-bullying laws and guidelines. Just looking under what groups are listed under New Jersey’s statute I get sick as it covers everything under the sun and more. These are children that we are talking about, not adults! Lets get real and realize that children do and say things that they do not take as something that should be treated seriously. Yet the adults who should know better do not seem to be able to tell the difference. When will our school system personnel realize that children are not little adults, but immature human beings that need guidance and not punish (for the most part).
There are other examples that I will not address here, but they do exist and New Jersey’s anti-bullying law(s) need a serious rewriting with an eye to realizing that we are talking about children and not adults!
That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike
