A Witness I know was sent to a private school in the UK (parents reproved for this) where he was bullied for being a JW. One day whilst changing after sports he was approached by the bully so he picked up his mates motorcycle helmet and smacked the boy round the head with it. He then pushed the unconcious bully under the changing room benches and went home. :) Good for him and good for the lad in the US I say. Nobody should have to put up with bullying. Just a shame the pencil wasn't permanently imbedded as a constant reminder to the bully of what a tosser he is.
JW kid fights back against bully!!! Good for him!
by amac 12 Replies latest social current
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TresHappy
J O N E S B O R O, Ga., May 6 ? Daryl Gray, 13, said he did everything he could think of to get relentless school bullies off his back. But when his talks with teachers and his efforts to ignore the name-calling and physical abuse failed, he finally fought back. And now he's paying for it.
Daryl, convicted of aggravated battery after he hit his classmate with a pencil, has been fined and sentenced to probation for his actions.Daryl said the incident occurred after the boy hit him during math class earlier this year.
"I was trying to do my assignment. The student was messing with me," Daryl said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "I didn't want to fight him, so I tried walking away, but when punched me, I started defending myself."
The boy Daryl hit with the pencil suffered a serious wound on his face, which has left a visible scar.
Daryl says he's never fought back at any of his bullies before, even when a boy purposely urinated on his shoes in the school restroom.
The boy's defense attorney says the judge's decision to sentence Daryl to probation will send parents and students a mixed message about how to react to bullying.
"They are taught that they cannot fight back. If they do, they will be charged under the criminal code," said Daryl's attorney, Audrey Johnson. "But as a parent, of course you don't want your children to go to a place and not feel safe and protected."
During his court hearing back in April, Judge Leslie Gresham refused to consider arguments by Daryl's lawyer that he acted in self-defense.
Daryl, a Jehovah's Witness, has been taught not to use violence against others, according to his mother, Jeanette Gray.
"He's not that type of child. He's a very mild-mannered child," Gray said.
Daryl, who cried at his sentencing hearing Wednesday, says kids at his school are still making fun of him daily even after all that he's been through.
"Most of the time they call me white," said Daryl, who is black. "It's better than what they were calling me before. But I've learned not to deal with them."
Gray was sentenced to 90 days of probation, a $332 fine and 16 days of community service.
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maxwell
Mixed message is right and I get a mixed feeling about this. Of course, you can't let bullies push you around, but could he have chosen way of fighting back other than using a pencil to gouge the guys face? I don't know. I wasn't there. Sometimes you have to make your point in a harsh manner. Kinda of reminds me of that episode of "King of Hill" where Bobby started taking care of the bullies by kicking them in the genitals as he had learned in a female self-defense class.
I was raised a JW, but my dad told me if I didn't fight back against bullies, I'd get a whipping at home. (Not trying to start any discussion over whether corporal punishment is abuse or not here. I don't feel that it is.) So I got the point. I was a consistent honor roll student JW nerd, but after I popped a few wannabe thugs, very few people messed with me physically again. An occasional verbal ribbing is nothing. You just ignore that and most kids get tired of it after they find that it has no effect. I suppose if the physical bullying gets to bad and authorities were doing nothing to stop it, I'd just have to choose to break the silly law. Is my own self-respect worth doing some probation or jail time? I'm sure there are some things many of us would not allow to happen even if it did require us to spend some time in jail.