S.F. Bay Area H.S. Student In Videotaped Campus Fight

[Carolyn Marie]

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=9326464

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Mia J]

Thanks Carolyn,

The video did not play for me but I am not sure I even want to watch it.

I like the comment from the person who wondered if this resulted from all of the anti trans publicity by the PJI. I think there is a lot of validity in that. These young students see all of this publicity and take it as a sign that they can bully and hurt trans students because, after all, the adults are doing it.

Mia

[Guest LizMarie]

Yes, they are being encouraged to be violent bigoted monsters because the adults are doing it. The article makes it clear the student was the one being harassed but I'm sure we'll hear the naysayers say she should have just accepted being bullied and even beaten.

[Michelle 2010]

The comment by the staffer about the undeveloped prefrontal lobes would be laughable if it weren't so tragic. Prosecute to the max.... The ringleader was warned two days earlier? I can't imagine what the parents and victim must think..... A well placed lawsuit would probably help the school system clap down on such terrorism. A brief video, but when played full screen and with stops, the violence of the haters and the fear in the victim is quite evident...

Michelle

[Guest KimberlyF]

The best way to respond to negative unwanted attention is to ignore it. If Gandhi had decided to physically fight against the British, he prob would have been killed off early on and India's independence, which would have eventually taken place anyway, would just be delayed. Physical altercations cause people to dig in their positions.

[Guest Jamie_cd]

Kimberly hit the nail on the head. Fighting isn't going to make people tolerant of you or even accept you. It's only going to make things worse since the attackers know that they can get you worked up and angry. I suppose it's good that this girl defended herself but starting a fight isn't the right type of defense.

[Carolyn Marie]

I'm not going to defend the violence. Just the same, everyone has their limits, and we don't know the extent of the bullying. BTW, according to the story, she reported the bullies to the school authorities, and it did nothing but make matters worse, apparently. I'm not in a position to judge this girl. The police and school authorities apparently are treating the transgirl as the victim, not the attacker. That's good enough for me.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest KimberlyF]

I posted before that I don't travel through life with this idea of a good side vs a bad side. If someone is pro-LGBT but abuses defenseless animals are they a good person? If someone is anti-LGBT but has opened up their home to 20 foster children are they an evil person? People are constantly growing and learning and changing.

We can't control how others treat us. All we can do is control how we respond to other's treatment.

There is an episode of Parenthood this week in which one character is running for mayor. Her husband 3 years ago punched another guy in a grocery store. Even after she held a press conference and explained the event-the guy was being a jerk, it escalated and he called the husband's son who is autistic the 'R' word-her poll numbers fell 4% after the press conference.

Initiating violence is never really the best way to win people over to one's position.

My own autistic child has been teased and called names including the 'R' word behind his back and I bite my tongue and I teach him to always be in control of his anger. It is their problem not his. If he were to hit someone regardless of the cause, even if inside I may feel it was justified, I would not outwardly support his actions.