Reply #4: i think we pretty much agree [View All]

[sgxnk]

on a pure 'effectiveness' basis, by FAR the best response to a kid being bullied is for the bully'ee (so to speak) is to fight back

and we both agree that the idea that kids are prosecuted (not necessarily successfully) for fighting back is absurd. to be more specific, you can't (legally) prosecute somebody for fighting back, because (at least in my state) self defense is a clearly identified right, and the burden is on the state (not the defendant) to prove by preponderance of the evidence, that it was NOT self defense

my state is very libertarian (and unusual to some extent) in that regards

i should have been more specific, in that the primary 'proscution' against kids who fight back is not criminal, but is often administrative as well. schools will suspend kids who are acting in self-defense, since they used violence, and didn't run to a teacher, whine, and have the police called, after they were punched.

in the admin's mind (and they are hampered by the policies they work under), self-defense is no excuse for "violence".

bullies prey on the weak. but i think it is counterproductive to make a simple schoolyard bully into a subject of the CRIMINAL JUSTICE system

it's kind of like bashing a gnat with a sledgehammer