I saw the move from the courtyard cruelty to the social media meanness. I saw it get worse and worse as the distance between the person bullying and the person being bullied grew.
I saw how easy it became for a group of girls to single someone out and torment them.
I saw how easy it was to shut down the computer for the night and forget those typed words as if they were nothing at all.
I saw that they weren't nothing at all. I saw those words crush confidence and break hearts.
I honestly shudder at the thought of where all that went with the emergence of social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.
It pains me that bullying these days is so bad, kids are coming home crying...kids are dying.
One town has had enough. They've implemented a new law that aims to combat serious bullying and protect our children from cruelty — at a cost.
When you're done reading, make sure to COMMENT your thoughts on this. Do you think it's a good way to combat bullying?
Bullying happens everywhere, but the Shawano police in Wisconsin are implementing a new law to make sure their children are safe from this form of cruelty.
You see, just a few weeks ago, the city council passed an anti-bullying ordinance.
Under this new ordinance, parents are held responsible for their children's behaviors.
"We feel without getting the parent involved, just giving a ticket or fining someone out of this isn't the answer," Chief Mark Kohl of the Shawano Police Department said.
Here's how it works:
First, the parent gets a warning when the police suspect their child is involved in bullying others. Then...
At that point, the parent has 90 days to address their child's behavior.
In this way, the police still give the power first and foremost to the legal guardians.
It's up to the parents to decide how they help their child change their behavior.
How would you approach this learning lesson?
If nothing changes, the parent is then issued a monetary fine of $366.
If that still doesn't work...
If the child has two offenses in a year, the fine will equal $681.
As you can imagine, parents are pretty split on supporting this.
Some parents are all for it: "I think something needs to be done for sure," says one Shawano parent.
Others are concerned that bullying is a subjective situation and it's going to be really difficult to judge these cases fairly.
The police reminds parents: "This isn't generated towards the kids being kids, some playground banter. This is the person that is meticulously using social media or saying things that are vulgar in an attempt to hurt, discredit, and really demean a person."
Other cities like Plover and Monona have already implemented this law with positive effects. So far, no fines have been issued.
Main and collage image via Spenser Heaps / Daily Herald
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