This man is a member of the North Dakota state senate. He's also currently a teacher at my former high school. Here is a recent speech this TEACHER/senator gave opposing an anti-bullying bill. Skip to 7:30 for the really nutty stuff. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdF3XfECrMg[/youtube] "If we actually succeeded in raising children who never experience any abuse or neglect, they would grow up to be emotional marshmallows, frustrated when they don't get what they want, and unable to handle people mean or inconsiderate towards them." "As an instructor, we are not meant to be the police force at the school." "I state unequivocally that I don't blame the victims for teasing the bully for what is happening to them because they can't possibly see how they're causing their problems." "How do I help victims? By holding them responsible for their problem. I reveal them the optical illusion that is causing them to attract their tormentors, but I don't stop there. I give them the solution to their problem, I show them how to defeat their bullies without anyone else's help and without getting anyone into trouble. However, the taboo against blaming the victim is so strong that people cannot tolerate the idea that the victim is any way responsible for what's happening to them, even unintentionally." Don't miss his comments at the end as he tries to explain the responsibility of rape victims in rape cases. This is the shit I grew up around.
That was my Catholic-Elementary-School's approach in a nutshell. I was forced to stay in for recess so the bullies wouldn't be tempted to pick on me. On Wednesdays I got to attend "support group" where I had to tell all the other kids who felt bullied all the mean things that happened to me. I was told it would help me to "stand up to them". So yes, these idiots exist. (P.S., I am not saying anything against Catholic schools, mine just sucked.)
Some of the most violent criminal offenders in our society were either bullies or bullied. It's clear that this man has no understanding of the psychology of bullying, and it's unfortunate that he is allowed to teach and mentor children. Does Columbine mean nothing? Have we learned nothing? Bullying has taken on a new meaning from that of the 70s and 80s, and the levels to which it has been taken surpass anything that we might have expected. Last year in a school in Hadley, MA, a girl named Phoebe Prince committed suicide after being bullied relentlessly by 6 girls. I wonder what Oley Larson would say to her parents! What a moron! He was clearly not seriously bullied in school. He probably did his fair share of bullying.
