TOUGHER PUNISHMENT FOR BULLIES - THE CASE OF JAHEEM HERRERA

I know that this blog is dedicated primarily to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but today I feel compelled to write about a topic that greatly aggravates me and that I feel needs immediate attention: Bullying.

An 11 year old boy committed suicide after being tormented by his classmates at his school. He told his parents about it, and his mother complained to the school at least 7 times, but nothing was done to prevent the re-occurence of the torment. So Jaheem Herrera, who was severely bullied and even attacked in a bathroom, being called "gay" and "the virgin" (because he was from the U.S. Virgin Islands), told his mom he didn't want to go to school. But he had to. So he did, he came home with his report card, with excellent grades, and then he went up to his bedroom and hung himself with a belt in his closet.

This wonderful 11 year old child was tired of the torture he was exposed to, and felt helpless, as adults, especially the school officials, did not do enough to help him. His parents now feel guilty, blaming themselves for not being able to stop this tragic end, that now is irreversible. The school expressed their deepest sympathies, but that IS NOT ENOUGH!

What needs to happen is the following:
1) There should be ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES for bullies. that means that once a child bullies another, that child should be expelled from school.
2) Bullying has to be defined for what it is: unwelcome remarks or aggressive behaviors towards another child that cause fear, sadness and/or anger. Bullying is not just a physical act. Words are as bad and as traumatizing as violence. So if you are asking me whether I am advocating expelling kids for being "mean", my answer is "yes, I am".
3) Schools need to be held accountable for not following the procedures in place (once they are in place), which should entail notifying the parents of the victim and perpetrator that such events are going on, and authorities, as there should also be laws that fine the parents of the bullies for being incompetent at educating their kids and deterring them from causing permanent harm to other human beings in society.
4) Parents of bullies need to be held responsible, and social workers should visit the homes of those parents to check whether these kids are being mistreated or ignored. There is a chance that they are bullies because they too are bullied, or because their parents are not parenting as they should be. If that is the case, these kids should be removed from their homes (depending on the severity of the circumstances) or mandated to attend, with their parents, a program to learn how to behave like a human being and not a monster.
5) There should be a cause of action available for the parents of the bullied child against the school system and against the parents or guardians of the bullies. This way there will be an incentive for these adults who are in a better position than the parents of the bullied children to fulfill their roles.

It is outrageous that laws are in place requiring children under 16 to go to school but laws are not enough to protect these children from verbal and physical abuse. Parents of bullied children know that sending their kids to school is at times the equivalent of sending them into torture prison camps, where their minds are crushed with the libel and slander, and their bodies violated with battery and assault. It is time that adults start acting like adults and do something to protect the future. Allowing this behavior to go on only creates tragedy, so how can we not stop it? Did we forget Columbine? How about the many psychopaths that were either bullied or were the bullies themselves and never stopped?

ENOUGH!