Wednesday, January 16 2008: Enforcement

[Trexxen]

Ah, the irony - it reminds me of an incident in fifth grade. (I go to public schools...*shudders*)

It was recess and I was out running around, and of course I'm not the most athletic of people...and, as younger children usually are, I was also not the most reasonable of people. One kid in particular, though, just wanted to make my life miserable. He was about a head taller than me, and taunted me by insulting me and holding the ball above my head. I eventually became so frustrated I began to cry, but I still didn't do anything. I then threatened to tell the teacher, and this snapped him back to reality. He shoved the ball in my face hard enough to bust my lip wide open.

I didn't even throw a punch.

Who wants to guess who got suspended and who didn't?

[teozo]

My school has also a zero tolerance rule against hitting but they dont punish the ones who was hitting at least not yet.
First they ask why did .... hit?
Then they check the inf. of thoes involved.
They ask thoes who were there.
And finaly they ask the involved.
And on that they base they're judgement.
At least in my school.

[IceDragon]

Not at all surprised by the developments in the storyline.

[BladeRaptor]

My school has also a zero tolerance rule against hitting but they dont punish the ones who was hitting at least not yet.
First they ask why did .... hit?
Then they check the inf. of thoes involved.
They ask thoes who were there.
And finaly they ask the involved.
And on that they base they're judgement.
At least in my school.

I always understood "zero tolerance" to mean a system where a predetemined punishment for an offense is automatically handed out without even considering the circumstances surrounding it. Something might have been lost in translation, but what you describe actually sounds like a fair and reasonable investigation, and not the reflexive judgements that come to mind when I normally hear the phrase.

There are so many things that I have to say about this strip, so forgive the length of this post.

In today's strip, while the fact that Ms. Sorkowitz only saw the punch being thrown works in Jeremy's benefit, Millie has strong circumstantial evidence, not to mention that Ozy saw the whole incident, and not just a part. Hopefully, this is more of an arrest than a conviction, and our heroes will have a chance to make their case. If they can, they will probably have a strong ally in Dr. Wahnsinnig.

And to Ms. Sorkowitz's statement that "I can only punish violations I actually see", imagine that line coming from a judge in a criminal trial in adult court and the absurdity of that logic becomes crystal clear. Judges are rarely, if ever, witnesses to crimes, and yet they regularly hand down sentences.

Or perhaps it means that while she herself cannot punish someone expect for violations she is an eyewitness to, others can. Or that while she can only punish what she sees for herself, she can investigate and present her findings to others for them to make judgements. The Cast page does say that "she's seldom openly sided with the bullies".

The strip and this thread also remind me once again of my own days in middle school, this time of the teachers and staff there. They tended to be either very understanding or completely oblivious. There was one recess supervisor who would even join in on it every so often. Thinking back, I probably could've easily gotten her fired, but, being a child, that did not cross my mind at the time because I was in a state of fear.

Thankfully, while many of the lower rungs of their staff hierarchy tended to turn a blind eye, the authorites with more actual power were understanding, and when I began retaliating against the bullies, I never got in any major trouble. They took the time to hear me out after those incidents. It helped a lot that the school had someone who acted in a very similar role to Dr. Wahnsinnig. I suppose I was lucky in that regard, though, and other schools could learn a lot from the higher powers at the one I went to.

[The J.A.M.]

Private school, from beginning to end. Not 100% bully-free, but at least they dealt with them PROPERLY...

[Hanging Tree]

And to Ms. Sorkowitz's statement that "I can only punish violations I actually see", imagine that line coming from a judge in a criminal trial in adult court and the absurdity of that logic becomes crystal clear. Judges are rarely, if ever, witnesses to crimes, and yet they regularly hand down sentences.

Imagine if judges handed down sentences based only on what the people directly involved in the crime said. I could say that you gave me a beat down but nobody saw it, but I have ripped clothes and a black eye to prove otherwise. That would be insanity.

Plus, typically I think most school officials are very sympathetic to the bullied. They just don't have time to do an in depth investigation into every incident. Thats why the person who punches second tends to get punished, they are the more visible one. It doesn't benefit school officials to allow bullying but that doesn't mean they have the means to prevent it.

[Cosmic^Chicory]

Plus, typically I think most school officials are very sympathetic to the bullied.

Sounds like you went to an uncommonly good school. Most of the time, the reality is the opposite of what you experienced.

It doesn't benefit school officials to allow bullying

Of course it does. Allowing bullying means they don't have to deal with it, dont' have to fill out extra paperwork, don't have to deal with defensive parents, don't have to be accused by both sides of favoring the other, don't have to deal with drama, don't have to risk getting media attention, don't have to waste teacher time resolving student disputes, and just as a bonus, they get a team of unofficial physical enforcers to make sure nobody dares be smart enough to make the teachers or the school look bad by making everyone else look bad in comparison.

Allowing bullying = huge benefit to schools and teachers.

Doing anything about bullying = huge mess for the school and teachers.

Which is why, again, the question becomes: if a person is punching you in the face, do you do anything to stop them from punching you in the face? Or do you let them keep punching you in the face?

Don't rely on other people.

[Arloest]

Maybe it's because I'm a girl, I don't know, but bullying was never really an issue for me in neither elementary school, middle school nor high school. In fact I never really heard about it being much of an issue for anyone at any of my schools. And yes I went to public school.

[Rikirk]

I got a feeling Mrs. Mudd is gonna get involved in this. Millie will explain to her what happened...Mrs. Mudd will use her Lawyery skills and such....

and well...we'll just have to let it play out now wont we.

but man I really hope Jeremy gets what he deserves..


Justice now!

[Kazapsky]

What Jeremy deserves is to have someone even bigger and stronger spend a few months constantly knuckling him down as he's done to Millie et al. Not likely.

Plus, typically I think most school officials are very sympathetic to the bullied. - Hanging Tree

Once again you prove you know nothing about public school. The most sympathy you're likely to get prior to being hospitalized is "Ignore them" - advice that's not humanly possible to follow.

[GeorgiaCoyote]

Thats why the person who punches second tends to get punished, they are the more visible one. It doesn't benefit school officials to allow bullying but that doesn't mean they have the means to prevent it.

That's what you always see in American football, both college and pro level. It's always the guy who throws the second punch that gets flagged though it seems like in the pros they tend to penalize both more often which results in off-setting penalties which basically boils down to a do-over. Wish more school officials would take that approach. I know Ms. Sorkowitz didn't actually see Jeremy shove Millie in the mud but they do have a very reliable witness. After all Ozy at least to me is the epitome of impartiality. Now whether or not they decide to believe him is left to be seen. Unfortunately I don't suspect he'll be taking seriously, especially by that asshole principal (pardon my French). Still whatever happens, Millie should be proud for standing up for herself and for putting that stupefied expression on Jeremy's face. That's just priceless to me. Great job as always D.C.

[Hanging Tree]

Of course it does. Allowing bullying means they don't have to deal with it, dont' have to fill out extra paperwork, don't have to deal with defensive parents, don't have to be accused by both sides of favoring the other, don't have to deal with drama, don't have to risk getting media attention, don't have to waste teacher time resolving student disputes, and just as a bonus, they get a team of unofficial physical enforcers to make sure nobody dares be smart enough to make the teachers or the school look bad by making everyone else look bad in comparison.

Allowing bullying = huge benefit to schools and teachers.

Doing anything about bullying = huge mess for the school and teachers.

That may have been true pre-Columbine, but now school officials are so paranoid over another school shooting or being sued that typically they are over protective with zero tolerence rules and punishing people for bullying even if they hadn't actually upset anybody.

Once again you prove you know nothing about public school. The most sympathy you're likely to get prior to being hospitalized is "Ignore them" - advice that's not humanly possible to follow.

I went to public school.

I know Ms. Sorkowitz didn't actually see Jeremy shove Millie in the mud but they do have a very reliable witness. After all Ozy at least to me is the epitome of impartiality.

But he is a known close friend of Millie, so she would probably assume that he would side with her. Remember the teacher doesn't know Ozzie as well as the reader.

Maybe it's because I'm a girl, I don't know, but bullying was never really an issue for me in neither elementary school, middle school nor high school. In fact I never really heard about it being much of an issue for anyone at any of my schools. And yes I went to public school.

I don't think bullying is the norm, and that alot of people may be exagerating their experiences with it.

[Tom Flapwell]

I'm guessing that DCS hated every schoolday of his childhood.

I dunno, Millie should've said to Jeremy yesterday, "Don't you remember? I sued you! And i won!!!"

Assuming that the old episodes are even canon anymore, I imagine that Jeremy's memory goes back no further than a typical newspaper comic character's. (Ever notice how Dennis the Menace not only stays five but perpetually forgets what life was like a few years ago? He even forgot that the Old West wouldn't have had email.)

It was recess and I was out running around, and of course I'm not the most athletic of people...and, as younger children usually are, I was also not the most reasonable of people. One kid in particular, though, just wanted to make my life miserable. He was about a head taller than me, and taunted me by insulting me and holding the ball above my head. I eventually became so frustrated I began to cry, but I still didn't do anything. I then threatened to tell the teacher, and this snapped him back to reality. He shoved the ball in my face hard enough to bust my lip wide open.

I didn't even throw a punch.

Who wants to guess who got suspended and who didn't?

WTF did the authorities believe happened?!

[Lig]

Well I wasn't expecting this. I had no idea they were even on school grounds. Dang. But yeah that's usually what happens in public school. I used to get bullied a lot myself. I got in trouble a few times when I snapped and actually tried to retaliate with more then words. Hell I was got in trouble for retaliating with words too. I'm not imposing so I made empty threats. Apparently that bothered him enough to go tell a teacher. Hell I've had worse said to me and just sucked it up and ignored it. Teachers always tell you to tell them when someone bothers you. But they'd probably stop believing you if ya came to them everytime something happened. But luckily for me most of my bullies moved alway sometime during High school and the ones that were left actually befriended me.

[Priest_Revan]

Wow, a bunch of you guys got bullied a lot.

Don't know why I didn't.

Oh wait, I did. But it only happened once... that b**** got in trouble after that.

Oh wait... it happened again. I just showed no emotion about it (I called him a stupid "wigger" and he took my soda can and threw it. Then I told him that I have money to afford another one, unlike him... he walked away after that. Guess he just didn't want to bother someone who doesn't get bothered easily.)