Open Forum
New Delhi, 18
January 2008
Shootout in Schools
BULLYING BECOMES LETHAL
By V.S.Dharmakumar
The murder in a Gurgaon School
shocked the nation last month. The incident generated extensive coverage
nationwide and sparked intense debate amongst teachers, parents and general
public. Editorials called for serious efforts to address
the juvenile alienation and the growing menace of the gun culture.
However, less than a month later another incident
of schoolboy shooting hit the media. This time in Satna district of Madhya
Pradesh, where a boy was shot dead by fellow students, aged 15 and 13 years, of
a village school.
Having a fight in
school is not new; a lot of students get bullied at
some point of time in the premises. And, this phenomenon occurs frequently anywhere
between the sixth and eighth standard students. Boys indulge more in bullying
than girls. This kind of occurrence is widespread in American schools, such as
the Virginia Tech massacre. But a murder in an Indian school due to
bullying is probably the first of its kind.
Bullying can occur
in any settings, where human beings interact with each other. And, schools are
notoriously famous for it. However, a lot depends on the kind of bullying that
takes place. When it is done in a playful and friendly
way, it is not hurtful and both the bully and the bullied end up finding the
incident funny.
But, when bullying becomes intentionally physically hurting,
verbally abusive, psychologically excruciating and nerve-racking, it becomes unbearable.
Mocking, threatening, extorting, ridiculing on appearance or lack of talent
becomes constant, it leaves a deep emotional scar in the mind of the victim.
The reason for the
killing in the Euro
International School,
Gurgaon, Haryana, is reported to be bullying by the deceased. For the two boys,
taking revenge became unavoidable and an easy access to a gun precipitated
matters. On December 12th evening, 14-year-old Abhishek Tyagi was
shot dead by two gun-totting classmates in the middle of the school corridor.
The boy was shot five times from close range on his forehead, chest and
shoulder and was declared dead at a hospital. One of the boys had brought his
father’s licensed pistol and the two culprits took turns to shoot Abhishek!
Today’s children, less involved in
physical activities, are constantly viewing negative news and violence being featured
on television regularly. Thus, perhaps becoming prone to abuse and violence in
their childhood. Those who bully have personalities that are authoritarian with
an urge to control or dominate others. And envy and resentment are known motives
for bullying.
For
observant parents, it is not very difficult to figure out signs of bullying. Children
on their own are often hesitant to tell their parents
about the harassment faced. They would tend to worry that their parents would be
affected. However, visible signs of the
child becoming a victim of bullying could be all there—such as bruises
or injuries on the child’s body, torn uniforms, missing school, avoiding the school
bus and increasing demand for more pocket money.
Besides, if a child is acting in
a different way or appears seemingly anxious, moodier, easily upset, or not
eating enough or not sleeping well, or not doing things he enjoyed doing, it could
well be because of a getting bullied in school.
Can bullying hurt so much that
its victims are driven to take a gun in hand and shoot the bully at point blank
many times besides taking turns too? Strangely, the killers (victims of
bullying) feel no remorse. According to reports available, the deceased had
threatened to kill the two boys and this probably was the last straw to break
the camel’s back.
If a scrappy child’s aggressive
behavior is not curbed at the early stage the danger is that he or she may take
it to adulthood and exhibit strange violent or socially unacceptable behavior. This
is what 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer of Cleveland
elementary school did. She did not like Mondays. Just to liven up the day, she
opened fire with a .22 rifle and wounded 8 children and killed two adults. In
yet another case, six-year-old Dedrick Owens of MountMorris in Michigan has taken a.32 caliber pistol of
his uncle to school and shot dead another six-year-old.
In a parallel case of Gurgaon
school incident, two students were fatally shot by a 14-year-old student, claiming
to be a victim of bullying, at the Raumanmeri
Secondary School in Rauma, Finland.
In another case, 15- year-old Brian Head of Cherokee County, Georgia,
US, shot himself dead in his classroom. He too had been a target of bullies
because of his overweight and thick glasses. Brian’s father lobbied hard for the
enactment of a law for criminalizing bullying that required schools to alert
parents of bullied children.
Given the above
scenario, it is time that our schools pay greater attention to reducing
violence and aggression in their institutions. It should not be difficult for
school authorities to identify bullies and devise ways to intervene and check them.
They should be constantly watched and repeatedly advised
that their behavior could land them into serious trouble. Increased
parent-teacher supervision, making bullying a punishable offence in schools,
providing protection to the bullied and counseling to the bullies will go a
long way in preventing the spread of this menace.
However,
never ever advise your child to bully back. It will cause more suffering and
more violence. It is best to advise the child to avoid the bully by walking away
from a problematic situation created by the latter, and to learn to ignore
hurtful remarks. This is bound to get the desired result --the intimidator will
in all probability lose interest and stop the harassment.
And, perhaps we will be spared another Gurgaon incident. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
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