Current Events > 12 y/o non-binary kid assaulted by classmates for wearing Pride Flag

(+) Yeah! (+)

happened earlier this month, but just found out about it:

https://mobile.twitter.com/Mermaid_Lover_/status/1399769649538084871

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That sick laughter pissed me off. Damn kids

Never fully understood the whole non-binary thing tbh. It feels like people are just overthinking their likes and dislikes.

that said, no real excuse for that sort of behavior

Condemnation for those actions on this board.
Minimal.
Disgusting little shits no doubt learned that behavior from their parents.

Bigotry starts young, because it's almost always taught by the parents.

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12 years old?

Kid's father's statement..

Maybe it's me getting older but it's hard to make out what's happening... are one group of kids trying to pull the flag back for him?

Davos posted...

Kid's father's statement..

This needs to get on the national news, step up the pressure, get charges filed and sentencing.

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I was expecting worse but this is normal bullying. detention for a week is better than suspension and expulsion unless the goal is to punish more so than teach a lesson.

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This is common behavior. Bunch of kids target someone because they're different. Happens every day.

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RickyTheBAWSE posted...

I was expecting worse but this is normal bullying. detention for a week is better than suspension and expulsion unless the goal is to punish more so than teach a lesson.

Nah. Unless they get the bullies out of that school, they'll target the victim again and again.

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"zero tolerance works!" - schools

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Boys will be boys huh?
If this was a bunch of black kids beating down a white kid. The usual suspects here would have a completely different take.

0Renegade posted...

"zero tolerance works!" - schools

It has, so far, worked a lot better than the previous way of handling things. This school needs to stick to it.

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that isn't going to do anything but make them somebody else's problem at another school. there's too much obsession with punishment and little effort on long term lessons. it's not going to change how they feel, but it'll make them back off because detention while your friends are having fun at lunch sucks.

I can understand if this reopens wounds from your own personal truama, but these are still children at the end of the day.

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RickyTheBAWSE posted...

but these are still children at the end of the day.

What does this even mean to imply? That this is acceptable, or what?

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RickyTheBAWSE posted...

that isn't going to do anything but make them somebody else's problem at another school.

Yes, but if they're there because they've been expelled before? They'll be easier to remove the next time around. If they want to keep repeating this shit, that's on them. But letting them get away with it with light sentences? That doesn't do shit but let the bullies move on with their lives. There's no closure or safety or sense of protection from adults for the victims. Bullies need to be taught a lesson with major inconveniences or even drastic changes to their schedules so they can attend a different school even if it's across town.

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Non binary
12 years old

Of course its America.

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gunplagirl posted...

Yes, but if they're there because they've been expelled before? They'll be easier to remove the next time around. If they want to keep repeating this shit, that's on them. But letting them get away with it with light sentences? That doesn't do shit but let the bullies move on with their lives. There's no closure or safety or sense of protection from adults for the victims. Bullies need to be taught a lesson with major inconveniences or even drastic changes to their schedules so they can attend a different school even if it's across town.

when has that ever changed bully behavior? the only "solution" to make a bully stop is for the bullied to defend themselves. that's true for adulthood too. depriving a child of education just makes them hateful AND stupid. I can understand that this hits close to home, but let's not forget that these kids brains are still developing. having an adult bully them in place of a child their own age isn't going to send the message you think.

have you ever had detention for a week straight? that's not light punishment.

but maybe our perspectives on bullying is shaped by our experiences. I can't tell you how to deal with what you already had to live through, but teachable moments that kids can actually come back from is my point. even if it comes in the form of a kid getting tired of the bullying and whooping their ass.

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Kids can be excessively cruel.

RickyTheBAWSE posted...

when has that ever changed bully behavior? the only "solution" to make a bully stop is for the bullied to defend themselves. that's true for adulthood too. depriving a child of education just makes them hateful AND stupid. I can understand that this hits close to home, but let's not forget that these kids brains are still developing. having an adult bully them in place of a child their own age isn't going to send the message you think.

have you ever had detention for a week straight? that's not light punishment.

but maybe our perspectives on bullying is shaped by our experiences. I can't tell you how to deal with what you already had to live through, but teachable moments that kids can actually come back from is my point. even if it comes in the form of a kid getting tired of the bullying and whooping their ass.

Stomping on someone isnt normal bullying and is assault.

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iPhone_7 posted...

This needs to get on the national news, step up the pressure, get charges filed and sentencing.

While the kids were wrong for what they did, you have to remember they are still kids, literal middle schoolers, and they don't deserve to have their lives ruined considering they aren't fully matured yet. They need some stern discipline, sure, but expulsion won't help them learn anything. Having them do some community service could help.

RickyTheBAWSE posted...

have you ever had detention for a week straight? that's not light punishment.

the fuck it's not, i had detention the majority of my grade school days

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spikethedevil posted...

Stomping on someone isnt normal bullying and is assault.

lol yes it is normal bullying. bullies punch, kick, stomp, deface each others property, throw objects, and more.


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Number090684 posted...

While the kids were wrong for what they did, you have to remember they are still kids, literal middle schoolers, and they don't deserve to have their lives ruined considering they aren't fully matured yet. They need some stern discipline, sure, but expulsion won't help them learn anything. Having them do some community service could help.

I'm down for them doing community service.

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another one

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RickyTheBAWSE posted...

when has that ever changed bully behavior? the only "solution" to make a bully stop is for the bullied to defend themselves. that's true for adulthood too. depriving a child of education just makes them hateful AND stupid. I can understand that this hits close to home, but let's not forget that these kids brains are still developing. having an adult bully them in place of a child their own age isn't going to send the message you think.

So if punishments don't work, your words by the way, then by letting the bully stay you're leaving the victim to be bullied again and again by the same people. For the record, sometimes punishments aren't meted out to punish but to protect the victim. Restraining orders, for instance, are there to protect victims.

Putting the resolution on the victim to stand up for themselves is fucking horrible. Even psychology today has a dozen or more first page results about how the best way to help prevent it is by others not being a bystander but instead getting involved when they see it happening. Know what's hard for victims to do if their self esteem is in the gutter? Stand up for themselves.

And for the record? Letting a bully get an education without any challenges like going to a new school? That just lets them grow up without ever having to change their ways. Even if they do, that's not as a result of staying in their school. And if somehow they don't get an education? At least they don't grow up to become a bigoted boss or doctor or whatever. Bigotry in the medical field kills minorities at higher rates. Bigotry in real estate results in worse housing for minorities. Bigotry in a boss results in minorities not getting hired even when they're the most qualified or best fit for the company.

have you ever had detention for a week straight? that's not light punishment.

but maybe our perspectives on bullying is shaped by our experiences. I can't tell you how to deal with what you already had to live through, but teachable moments that kids can actually come back from is my point. even if it comes in the form of a kid getting tired of the bullying and whooping their ass.

If your solution to bullying is getting the victim to fight back, you're fucking twisted. We don't need it to get that far if we intervene.

But wait, you said no punishment would stop bullying, so how is a week of detention too hard? Know what would be even harder on a bully than a week of detention and not seeing their friends during that time? Forcing them to attend a new school altogether. And hey, then the victim doesn't have to literally be pushed until they snap.

Again, that's just basic fucking psychology stuff that anyone can google and find research papers on.

Let me guess, you support spanking children, don't you? Even though literally every study out there shows it does cause long term harm and doesn't actually teach any lessons so much as reinforces certain behaviors to avoid conflict?

And also, assuming I've been bullied in school and saying that's why I'm disgusted? Shut the fuck up. You're basically simping for bullies. And in this particular instance they were assaulting the victim. Don't "they're just kids" the bullies while ignoring that the victim is A GOD DAMNED KID, too. Like, fuck. Way to totally be wrong on every fucking point.


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Number090684 posted...

While the kids were wrong for what they did, you have to remember they are still kids, literal middle schoolers, and they don't deserve to have their lives ruined considering they aren't fully matured yet. They need some stern discipline, sure, but expulsion won't help them learn anything. Having them do some community service could help.

Going to a new school isn't ruining their lives. If it was, then kids who between states and even ones changing schools when they graduate middle school or whatever would be a much bigger concern.

Again, sometimes punishments are to protect the victims above all else. Community service doesn't do much to teach people a lesson. "If you are mean you have to help people. And while you're helping them, adults will say you're soooo good for volunteering unless they know why you're there. And they usually don't."

Go simp for bullies elsewhere.

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If they get expelled or locked up, I don't feel much sympathy for them. No one put a gun to their head and made them do that heinous attack. All this talk about giving the bullies a suspension and all that is nonsense, the victim is the one who live with the trauma and that's usually never addressed until it's too late.

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gunplagirl posted...

So if punishments don't work, your words by the way, then by letting the bully stay you're leaving the victim to be bullied again and again by the same people. For the record, sometimes punishments aren't meted out to punish but to protect the victim. Restraining orders, for instance, are there to protect victims.

Putting the resolution on the victim to stand up for themselves is fucking horrible. Even psychology today has a dozen or more first page results about how the best way to help prevent it is by others not being a bystander but instead getting involved when they see it happening. Know what's hard for victims to do if their self esteem is in the gutter? Stand up for themselves.

And for the record? Letting a bully get an education without any challenges like going to a new school? That just lets them grow up without ever having to change their ways. Even if they do, that's not as a result of staying in their school. And if somehow they don't get an education? At least they don't grow up to become a bigoted boss or doctor or whatever. Bigotry in the medical field kills minorities at higher rates. Bigotry in real estate results in worse housing for minorities. Bigotry in a boss results in minorities not getting hired even when they're the most qualified or best fit for the company.

If your solution to bullying is getting the victim to fight back, you're fucking twisted. We don't need it to get that far if we intervene.

But wait, you said no punishment would stop bullying, so how is a week of detention too hard? Know what would be even harder on a bully than a week of detention and not seeing their friends during that time? Forcing them to attend a new school altogether. And hey, then the victim doesn't have to literally be pushed until they snap.

Again, that's just basic fucking psychology stuff that anyone can google and find research papers on.

Let me guess, you support spanking children, don't you? Even though literally every study out there shows it does cause long term harm and doesn't actually teach any lessons so much as reinforces certain behaviors to avoid conflict?

And also, assuming I've been bullied in school and saying that's why I'm disgusted? Shut the fuck up. You're basically simping for bullies. And in this particular instance they were assaulting the victim. Don't "they're just kids" the bullies while ignoring that the victim is A GOD DAMNED KID, too. Like, fuck. Way to totally be wrong on every fucking point.

wow... that kind of unhinged, emotion-filled rant is REALLY convincing...

based on that, you shouldn't be around children lol. you go from Jekyll to Hyde quick and you need to get that under control.

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Kolibri X posted...

Non binary
12 years old

Of course its America.

this guy (@Kolibri_X ) is a dumbass


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Kan we just kancel kids altogether? Stop popping them out.

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RickyTheBAWSE posted...

wow... that kind of unhinged, emotion-filled rant is REALLY convincing...

based on that, you shouldn't be around children lol. you go from Jekyll to Hyde quick and you need to get that under control.

You know, the thing about guys who say they're emotionless and logical is that they're the most emotional people of all. They just tricked themselves into thinking seething with anger all the time is acceptable. Actually, it's usually a result of socially enforced toxic masculinity, the part where western society too often teaches boys to repress their feelings and that the only one that's appropriate is anger, and that showing any signs of weakness is bad.

So hey, good luck if/ when you start therapy. Because you'll have a lot of years of stuff to work through in order to discover how you actually feel about anything and anyone. Most especially yourself.

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People still argue with this radical idiot.

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gunplagirl posted...

You know, the thing about guys who say they're emotionless and logical is that they're the most emotional people of all. They just tricked themselves into thinking seething with anger all the time is acceptable. Actually, it's usually a result of socially enforced toxic masculinity, the part where western society too often teaches boys to repress their feelings and that the only one that's appropriate is anger, and that showing any signs of weakness is bad.

So hey, good luck if/ when you start therapy. Because you'll have a lot of years of stuff to work through in order to discover how you actually feel about anything and anyone. Most especially yourself.

that's a lot of conjecture, projection and straw man. I truly feel sorry for you. too much to even roast you like I would do to most others for similar behavior.

just... hang in there, kay? you're not the only one.

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RickyTheBAWSE posted...

Hey, you'll be all right. We can treat your toxic masculinity but you have to be willing to admit that you, as a human being, have feelings. And likewise, you'll have to accept that others have feelings.

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Guide posted...

the fuck it's not, i had detention the majority of my grade school days

same, detention doesnt do shit

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gunplagirl posted...

the part where western society too often teaches boys to repress their feelings and that the only one that's appropriate is anger, and that showing any signs of weakness is bad.

Can you cite a source on this? Or are you making it up?

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SomeLikeItHoth posted...

Can you cite a source on this? Or are you making it up?

Where are you from that you haven't heard of this?

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gunplagirl posted...

Yes, but if they're there because they've been expelled before? They'll be easier to remove the next time around. If they want to keep repeating this shit, that's on them. But letting them get away with it with light sentences? That doesn't do shit but let the bullies move on with their lives. There's no closure or safety or sense of protection from adults for the victims. Bullies need to be taught a lesson with major inconveniences or even drastic changes to their schedules so they can attend a different school even if it's across town.

So you want to just keep sweeping the problem u Der different rugs rather than trying to fix it

https://youtu.be/_mf3py1e_7c?t=9

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RadiantJoyrock posted...

So you want to just keep sweeping the problem u Der different rugs rather than trying to fix it

It's on the kid and their parents to try and fix the problem. The school system isn't built for that. Now, do they have accomodations in some school districts to help with that, such as counselors? Maybe. But they're often over burdened even should they only work at the one school.

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"Hey sorry kid, I know these kids assaulted you and tried to steal your property, but if we punished them they wouldn't learn a lesson because they'd just be someone else's problem. So they get to stay YOUR problem, forever."

Like, fuck. Can people stop simping for the fucking assailants for a minute and consider what's in the best interest of the victim?

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Pinellas County Sheriffs Office investigating incident of transgender student being attacked after displaying Pride flag

BY MITCH PERRY PINELLAS COUNTY
PUBLISHED 5:35 PM ET JUN. 03, 2021

The Pinellas County Sheriffs Department is investigating an incident that took place last Friday at Seminole Middle School, where a transgender student and their friends were physically attacked for displaying the rainbow Pride flag. Several students have been suspended for their involvement in the incident, and some of those students have been expelled Leo Hoffman, a 12-year-old transgender student, was enjoying a picnic with their friends on the school campus while displaying the Pride flag last week. They were then confronted by a male student who grabbed the flag and threw it into the garbage, according to Benjamin Hoffman, Leos father.
After Leo retrieved the flag and put it on their back like a cape, the same male student snatched it back, resulting in Leo being knocked to the ground and stepped on. The scene was captured by cellphone video and now has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, according to Benjamin Hoffman.

Seminole Middle School Principal Dr. Michael Moss and some of his staff then began investigating the incident throughout the holiday weekend to determine which students were involved in the incident.
Isabel Mascareas, the public information officer for Pinellas County Schools, says that the behavior was inappropriate and not acceptable, leading to the suspension of a group of students, with certain students being reassigned to an alternative school (she would not say how many students have been disciplined).
We teach our students to accept and respect everyone for who they are, she says. This is a district that values diversity and promotes inclusion.
I hate to see someones kid expelled from school, says Benjamin Hoffman. But you cant lay your hands on another person. Its just not acceptable.
Representatives from Equality Florida were made aware of the incident earlier this week.
Its important that this type of incident is not just brushed under the rug, says Gina Duncan, the director of transgender equality with the LGBTQ rights organization. When we see discrimination and certainly when we see violence against our young people in schools, this is something that we have to address.
A 2015 study conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that more than 77 percent of those who were out or perceived as transgender at some point between kindergarten and 12thgrade have experienced some form of mistreatment. More than 54 percent of those people said that they were verbally harassed, 24 percent were physically attacked and 13 percent were sexually assaulted.
Benjamin Hoffman says all things considered, Leo is doing well, though he opted to keep them out of class this week in the waning days of the school year.
Leo was frightened. Not so much for themselves but for their friends. Leo is very strong and would do anything to protect their friends, he says.
Mascareas says that the teachers at Seminole Middle High are reviewing and reinforcing its stated school values this week in class, which are respect, tolerance, cooperation and diversity. And she says that the school will implement a bully prevention program when the school year resumes later this year.
This is not the first incident of bullying that Spectrum Bay News 9 has been made aware of this year at Seminole Middle School. In April we reported on the case of Alicia Smith, who reported being harassed and bullied on several occasions after she was seen wearing a pro-Donald Trump facemask and ball cap in class. She had to wear the cap because she has alopecia, a condition that causes hair to fall out.

People are really saying detention is a good enough punishment? Good grief.

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