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Comment by zacharycohn | Hacker News Reader

I'd like to see a roadmap to making bullying socially unacceptable. Especially one that creates a sustainable solution as opposed to one that has to be re-implemented every year when you get new 6th graders..

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Here is a sustainable approach: make sure that teachers are legally obligated to report bullying instances they are aware of to the police. (This law can be passed in the municipal, state or federal levels -- it doesn't matter.)

Bullying is assault. The first time the police gets involved, it will be unpleasant for the bully. The second time, he gets arrested. The next bully to come along might realize he doesn't want a criminal record, and if he doesn't, his parents might. And if they don't stop, they get sent away to juvie.

Why do we assume highschool/middleschool kids are somehow untouchable by the law?

...because in some circumstances, they are. Cavanagh has vandals on film and admitting their guilt on facebook - cops don't follow up. More important things to do, I guess.

Ever had to actually get the police to follow up on something like that? They'll take your report... but if no one is injured, it often ends there.

They're not untouchable, but every year you're going to have a whole new group of kids "becoming" bullies. So any "sustainable" approach has to be made with parents, not the school system, because it's parents who are ultimately responsible.

To do that you'd first need to be in a situation where teachers earned the kids respect instead of demanding it by fiat.

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