Via News and Observer:
The House approved by a one-vote margin a bill that would ban bullying against school children for actual or perceived differences including sexual orientation.The bill passed 58 to 57, and Democrats then voted for a parliamentary maneuver ensuring that none of those voting in favor can change their minds. The result: the bill will be sent to Gov. Beverly Perdue for her signature.
I grew up in North Carolina and went to public high school. While my town is considered one of the most liberal in the state, I experienced a pretty homophobic high school environment. I wasn't out at the time, but my social world made it pretty clear it wasn't an option.
I support the NC legislature's efforts to address the specific targeting of LGBT youth. Hopefully the Governor will sign the legislation!
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I worked for GLSEN for four months as a temp; they're such a great organization, and working with them convinced me that this type of legislation is badly needed nationwide. Every state is a very welcome victory!
Does anyone know the likelihood that the governor will sign it?
I can't imagine Perdue not signing this bill.
It's insane how many people didn't get the need for this legislation. Even at my county convention (I'm a Democrat), a resolution in support of the bill had considerable debate. I don't know if people just don't recognize how many students are badgered over their orientation or expression, or if it's that they just don't care.
Yes, this is a good idea. Seems like children are just more cruel with each generation, no conscience.
Really? Kids these days have no conscience. As one of them kids, I'm not really flattered.
Yes, children get more cruel with each generation! We should really wish for the "good old days" when children were always nice to each other. (sarcasm)
Even though the vote was close I see no chance that she won't sign this legislation. Anything positive she can do she has to do because of the sorry shape NC is in right now.
I hope this passes. We can't keep living in such a backwards environment. Why people continue to harbor such views towards sexual orientation is beyond me.
This is great, common sense really. I just wonder how it will be implemented. If someone is bullied, what next?
Thanks for calling attention to this, Miriam! A great coalition of organizations has been working on it in NC for years now.
Essentially, it beefs up the generic anti-bullying policy that school systems in the state already have to make it very clear that no bullying--regardless of the target--is acceptable. The punishment side of things isn't our top concern (as each school system already has a policy for dealing with bullies). Rather, this gives teachers, parents & kids a concrete definition they can work from when they say, "this counts as bullying, too."
You can check out the full text of the bill here: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/HTML/S526v4.html
rcmann partially answered this question, but I'm hoping someone can add to it: what exactly are the enforcement capacities of this bill? are people being, like, fined or something for it? or is it more of a statement kind-of-thing? Not opposed to the legislation, just a little bit unclear.
Recent imaging research suggests that bullies' brains may be hardwired for sadism. Using function Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), images of bullies' brains showed that inflicting pain stimulated the brain pleasure centers of males who are unusually aggressive, but showed no activity in brains of normal males. Check out this research at:
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2008/11/bullies-may-be-wired-in-brain-to-enjoy-others-pain.html#more
I'm certainly not for bullying but an important life lesson is learning to stand up to bullies. My mother still talks about the day she got picked on by the local school yard bully & stood up to him and his punching. I fear we're infantilizing our kids with legislation like this. Obviously I'm not supporting letting kids duke it out, but--even with the well reported deaths that have occurred recently--I think existing rules provide the right balance. No need to nanny state ourselves to death.
That's ridiculous. The reason a lot of victims can't stand up to bullies is that they've been bullied so much they don't have the strength for it anymore. Less bullying can only be a good thing.
No one's suggesting "more bullying". That's silly. The question is how to teach kids to be tough & smart rather than infantilize them. There's nothing wrong with learning self-reliance, and I think the vast majority of kids navigate it fairly successfully, if with a few cuts & bruises.