A relative overheard me telling another relative with young children about the documentary and she told me there was no problem with that where we live. When I and other relatives gave her numerous examples--personal experiences, friends' experiences, she then said that it doesn't just happen here, it happens everywhere especially with kids she described as "artsy". They seem to think most "artsy" people are gay and since they believe that is sinful it is perfectly reasonable to shun them and verbally bully them. My kid is considered artsy because he does musical theater instead of sports. My relative says shunning, verbal abuse by kids and adults, shunning, etc. happens everywhere. We are just supposed to accept it. It is just the way things are.
I think there is currently a panic about bullying, as described at
http://reason.com/archives/2012/04/04/is-there-a-bullying-epidemicStop Panicking Over Bullies
Despite a flurry of recent documentaries and attention, school hasn't been reduced to jungle law.
Nick Gillespie
Reason Magazine
April 4, 2012
I am concerned that "anti-bullying" efforts can become a form of bullying by administrators. I don't think "shunning" -- avoiding someone -- should be conflated with more active sorts of bullying such as name-calling and physical violence. And even regarding name-calling, if one student writes mean things about another on his Facebook page, should the school have jurisdiction? I know of cases where the school has stepped in. Do students have any 1st Amendment rights? The anti-bullying crusaders never talk about free speech or the right to free association (which includes "shunning").
