Damn!! Thursday.

On this edition of Damn!! Thursday I am once again doing something a little different. I want to take a look at a few stories about Bullying in schools that I have come across. What makes these stories different is that they all come from Japan. I know that bullying is nothing new and is an issue the world over but these particular stories caught my attention. It isn't that they are extreme examples of just how bad bullying can get, even though they are, it is more about the response of the Adults to these situations. I would also like to recount my own very minor experience with the subject. 

I spent 9 years in the same school. I was there from Kindergarten to the Eighth grade. During that time I was surrounded by pretty much the same people. I would say about 90% of the class stayed the same. I was a very withdrawn child and stayed pretty much to myself. I had friends, a few real friends and some that were convenient, and was never picked on. There where a few instances of mean-spiritedness but these are hardly worth mentioning. My first encounter with a bully came with the introduction of a new student in the 7th grade. This kid instantly rubbed me the wrong way. It would turn out that my instincts were spot on as I became a target of his constant verbal abuse. The odd thing was he wasn't a traditional bully. He was intelligent, slight of build, and  looked like a strong gust of wind would blow him over. Yet he decided to pick on me. He focused on my weight and even ingrained himself with my circle of friends. That is what bugged me more than anything. I regret to this day that I didn't just snap and give him the beating he deserved. The worst I did was push his face into a drinking fountain. I think I chipped one of his teeth but can't really remember.

After that I went to high-school and was once again left alone aside from a few non-direct insults that aren't worth going in depth about. That changed when I was once again singled out. This time the person who had targeted me was more direct. Every day, as I went from class to another, this was sophomore year I believe, he would taunt me. This time I wasn't as reserved. I decided I would put an end to it. I knew when he would begin his verbal jabs and prepared beforehand. I gave my watch to a friend and slammed my fist into my hand a few times to psych myself up. Nothing happened that day and he never bothered me again. That was the second and final time I dealt with a Bully. As I said neither of these two experiences are anything other than minor, but I felt it was worth mentioning. There is one other thing I want to say, my mother always told me that if someone attacked me I not only had her permission to fight back, but if I didn't she would be very angry. It was with that mind set that I look at these stories. It is my belief that the only way to deal with a bully is by facing them head on. Even if that means getting a baseball bat and breaking some knees. You may think it is an unacceptable and violent outlook but sometimes the direct approach is the best. 

I also want to say that I have nothing against Japan. I am a fan of some of their pop culture and respect their culture even if I don't understand all of it. I respect their long history and traditions. This post is not me taking a cheap shots at Japan. It just so happens that these incidents happened in a rather short period of time and in quick succession. That is the only reason I am bringing them up all at the same time. With that said let's get to the incidents themselves. 

One quick bit of information. All of the links in the stories lead to the same website. This site is NOT I repeat NOT a Safe For Work site. Be aware of that. 

The current attention that is being given to bullying in Japan is thanks to one specific case that occurred in the Shiga Prefecture city of Otsu. A young boy who was in his 2nd year of middle school was bullied so badly that he eventually chose to jump off a building rather than continue to endure it. The boys tortures included being forced to eat dead wasps, practice committing suicide, shoplift, strip, and he was of course beaten as well has being mocked endlessly. The boy and his parents reported this to School Officials who did nothing to stop this torment. Faced with the heartless ineptitude presented by the School the boy's father approached the police who refused to get involved.

The story gets worse from there. After the boys death the school still denied that there was every a problem. Even his bullies proceeded to deface the boys picture in class. It wasn't until the story broke out and the media got involved that some small measure of movement began. This, however, was still hampered by the school and local government. Students of the school have said that they were told to not speak about the incident. In fact the local School Board admitted to telling the students to remain quiet on the matter. As a cherry a top this sundae the School Board went on to say that the bullies have human rights too and the board has to think of their education. 

With the police unwilling to help the parents of the boy, at the time, they had no recourse but to pursue a lawsuit against the school. The School Board, in defense of themselves, asked the parents for witnesses to the bullying and to explain how they could have helped to prevent the suicide. Source.

Eventually the situation had garnered so much publicity that the police had to investigate the school. The continued spotlight on the school led to even more details about the 13-year-old boys torment as well as the schools attempts to cover up the incident. Apparently the School issued two surveys in which they asked the students about bullying. The second questionnaire resulted in 188 responses. The School has said that it was only able to confirm one of the reports. After the first survey the School attempted to have the boy's father sign a legal contract promising not to reveal the results of the questionnaires. They then followed this up by not even informing the family about the second questionnaire. The School still refuses to take responsibility for the incident even as the local government and police turn on them. Source.

After finally looking into the case the local Police announced that they planned to arrest some of the kids involved in the bullying. It is expected that three of his classmates will be charged with 6 counts of assault and extortion. It was suspected that the boys involved in the incident were the children of well connected parents. This appears to be true. The father of 'boy A', as one of the boys is being referred to, is a director of a company in Kyoto and his mother is on the school's PTA.  The mother has been telling people that the victim had family issues and her son was only listening to his problems. With the way the Japanese judicial system is set up, it's likely that the boys will not face any significant punishment. What is even worse, is that it is believed that no action will be taken against he school itself.

One of the more infuriating aspects of this story is that the teachers at the school are trying to paint themselves as victims as well. They still refuse to accept that the bullying led to the boys death and are upset that the police have been brought into the matter. Source. It's enough to make you want to take a hammer to one of their heads. Oh wait someone did just that. Source.

With bullying being a hot button topic in Japan other incidents garnered more attention than they normally would have. Take the incident that happened in a Saitama middle school. A boy was forced to jump from a 2nd story roof. The boy fell onto a concrete surface and fractured his spine. He spent 2 weeks in the hospital and is undergoing rehab for the injuries. The teacher and school officials in this case took a different approach than the ones in the prior incident. They admitted that bullying had happened and apologized for their inability to keep their students safe. Source.

The list of horrid acts of violence continues with the story of a boy who was attending a Sendai city high school. This boy was beaten numerous times and forced to undergo "a test of courage", which involved being burned by cigarettes. The aftermath of which is displayed in the picture above. The worst part of this story is the school's reaction to this incident. First they had the bullies apologize and then requested that they boy, the victim, drop out of school because his arm might upset other students. The boy's family countered this by reporting the incident to the local police. They accepted the complaint and are investigating. Source.

Our last story involves a 13-year-old boy from Tokyo's Tama region. He was, of course, being bullied. It began with the boy being forced to strip and having his clothes and lunch thrown into a bin. Things quickly escalated and the boy was beaten into unconsciousness. The boy's classmates slammed his head into a concrete corridor floor which resulted in him being taken to to hospital in an ambulance. Later the boy was found to be suffering from a broken rib and was diagnosed with PTSD. The boy's parents wasted no time in contacting the police. They were told that it would be best if they just forgot about the attack. Source.

That, thankfully, is the last high profile bullying incident I came upon. I know that this post amounts to nothing more than me parroting things that were already said on Sankaku Complex, but I felt the need to compile these stories in one space.

No Odds and Ends this week. I just don't feel like it.