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I don't think the authors are claiming that bullies are geniuses. You don't need to be a genius to know who you can get away with bullying. You just need to k
by sethg 17y ago
I don't think the authors are claiming that bullies are geniuses. You don't need to be a genius to know who you can get away with bullying. You just need to know that if you abuse X then the only people who might witness the abuse are people who are highly unlikely to snitch.
- fauigerzigerk 17y agoThere are way too many witnesses for that argument to hold water. Usually everyone knows who is being bullied and who is doing the bullying. When confronted the bullies will present a long list of reasons why the victim deserves to be a victim. Of course violent attacks are kept semi private if you can call it that considering those "happy slapping" pics that are being posted on the internet and sent to people's phones en-masse.
- sethg 17y agoOf course everyone knows, but if the people who actually witness the offense aren't willing to come forward (because they think that the victim deserved it or because they want to stand with a fellow student against Authority, or whatever), then standard disciplinary processes can't do anything. The analogous adult case is when a crime syndicate or a terrorist organization assassinates one of its enemies in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street, and the police can't find anyone to testify that they witnessed the hit. If you don't change the priorities of the bystanders, you can't change anything else.