Charles Djou & Hawaii political trends

1) Here in Hawaii, we had a free-for-all election for the state's US House District 1. This district extends from East Honolulu to Ewa & Mililani!

Because the political parties didn't have a primary it was a free-for-all. The Democrats had Ed Case & Colleen Hanabusa. The Republicans had Charles Djou.

Hawaii usually votes Democrats, but in this free-for-all, the Democratic voters were split between Case (representing the centrist moderates) and Hanabusa (representing the union vote and other left-liberals). This gave an opening to Charles Djou.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/May/24/ln/hawaii5240346.html


Congressman-elect Charles Djou's strength remains in more conservative East Honolulu, but he demonstrated in his special-election victory Saturday night that he may be able to compete with Democrats in central and west side territory that could be critical in the November general election.

While most of Hawaii is pro-Democrat, East Honolulu is mostly Republican. You can compare East Honolulu to California's Orange County! These are upper-class conservative areas that happen to be near liberal cities.


An Advertiser analysis of the vote by state House district found that Djou performed well in potential swing districts around Mililani and 'Ewa Beach. While the combined vote for Hanabusa and Case was still larger than Djou's markers, there is no guarantee all these voters would stick with the Democratic nominee in November.
Hanabusa trailed Case in East Honolulu but did better than the former congressman in every district west of Makiki — an encouraging sign for her campaign against Case in the September primary.

Hanabusa's muscle in the most solidly Democratic territory of urban Honolulu, combined with her expected edge in fundraising and the organizational help from establishment Democrats and labor unions, gives her the advantage in the primary.

In other words, Djou also did well in the suburbs in Ewa & Mililani, whereas Hanabusa did well in lower income areas like Kalihi, Palolo & Waipahu!

----
Case captured the state House district he used to represent in Mānoa but trailed in every other district.

While Manoa is similar to East Honolulu in that both areas tend to have a lot of upper-class people, many of European and East Asian ancestry, Manoa has a more liberal vibe. The University of Hawaii is located in Manoa, and many UH professors are left-leaning liberals who live nearby. You'll also find some hippie-ish people hanging out at Manoa Marketplace and in Mo'ili'ili. So while East Honolulu is Hawaii's version of Orange County, Manoa is Hawaii's version of Seattle/Portland/Berkeley.

While Manoa was a former home to the moderate Ed Case, it is the home of the left-wing Neil Abercombie who is quitting Congress to run for governor. It was also where Barack Obama spent a part of his childhood! So that area does have a liberal legacy.

---

There will be another election for this same seat later this year.

Some predict that Hanabusa will win the Democrat primary, and those who wanted Ed Case in the Democrat primary might switch to Republican Charles Djou in the general election.

But I'm thinking Ed Case's former Manoa neighbors will stick with the Democrats in the general election, because I think many are too liberal to vote for Djou.

But I think Ed Case's supporters from other neighborhoods (ie. Ewa, Mililani, East Honolulu, downtown) tend to be more pro-business and would choose Charles Djou over Colleen Hanabusa in the general election.

former students; making us proud & disappointed

1) As a substitute teacher, I come across so many students at different stages of their young lives. We've seen the good and the bad, sometimes all in one day!

Sometimes, we predict the students would make great achievements. But we also worry that many will get into bad situations where they make wrong life-altering decisions!
----------

Last Sunday (5/23/10), I attended a graduation ceremony for my high school alma mater - McKinley High School. Not only did I get to visit my alma mater, I get to see some of my former students that I used to teach when they were at Central & Washington Middle Schools.

Some remembered me, others I had to remind them who I was! Took a few photos.

This was a proud moment, to see those who I knew as middle schoolers, now about to enter adulthood! A memory to cherish.

---
However, the day after, I read in the newspaper that another former student, Jordan Arturyo, has been arrested for a home invasion in Palolo Valley.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100525/NEWS01/5250320/Suspect+s+elder+kin+shocked+by+arrest

I remember Jordan Arturyo from back when he was an 8th grader at Washington Middle School. It was in May 2005, and I had to help supervise students who didn't attend the school's banquet.

I remember he was staring at me, mocking my speech patterns, and I yelled at him, then he wanted to fight me. Lucky thing another teacher was there!

That was my 1st semester working as a substitute teacher, so I obviously, I learned a lot since then about dealing with such situations.

Yelling might scare some into submission, but it doesn't work with tougher students. They want to show their friends "I'm not scared of the teacher" and it evolves into a no-win situation. Teachers have to be stern to be taken seriously, but they need to be calm so that things don't get out of control.

I should've just sent that kid to the office with a referral or talk to the other staff members if things got worse. That would've been a better way to dealing with the situation thant yelling at that kid!

---

I havent' seen Jordan Arturyo since that day, but his involvement in a home invasion doesn't surprise me! Chances are, if a student is mean to the teacher, that student would be even meaner to their peers! Even more so when adults aren't around!

While some student mature as they get older, others get more involved in violent activities. It is obvious that Jordan Arturyo went into the more violent route!

Follow-up on the previous immigration post

More thoughts on the Arizona immigration controversy and related topics



1) Mexico's government has put out an alert to its citizens visiting Arizona



http://www.sre.gob.mx/csocial/contenido/comunicados/2010/abr/cp_121eng.html (English version)



U.S. anti-immigration fanatics reacted to this advisory by pointing out that Mexico has really harsh anti-immigration laws!



So, while the anti-immigration accuse Mexican immigrants of "making the US more like Mexico", it's the anti-immigration fanatics that want to make the U.S. more like Mexico, the same country so many try to escape!



Meanwhile, Mexico does need to change its abusive immigration laws! Mexico's authorities have been known to be abusive to immigrants from the Central American countries. Mexico's authorities have also been known to harass US American visitors into giving them bribes!



http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/03/mexicos-illegals-laws-tougher-than-arizonas/

Under the Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison. Immigrants who are deported and attempt to re-enter can be imprisoned for 10 years. Visa violators can be sentenced to six-year terms. Mexicans who help illegal immigrants are considered criminals.


The law also says Mexico can deport foreigners who are deemed detrimental to "economic or national interests," violate Mexican law, are not "physically or mentally healthy" or lack the "necessary funds for their sustenance" and for their dependents.

More on Mexico's immigration laws at

http://www.vdare.com/awall/070516_memo.htm



So, yes, many within the Mexican-American community need to be more outspoken against Mexico's immigration laws. That will give them more credibility!



But the anti-immigration fanatic's attitude of "Mexico does it too, why can't we?" is lame!



2) Now, many in the US love to say "why can't those Mexican illegals just learn to just do it legally?"



People who ask those questions act as if the legal immigration policy is an easy process to go through! As easy as for someone to migrate from North Carolina to South Carolina!



It's not!



(by C. Coville)

http://www.cracked.com/article_18552_so-you-want-to-be-american-5-circles-immigration-hell.html

Hard core anti-immigration types in places like, say, Arizona, say it's not about racism. It's the fact that the people crossing the border are breaking the law. Sure, America is awesome, but the country lets in a lot of immigrants through nice legal channels, right? Why don't these Mexicans just try it that way?



Well, having gone through immigration myself in 2009 (the legal way), I can tell you right now there's a reason. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying breaking the law is the way to go. But I am saying that when you make the legal pathway to something long, baffling and infuriating enough, many people are going to skip it in favor of the easy option. Even if choosing that option makes them a criminal.

The author went on to go over all the red tape and bureaucratic hassle a person has to go through in order to legally immigrate to the US. The process is too long to go over in my blog, but if you click on that link above, you'll have an idea!


When entrepreneurs or medical patients have to go through such similar red tape, many Tea-Party types call it "government oppression", but they're OK so such government bull-stuff when it comes to immigration. Inconsistent and hypocritical!



With all that bureaucratic bull-stuff, running through the desert is civil disobedience as far as I'm concerned!

Jeff Jacoby said it best
http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby051010.php3

But there is nothing thoughtful or admirable about insisting that a foolish or counterproductive law be enforced at all costs. In Montgomery, Ala., in 1955, Rosa Parks broke the law that mandated racial segregation on public buses. For refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, Parks was arrested, fingerprinted, and fined. As she was being removed from the bus, she asked the arresting officer, "Why do you push us around?"

"I don't know," he replied. "But the law is the law and you're under arrest."

Of course respect for the law is important. But when laws are foolish, perverse, and repugnant to American interests and ideals, they should be resisted and replaced. Republicans and conservatives should be leading the fight for real immigration reform. How sad that so many of them would rather fight immigrants instead.

3) In my previous blog post, I mentioned that racial profiling and police abuses DID NOT REDUCE CRIME in LA during the late 1980's-early 1990's.



I mention that those who had bad experience with police officers who treat any young non-white persons as criminals, would be less likely to talk to the police when they're a victim or witness to a crime.



I got additional proof, thanks to an LA Times article discussing the recently deceased LAPD chief Darryl Gates.


http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-domanick18-2010apr18,0,1691456.story
The author talked about Gate's time as LAPD chief from 1978 -1992, then wrote the following

Gates believed that he and the LAPD were doing the city's most important work, and that they should be accountable to no one but themselves. His troops were arrogant and aggressive in their policing, and the cost was catastrophic. Many unarmed suspects were killed by officers, who rarely had to answer for their actions.

Among the many problems with these tactics were that they simply didn't work. During the '80s, for example, violent crime in L.A. grew at more than twice the national average. In 1986, Los Angeles had the highest number of reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents and the highest number of property crimes.

Unable to control the Bloods and Crips gangs, Gates began massive South L.A. "sweeps," in which thousands of black men were indiscriminately arrested. When Rodney King was beaten by LAPD officers, who were then acquitted for their actions, the anger finally exploded. The 1992 riots that followed lasted four days. When they were over, 45 people were dead and 2,300 were injured. Insured losses totaled $1 billion.

The cost to the department was also immense. The LAPD became a worldwide symbol of all that was bad, bigoted and brutal in big-city policing. The world, after all, had witnessed not only the beating of King on grainy footage played over and over on television but also the LAPD's failure to react swiftly to defend the city in the first crucial hours when the rioting might have been stopped.

--
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gates-20100427,0,3591563.story

Critics, however, view him as a man who pursued an antagonistic, paramilitary approach to policing, in which officers treated the city's poor, minority communities as occupied territories. He was, they say, a man prone to racially insensitive remarks, either blind or impervious to the rising animosity many Angelenos felt toward the LAPD. That tension snapped when riots erupted in South L.A. after the acquittal of officers put on trial for the beating of Rodney King. Gates, who blamed those beneath him for the department's failed response, was nonetheless roundly criticized for the debacle. He resisted calls for his resignation for months after the riots, but eventually stepped down in June 1992

In that same article, it mentioned that most of the LAPD officers during Chief Gates era are no longer on the police force. There is more diversity in the LAPD, and more importantly, less scandals.

So, let that be a lesson to those in Arizona who thinks "SB 1070, racial profiling, and abusive policing would make Arizona safer", because the people of Los Angeles LEARNED THE HARD WAY that such tactics doesn't make us safer, in fact, it makes things worse!

4) Basic ways Arizona's SB 1070 can be abused
http://reason.com/archives/2010/05/11/the-bogus-constitutional-argum

Under the new law, Arpaio [Pablo's note: Arpaio's an anti-immigration sheriff in Arizona] could troll Hispanic neighborhoods demanding the papers of anyone breaking, say, a local pooper-scooper law while walking their dogs. If they can't comply on the spot, he could haul them to a police station while their immigration status is checked. If it turns out that they are here illegally, they could be arrested, pending deportation. This means that the same pooper-scooper violation that would produce nothing more than a small fine for unaccented white folks—since they would not raise any “reasonable suspicion” that would justify an inquiry into their immigration status—could well result in a lengthy police encounter for Hispanic citizens or Hispanics with valid visas—and deportation for anyone who had overstayed their visa by even a day. “If this doesn't raise equal protection and Fourth Amendment concerns then what does?” asks Cecillia Wang, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

-----
Or another example! A loud late house party night party. Of course, those things are inconsiderate to the neighbors who got to wake up early to go to work!

But if that house party is attended by European-Americans, the cops would be like "everyone, just go home already! And call a taxi if you're drunk!"

But if the house party is attended by Mexicans or Central Americans, the police reaction under SB 1070 would NOT BE "everyone, just go home already!" It would be, "Everybody on the floor, and you better have your papers in your pockets!" But seriously, who the hell would bring important papers to a house party? And even if you did have those papers with you, this whole situation is a waste of time! And if you're a US born Latino who has been mistaken as an immigrant, you could be sent to the police station and treated like someone who needs to be deported, when in reality, you don't have "immigration papers" because you're not an immigrant!

If you're one of those being abused by such double standards, it is understandable if you're less likely to talk to police if you're a victim or witness to a crime!

Arizona immigration law & racial profling

Last week, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a new law that allows law enforcement officers to stop and question anyone they suspect to be an illegal alien.

Brewer claims that she's not encouraging racial profiling, but reality as it is, it's not likely that an illegal immigrant from Norway or Poland would be stopped for questioning!

So, most likely it will be a hunt for Mexican illegal aliens.

Sure, many Arizona residents can tell who which Latino person is an immigrant or a local, just like many in Hawaii can tell which Asian person is an immigrant or local. But even most of us can guess wrong!

Many conservatives (many who ironically protest government oppression when it comes to taxes, guns, or incidents involving European-American religious cults) scoff at the notion that government power (in this case, local cops or immigration officials) could be abused!

Of course government power can be abused! Government is force! Government oppression isn't just some bureaucrat with a bad attitude, it is also an arrogant law enforcement officer with big size, big ego and multiple weapons! A government bureaucrat with a bad attitude is annoying, but a law enforcement officer carrying weapons have the ability to kill! Yet, many Tea Party conservatives are only concerned about the government bureaucrat with a bad attitude!

So, yes, it could easily lead to law enforcement officers using their authority to bully anyone who is Latino or looks Latino!



That's right, even "looking Mexican" can get you profiled! Many Filipinos & Polynesians from Hawaii have mentioned they have been mistaken as "Mexican" when they visit the continental US!


--------


Some say that racial profiling reduces crime!



BULL-NONSENSE!

Proof? Look at Los Angeles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was a lot of police scandals involving European-American officers harassing African-Americans and Latinos. Young teens, who weren't involved in gangs, whose only sin was staying out too late and making noise were treated as if they committed violence and were logged in the police department's gang database!

Driving certain cars could get you stereotyped as a drug dealer! Even if they found no drugs or weapons, YOUR TIME IS WASTED!

So don't give me this, "if you did nothing wrong, you got nothing to hide" or "if you get your ID, you shouldn't worry about being deported" stuff! HELLO, stopping people for "looking illegal" or "driving Impalas" or "wearing baggy khaki pants", even if they're not doing anything wrong WASTE PEOPLE'S TIME! Even worse when the officer has an arrogant attitude that implies "don't ask me questions or you'll be the next Rodney King"

Did crime go down in LA during that time? HELL NO!

Why was that?


Think about it, when you were a kid, if a school official was mean to you, would you talk to that person about your problem? OF COURSE NOT, because chances are, that person wouldn't care or would just laugh at you!



If a police officer stopped you even though you did nothing wrong, would you talk to that same officer if you were a victim of a crime?

And yet people act surprised when many people wouldn't talk to police about crimes they were victims of, or crimes they have witnessed!

So who in LA benefited from police using racial profiling? The Gangs!

The gangs know they can get away with stuff if their victims are reluctant to talk to the police! They know their victims won't talk to police if their victims already had bad experience with cops who treated them as bad guys from being young, black or brown!



Sure, gang members may not like being stopped by cops, but they are happy when others of their race get stopped by cops for driving a nice car, or wearing hip-hop fashion! Because now their victims will be reluctant to talk to police!

So guess who's going to benefit from the new Arizona law allowing police to stop & question anyone who looks "illegal"? THE GANG MEMBERS WILL BENEFIT MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE!

This was why LA was so dangerous in the late 1980s and 1990s! Gang members could get away with anything, because their victims fear the cops too!

And this was why in 1992, after 4 European-American cops beat an African-American drunk driving suspect Rodney King, there was a large-scale riot in Los Angeles!

That riot was a wake-up call for Los Angeles. The city government became more vigilant about who is in their police force, and how they interact with the public!

While the LAPD isn't perfect, its public relations has improved! There hasn't been much scandals from that department lately. Less profiling, less brutality! And crime in LA has declined!

Even with all the hype of South Central LA's population going from mostly African-American to mostly Latin American, and all the hype surrounding the gang violence between both ethnic groups, still the overall crime rate there has decreased! That's because people there are now less reluctant to talk to police about crimes they experienced or witnessed.

So, do the people of Arizona want a large-scale riot to eventually pop-up in Phoenix? Because the people of California learned the hard way what can happen if too much police officers abuse their authority and treat anyone who is young & non-white as a suspect!

-----
John McCain calls himself a "maverick" and was once willing to speak up for Mexican immigrants! He even supported a law that would make it easier for illegal aliens to eventually become US citizens. However, that got backlash from the far-right and JD Hayworth is challenging McCain on this issue. So this "maverick" has turned "chicken" and supported this stupid law!

----------

Anti-immigration fascists love to exploit crimes committed by Mexican immigrants.
The most recent one was the murder of a farmer who lived near the Arizona-Mexico border. Illegal Mexican immigrants have been suspected in this case!
But do illegal aliens really make us unsafe?

http://reason.com/archives/2010/04/22/how-immigration-crackdowns-bac

The state has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants. But contrary to myth, they have not brought an epidemic of murder and mayhem with them. Surprise of surprises, the state has gotten safer.


Over the last decade, the violent crime rate has dropped by 19 percent, while property crime is down by 20 percent. Crime has also declined in the rest of the country, but not as fast as in Arizona.


Babeu's claim about police killings came as news to me. When I called his office to get a list of victims, I learned there has been only one since the beginning of 2008—deeply regrettable, but not exactly a trend.


Truth is, illegal immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native Americans. Most come here to work, and in their desire to stay, they are generally afraid to do anything that might draw the attention of armed people wearing badges.


El Paso, Texas, is next door to the exceptionally violent Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and easily accessible to illegal entry. Yet it is one of the safest cities in the United States.

-----

I also wrote about that issue back in October 2009, blog post titled "More Immigrants, Less Crime"
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html#5969634862924242439
-----
While anti-immigrant fascists like Pat Buchanan, Glenn Beck, and Michelle Maglalang Malkin love to emphasize immigrant criminals violating the non-immigrant, they are silent about the murder of Brisenia Flores.

Brisenia Flores was a 9-year old girl of Mexican ancestry who was brutally murdered by white supremacists in Arizona. Her father, Raul Flores, was also killed in that attack!

http://www.theliberaloc.com/2010/04/27/the-crime-conservatives-dont-want-you-to-know-about/
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/06/15/nativist-leader-arrested-for-double-murder/

The leader of Minutemen American Defense (MAD), a nativist extremist group that conducts vigilante patrols on the Arizona-Mexico border, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder Friday for her alleged role in the May 30 slayings of a Latino man and his 9-year-old daughter in Pima County, Ariz.

Also arrested were MAD Operations Director Jason Eugene “Gunny” Bush, 34, the alleged triggerman in the murders, and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 42, a local member of MAD. Along with the two murder counts, Forde and her two associates were charged with one count of first-degree burglary and one count of aggravated assault.

According to investigators, Forde and at least two armed men broke into a trailer occupied by Arivaca, Ariz., resident Raul Flores, his wife, and their daughter Brisenia. Bush allegedly shot and killed Raul Flores and Brisenia before Flores’ wife, who was also shot in the incident, returned fire, wounding Gaxiola. It’s unclear whether the alleged killers found any money or drugs.

How many more people will end up like Brisenia Flores? How much longer will this be ignored?---(skipped paragraphs)(skipped paragraphs)

Coming soon

So many thoughts, not much time to blog it out!

1) The controversial Arizona immigration law, allowing police to stop anyone who they suspect to be an illegal alien. This is racial profiling, and despite what some conservative correctness people say, it doesn't reduce crime! In fact, it encourages crime

Trust me, I have tons to write about that! It's just that some of these blog posts take 1-2 hours to write & edit and I don't always have that much free time


2) The Ben Rothlisberger rape case. No charges filed, but lots to talk about!


------
3) As for me, currently I work part-time as a para-professional tutor at a local middle school, and I work as a substitute teacher on the other days.

Nukes, Guns, Jobs and Jealous Ones

1) President Barack Obama said he wants a world without nuclear weapons.


The only thing worse than a world with nuclear weapons is a world in which the bad guys get the nukes but the good guys don't!

Even if we get rid of all nuclear weapons now, that won't stop some future dictator from hiring some scientists to make new nuclear weapons, then threaten the world!

Here's Dick Morris on Obama's nuclear policy

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0410/morris040910.php3

If any nation wants to attack the United States with chemical, biological, or electromagnetic pulse weapons, it need not fear nuclear retaliation as long as it has no nuclear weapons and abides by the Non Proliferation Treaty, Obama has announced. So, as New Yorkers are coughing their lungs out from mustard gas or dying in the streets of biological weapons, they will know that their government will not use nuclear weapons to retaliate against their murderers.

In effect, Obama has said if you are a signatory to the nonproliferation treaty and do not have nuclear weapons, we will not hit you with nuclear bombs even if you unleash poison gas or biological microbes in crowded American cities or cripple our economy by a massive electromagnetic pulse

Now that nukes already been invited, we might as well keep them, just in case!

A nuclear-free world? Too late already!

2) Same thing applies to guns!

The mafias, racists, robbers, and thugs aren't going to give up their guns! why should anyone else!

Some anti-gun folks claim that using guns in self-defense always leads to failure! BULL- NONSENSE!

Check out this article from the Star Bulletin. The robbers got shot at by their potential victims!

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100401_Robbery_attempt_ends_with_attackers_shot.html

When one suspect pointed his gun at the 26-year-old woman, she opened fire at the two men, who returned fire before running to a car driven by a third man and fleeing.

Witnesses said about a dozen shots were fired.

(skipped paragraphs)

He said the woman who fired her weapon apparently did not break any laws, which allow people to use deadly force in their home if their lives are threatened.

Lesson to be learned : if you want to burglarize, watch out, you might get shot!

And leaving people defenseless NEVER increases the peace, it increases the bullying against those who can't fight back!

3) The Hawaii state legislature passed a bill requiring all contractors working on government project to have 80% of its worforce be "state residents" . It is supposedly about "local jobs for local people"

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100417_local_jobs_bill_draws_criticism.html



Look, I'm all for local people getting jobs, especially in this rough economy.

But what if only 70% of the job applicants are local?

Or what if 50% of the job applicants are recent immigrants?


We don't need quotas for hiring! We don't need to pit "locals" vs "immigrants" vs "mainlanders"!


Just hire who has proven to be the best qualified!


And tell the kids going to school now that they better study hard, get skilled and be responsible, because they will be competing for jobs with people from all over the world!


You can strive to be a victim or strive to be a victor!

Only victims whine about the competition!


4) I know of this one woman whose boyfriend wanted her to delete all other males off her facebook list!

That boyfriend thinks he so tough by giving orders to his girlfriend, but what it really proves is that he is an extremely insecure person! His ego is so fragile, so scared of losing his girlfriend to other guys!

He's probably the paranoid type that gets all bent out of shape because his girlfriend is smiling at some other guy!

If you're like that guy, LIGHTEN UP! Instead of being mad at those other guys smiling at your girl, laugh at them behind their backs! After all, she's with you, not them!

Dealing with Bullies

In Massachussets, an teenage Irish immigrant who was bullied by her peers committed suicide. Her bullies have been criminally charged! Possible lawsuits are on the way!


http://www.salon.com/news/story/index.html?story=/news/2010/03/30/us_school_bullying

Insults and threats followed 15-year-old Phoebe Prince almost from her first day at South Hadley High School, targeting the Irish immigrant in the halls, library and in vicious cell phone text messages.


Phoebe, ostracized for having a brief relationship with a popular boy, reached her breaking point and hanged herself after one particularly hellish day in January -- a day that, according to officials, included being hounded with slurs and pelted with a beverage container as she walked home from school.



Now, nine teenagers face charges in what a prosecutor called "unrelenting" bullying, including two teen boys charged with statutory rape and a clique of girls charged with stalking, criminal harassment and violating Phoebe's civil rights.

This comes 11 years after the infamous Columbine case, in which 2 Colorado boys who were tired of being picked on, brought their guns and went on a murder rampage! They then killed themselves!


---


So what to do, what to do?

I'm a school employee. School employees are supposed to intervene when these things occur! But sometimes (especially for substitutes like me), if we don't know them well enough, we aren't able to tell the difference between playful trash-talking between friends or trash-talking between enemies! So sometimes, it might get mistakenly treated as playful trash-talking between friends, and therefore, not treated seriously enough!


But most of the really bad stuff happens when teachers aren't looking! In the hallways, in recess, before school, after school!


----


One of the worst things an adult can tell a child is "stop tattle-telling". Look, I know what it's like to be irritated by kids complaining about minor things. I work in the schools. But be careful with any "no tattle-telling" advice! Children will interpret "no tattle-telling" as "I don't care what bad stuff happens to you, too bad!"

And yet we act surprised when those same kids get into a fight, join a gang, shoot a school, or kill themselves? If the adults don't seem to care, then the kids will handle it themselves --- in a manner more suited to a prison environment than a professional environment!

And we act surprised when victims of spousal abuse and rape don't come forward to tell authorities about what happened?

And we act surprised when those who witness murders don't want to talk to authorities and testify in court?

This is what happens when people hear "no tattle-telling, no snitching" all their lives!

You might think I'm exaggarating!


I remember watching "60 Minutes" in which teenagers who witnessed murders and said they didn't say anything to the police. One boy said "a snitch is a tattle-tell!" With that attitude commonplace, many murders go unsolved!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/60minutes/main2704565.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentTitle


Then Anderson Cooper interviewed rapper Camron who survived a car robbery attempt, but refused to talk to the cops about what happened! Cooper asked Camron if a serial killer moved next door, would you tell the cops. Camron said "I'll just move".

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2704196n&tag=mncol;lst;6


That got so much controversy, that even gangsta rap legend Ice-T criticized Camron. Ice-T said if you know someone who had a bomb about to board a plane, you shouldn't be like "I'm just not going on the plane", you should tell the authorities right away!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HHptNp5F7E
After that, Camron had to apologize to crime victims in general for sounding insensitive to those who reported crimes to the police!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/60minutes/main2704565.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentTitle



In the same 60 Minutes episode, it was mentioned that Busta Rhymes didn't talk to the police after he saw his bodyguard (Israel Ramirez) being shot & killed! Busta Rhymes refused to be interviewed for that story, but someone should ask him 

"Israel Ramirez put his life on the line for you. Why not do the right thing and put your life on the line for Mr Ramirez and tell the authorities what you saw?"

--------


Other parents, when hearing their kids been bullied, tell their kids"go beat them up".


Yeah, sounds so heroic, a kid confronting his tormentor and knocking him out! It's the stuff of classic movies!


But real life is nothing like the movies! If your kid fights his tormentor, it most likely will NOT be a one-on-one fight! It's more like your kid vs. his bully and his friends and his brother and his cousins, etc.




If your kid's tormentor has a bigger and stronger support system, telling him/her to fight the bully will NOT be worth the trouble! It's especially more true if the bully is a member of a well-established street gang! Your kid fights them, your kid will not survive!



---------------

Another problem is that some parents indirectly support their child's bullying!



You might think I'm exaggarating! You haven't met the 2 parents I had to deal with while working at a summer program at Palama Settlement a few years back.



One woman confronted me on the phone and in person for "picking on her nephew". Her nephew was known to physically and verbally abuse his peers and I informed her on the phone that other parents would be on my case if I didn't discipline her nephew. She didn't want to hear it and kept asking "why do you pick on him?"



The following week, after the kid was given a timeout for his temper tantrum, his aunt then confronted me personally and screamed "why do you always pick on him?" Knowing that arguing with adults in front of the kids isn't a good idea, I told her "we can talk about it in the office". She then screamed "no, we'll talk about it right here." I told her again, "we'll talk about it in the office", then she said "what, are you scared? you don't want to look stupid in front of everyone?" I just kept walking to the office, and I spoke with the supervisor about the issue.



The supervisor suggested to me when dealing with angry parents (or angry customers in general), apologize to them at first, then listen to what they have to say! This is to calm them down! They're so mad, that they're not interested in hearing your side of the story, they want you to listen to their concerns! Listen to their concerns, instead of being on the defensive!



That was in the 1st year I worked with kids, so obviously I learned more about how to deal with discipline since then. I would obviously learn to deal with situations more effectively since then!



But the point was that auntie showed no concern about her nephew's victims. She felt any discipline, no matter how mild, was "picking on him". She didn't asked "what happened? what did he do? what can I do to help?" It was just accussations of "picking on him".



The second parent in the program didn't yell accussations, but her approach was almost as annoying! Her response to her son's misbehavior was "he's such a good kid, you let him bother you!"



A good kid? I wish I saw his good side more often! And it's one thing that he annoys me, but what people forget is if a kid is annoying his/her teachers, chances are really high that he/she is annoying the peers EVEN MORE! 

My experience tells me that students treat their less aggressive, less tougher, and less socially supported peers A LOT WORSE than they treat any school employee! At least teachers can write referrals!



Her suggestions to "ignore it" is UNREALISTIC, because ignoring it tells the bully "this guy is soft, I'll do it even more"



As I told that mother about her son was screaming in a younger boy's face. The younger boy told him to stop, he continued to scream in his face, the younger boy started to cry. The bully's mother's attitude was "don't worry, that's nothing"! No concern about how her son is emotionally traumatizing those weaker and less aggressive than him! No concern about how his current misbehavior, if not dealt with, could lead to worse misbehavior as he gets older!



I only talked to that dad's boy once, and he told me that the mother is too lenient and lets him get away with too much! However, the mother has custody of that boy!



--------------

Dealing with such issues is never easy, and happy endings aren't guaranteed in real life!



Ignoring it doesn't deter bullies, but fighting them will usually lead to getting a beatdown from their friends.



One good book on how to deal with such issues is "Take The Bully By the Horns" by Sam Horn. Check out http://www.takethebullybythehorns.com/ for more info! It teaches you stuff most parents and schools don't always teach!



Also, don't hesitate to talk to school officials about anything that happens to your child. It's NOT "tattle-telling" or "snitching", it's PREVENTING future problems! School officials will only help if they know about it! They can't possibly know everything that happen on campus, so you gotta be the one to inform them!



As for my personal opinion, if a kid is saying something inappropriate, a warning usually works for low-level offenders. They're the ones who usually back off when they're caught!



As for higher-level offenders, I do agree with school officials who make them pick up rubbish and other hard labor, whether during in-school suspension or after-school! Kids needs to face tough consequences, otherwise, they'll think the rules are a joke! They need to face a level of discomfort to deter them!

Or as in the already mentioned case in Massachussetts, repeat offenders need to face criminal charges of harrassment and other violations! They need to be shown that their misbehavior is to be taken seriously, and that their "fun" is over!



Again, there's no easy answers! But the most important thing is to take it seriously!