$1,000,000 for being bullied!!

[spartan_s]

recently on the news it has shown a 18year old male was paid out 1million from the education department because he was bullied!!! he claims he can never work because of the mental anguish..
he still has all his limbs, senses etc
yet i know of a story where a child became a quadraplegic because the gym equipment at his school was faulty.. he got f#@k all.

im sorry but i personally think its a joke..people go through thousand times worse for much less, views?

[Dicky]

Welcome to the current litigation climate.



Stupid humans...

[Ruckus_Lord]

Yeah sweet. Then us people with serious claims can't get 2 freakin' dollers. Really makes you want to stab everyone who pulls shit like this.:mad:

[toodles]

Welcome to the current litigation climate.

Stupid humans...

Beat this - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502763_pf.html

[Deniss]

I am sick off people like his they should get over it a why should the tax payers, pay for some Wang chops mental anguish.

I beet the kid was a total razo kids just don’t get bullied for NO REASON.
For example we had this kid at my school who would pick his nose, wear dirty cloths and not shave, he was just down right wrong an he was always crying about people picking on him.

Take a note from choppers book HARDEN THE FARK UP!

AN I THINK THE MONEY SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THIS WANG CHOP AN PUT INTO AREA'S LIKE HOSPITALS, ROADS AND EDUCATION.

[jackmac91]

This is definitly a case of "harden the fuck up"
What country is he from just out of curiosity?

[Ruckus_Lord]

Beat this - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502763_pf.html

Yeah i've been owed a bit of money for a while now, it's hurt me pritty bad, not being able to pay for the heart transplant I desperately needed, i was only $200 off, and since i didn't get it i'm probably going to die. So I might need about 70 mill to cover the stress i'm going through right now thinking about my death bed.

That could probably win me a case, huh? Well it certainly wouldn't suprise me.

The world is fucked. Full of soft cunts who need to put a bullet through each and every one of their own heads.

[mtb1611]

I am sick off people like his they should get over it a why should the tax payers, pay for some Wang chops mental anguish.

I beet the kid was a total razo kids just don’t get bullied for NO REASON.
For example we had this kid at my school who would pick his nose, wear dirty cloths and not shave, he was just down right wrong an he was always crying about people picking on him.

Take a note from choppers book HARDEN THE FARK UP!

AN I THINK THE MONEY SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THIS WANG CHOP AN PUT INTO AREA'S LIKE HOSPITALS, ROADS AND EDUCATION.

Okay so let's for a moment assume that the reason for him being bullied was that some alpha-male git didn't like him. There's your reason, but does it justify the behaviour?

[Ruckus_Lord]

Okay so let's for a moment assume that the reason for him being bullied was that some alpha-male git didn't like him. There's your reason, but does it justify the behaviour?

I don't think any level of verbal harrasment could be justified with 1 million big ones.

[Rob 616]

Beat this - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502763_pf.html

Holy shit! That is so farkin stupid its not funny.

[meatlovers]

65 million for one pair of pants?
That's ridiculous.

I could accept if he sues for up to 50k, but that is still a bit. $65mill?

[Lemontime]

I think this kid deserves what he got, the money that is.
I think if someone gets that messed up thanks to some wannabe alpha-male at an old school, they deserver to be compensated. The one million dollars he recieved was for his entire life, to give him something to live off for his entire life. He says he too messed in the head to work, and I can imagine that would be true, bullying in the workplace is big and I reckon, with his size (He was quite large), that if someone bullied him, THEY would be at risk..

[eskoba]

kids just don’t get bullied for NO REASON.
Are you mentally retarded or just plain stupid?

[Hopper]

Who decides on compensation for cases of someone suing and on what merrit is it deserved. For example is it possible for the judge in the trouser case to throw the case out purely on the size of compensation wanted or could he agree with it and change the compensaiton to a smaller value?

If the judge couldn't change the value would he have to look at the case exactly the sameas if they were asking $50,000 or $65,000,000? I probably won't get an answer because it's American law. Also what's the deal in Australia, any similarities to America?

[Ruckus_Lord]

I think this kid deserves what he got, the money that is.
I think if someone gets that messed up thanks to some wannabe alpha-male at an old school, they deserver to be compensated. The one million dollars he recieved was for his entire life, to give him something to live off for his entire life. He says he too messed in the head to work, and I can imagine that would be true, bullying in the workplace is big and I reckon, with his size (He was quite large), that if someone bullied him, THEY would be at risk..

Nah seriously it's a heap of shit, he could have gone and seeked (is that a word :S) councilling or the alike, I mean, money to pay for that kind of stuff, plus a bit more for the mental anguish, then maybe I could understand. But for this little weiner kid to go and pull $1'000'000 because he's too "hurt" is bullshit.

Are you mentally retarded or just plain stupid?

Not sure what his case is, but judging by that post of yours i'd lock you in as both.


I don't care how many people try to argue "Oh man but he can't ever ever work again because he's like really hurt", so many people have been through worse things, and you get on with your life, this little sap has blown shit out of his arse and got this sum of money, and i'd say after he leaves his school and finds a new group he's accepted in he'll be fine. It's stupid, no argument.

[cjaty]

So at the end of the day what can we do about it.Teach our kids to stand up for them selfs?

[Giantrider]

Beat this - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502763_pf.html


WTF!?!?!?! 65 million for a pair of $10.50 pants:eek: , now that is soo screwed up.... Hes just a gold digger

[Ruckus_Lord]

So at the end of the day what can we do about it.Teach our kids to stand up for them selfs?

Sounds about right. Harden them up, send 'em to martial arts or rugby at least something that'll give them confidence and not such a little pussy foot.

[Breaka]

I think this kid deserves what he got, the money that is.
I think if someone gets that messed up thanks to some wannabe alpha-male at an old school, they deserver to be compensated. The one million dollars he recieved was for his entire life, to give him something to live off for his entire life. He says he too messed in the head to work, and I can imagine that would be true, bullying in the workplace is big and I reckon, with his size (He was quite large), that if someone bullied him, THEY would be at risk..

I totally agree here. I heard this on triple j news this afternoon. I think if this guy is really in-capable of working due the mental illnesses which had occured from bullying then he deserves a fuck load more than $1 million. I would prefer to lead a normal life than have any sort of mental illness.

You must take note that this guy is sueing the education department for the fact that teachers neglected to do anything about the bullying that had occurred, thus causing his mental illness.

Coming from a money point of view $1 million is fuck all compared to what a normal person working your average job throughout their life.

I know that more and more stories are being heard about rediculous people sueing people for rediculous amounts of money over rediculous things but for all those people saying "Harden the fuck up"...."wat teh fuk u serius?" it's more stupid that the teachers or anyone else involved let this sort of shit go on long enough for this poor bloke to develop a mental illness.

[johnny]

I beet the kid was a total razo kids just don’t get bullied for NO REASON.

Take a note from choppers book HARDEN THE FARK UP!
I'm tipping you'd have been a bully at some stage in your life and you're possibly feeling it was justified? I can tell you from experience that people DO get bullied for no reason other than simple height/size and/or race and any difference at all. I was as fat as when I was a kid, lost my weight at around 18. I was bullied all through primary and highschool with some serious stuff. Take for example being chucked into the piss trough and bashed. Most bullying is only half physical, remember the rest is stuff like humiliation, rejection, fear and so on. What kind of a psychological affect do you think that will have on a small kid for over 8 years?! Yeah..., the kind of stuff that people in the US are shooting up schools for.

Now, I don't think I'm farked up in any sense, but I can tell you that it has definately affected my life in a big way. I tend to try and out tough myself all the time. When I lost my weight I got into martial arts and boxing. Then I got mega-fit and ripped into the gym and weights. Now I decide to become a tough guy bouncer at the local biker pub. When that wore out I joined the army and became a paratrooper. Now my body is starting age and fall apart, I ride bikes through Beijing peak hour traffic as fast as I can and hang myself from hooks through my skin every now and then.

I guess I'm an example of your Chopper's "harden the fuck up". I probably take it a little far now, but I'm also lucky that I had a father that gave me some guidence..., along with his own bullying. Not everyone has that and a kid without any support and encouragement, that has only ever experienced being shut down by everyone is going to have next to no chance of just "hardening up" on his own. Life just aint like that and when you're scared you are more prone to try and minimise the damage than teach yourself how to bite back.

My experiences are what leads me to thinking that you were never seriously bullied. If you were and you hardened up, you unfortunately didn't learn any empathy along the way.
.
.

[MasterOfReality]

Man, everyone copped a bit of shit at school, thats how the playground pecking order is established.

If the big tough guy picks on the little kid, and the little kid woops his ass, the little kid aint gonna get picked on anymore.

If you don't stand up for yourself then of course you are gonna cop it.

[Ruckus_Lord]

I know that more and more stories are being heard about rediculous people sueing people for rediculous amounts of money over rediculous things but for all those people saying "Harden the fuck up"...."wat teh fuk u serius?" it's more stupid that the teachers or anyone else involved let this sort of shit go on long enough for this poor bloke to develop a mental illness.

Let's be realistic here; I highly doubt teachers would have let this sort of behaviour go on if they had a knowlege of it, I'd be tipping the kid never/rarely actually sort help, if the teachers still neglected him after he had asked for help, he must have been going to a school run by Nazi's, and IF it was under those circumstances they probably do deserve to be sued. But there's just something in my head that tells me anyone involved in that field of work would purposly deny this kid.

I can't jump in like Johnny has, and give such personal experience on the matter, but as he has pointed out, human will can take you further than people like this kid think; After reading responses like Johnnys', it has slightly altered my view, but still in no way think his case is worth $1'000'000; see, it's not so much I don't belive him that he has been bullied, even to such a great level, but I find it very hard to belive he hasn't found help in between, and a lot of this could probably be resolved/prevented if he was to seek proper help, don't you think?

[Breaka]

Let's be realistic here; I highly doubt teachers would have let this sort of behaviour go on if they had a knowlege of it, I'd be tipping the kid never/rarely actually sort help, if the teachers still neglected him after he had asked for help, he must have been going to a school run by Nazi's, and IF it was under those circumstances they probably do deserve to be sued. But there's just something in my head that tells me anyone involved in that field of work would purposly deny this kid.

I can't jump in like Johnny has, and give such personal experience on the matter, but as he has pointed out, human will can take you further than people like this kid think; After reading responses like Johnnys', it has slightly altered my view, but still in no way think his case is worth $1'000'000; see, it's not so much I don't belive him that he has been bullied, even to such a great level, but I find it very hard to belive he hasn't found help in between, and a lot of this could probably be resolved/prevented if he was to seek proper help, don't you think?

Mate, the courts have ruled that the department of education reward this guy one million dollars in compensation for a reason. I'm pretty sure that the person representing this guy would have fronted in court with some pretty reliable evidence stating that the bullying did[I] in fact put him in an un-healthy mental state. So it's safe to say that the judge/s had in-fact found that department of education/teachers were in the wrong and made them hand over the moula. I don't think this dude was given the one million in compensation for simply [I]having a go at trying to sue someone.

[Ruckus_Lord]

Mate, the courts have ruled that the department of education reward this guy one million dollars in compensation for a reason. I'm pretty sure that the person representing this guy would have fronted in court with some pretty reliable evidence stating that the bullying did[i] in fact put him in an un-healthy mental state. So it's safe to say that the judge/s had in-fact found that department of education/teachers were in the wrong and made them hand over the moula. I don't think this dude was given the one million in compensation for simply [I]having a go at trying to sue someone.

Haha, yeah and I bet old mate who got his pants stolen also had his case backed up with all the truthfull facts about his mental state.

I've been to court a few times involving an incident I had a while ago which affected my learning ability/eyesight/ect, you might not have any idea how EASY it is actually to lie about what affect something has had on you. Thankfully i'm a truthfull person and didn't sap all I could out of my issue, even though it has affected me in a big way.

[eskoba]

Not sure what his case is, but judging by that post of yours i'd lock you in as both.

I don't care how many people try to argue "Oh man but he can't ever ever work again because he's like really hurt", so many people have been through worse things, and you get on with your life, this little sap has blown shit out of his arse and got this sum of money, and I'd say after he leaves his school and finds a new group he's accepted in he'll be fine. It's stupid, no argument.

1. I didn't say that I agreed with the decision in that post. The guy said that people get bullied for a reason, as if people who got bullied went around asking for it. That is the most retarded thing I have ever heard in my life. Do you think the kid in my year with some sort of social/mental disorder (were not sure what it is) asks to get bullied by some idiots who feel there big ?
I most certainly don't and for that reason we stick up for him because these fark-wits get off on it.
The comment is obviously from someone who has never been bullied in their life and probably is just trying to justify what he did to the kid that picked his nose when he attended school.

2. This guy has left school and can't get over it because of what a bunch of pig-headed people did to him. Sums of money like this don't get handed out every day, so there is obviously strong circumstances to the case. It is not like these people called me a red-nut and he has not gotten over it. This would have been years of both physical and emotional bullying. And there was probably no person for this man to resort to.

[leitch]

I've been to court a few times involving an incident I had a while ago which affected my learning ability/eyesight/ect, you might not have any idea how EASY it is actually to lie about what affect something has had on you. Thankfully i'm a truthfull person and didn't sap all I could out of my issue, even though it has affected me in a big way.
however, drew...

HAD this kid fronted up and lied about it saying that he alerted the staff to his predicament when he hadnt, it would be easy for them to prove that he was lying. he'd then be lying to the courts, and be guilty of perjury. he'd also then have approximately 0.000000000001495% chance of getting any pay out at all.

[johnny]

I can't jump in like Johnny has, and give such personal experience on the matter, but as he has pointed out, human will can take you further than people like this kid think; After reading responses like Johnnys', it has slightly altered my view, but still in no way think his case is worth $1'000'000; see, it's not so much I don't belive him that he has been bullied, even to such a great level, but I find it very hard to belive he hasn't found help in between, and a lot of this could probably be resolved/prevented if he was to seek proper help, don't you think?I'm not going to comment on this particular case and I don't think any of us here honestly have a legitimate claim to a credible judgement. We don't know him, we don't know the bullies, we weren't there when it happened and we weren't in court for the trial. What have we got? One newspaper article from a media we've all accused of sensationalism in the past. What makes us all think we have a credible opinion on this?

Back to my experiences, yes, the teachers can be notified and not give a shit, at all. I quote: "Well just keep away from him then". Yeah.., like I was seeking out people to fucking bash and humiliate me. I have seen some of these teachers since I "hardened up" and let me tell you, I had to walk away, far away. Whilst this was over 15 years ago and I'm sure most schools are much more PC these days, I'm still tipping that there's many remaining crumby schools and teachers out there. If there wasn't, there'd be no bullying at all, would there?

[FR Drew]

Having been a target at school I'll weigh in with Johnny.

Shit that happened to me more than half my lifetime ago (like in the mid 80's) still makes me mad enough nowdays that if I'm thinking about it I find my self furious, tense and with my jaw clenched. If you haven't been on the recieving end you have no farking idea what you're talking about. If you have you'll know that being small, or fat, or pimply or liking science, or liking reading, or not liking sport, or having red hair, or talking funny or a billion other things can make you a target for bullying.

Some kids end up permanently fucked in the head, maybe they're the lucky ones, some kids just kill themselves.

Me? It's left me unhealthy compulsion for attention seeking and trying to prove myself to my peers over everything I do. I expect I'll be trying to deal with the effects of bullying in some way or other for the rest of my life.

Victims of bullying all deal with it in different ways, some with great success, some with a facade of success, some with limited success and some with no success.

So sure, you may say "harden the fuck up." I say to you "shut the fuck up." If you haven't been there you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Sorry, but as you may have gathered, this is a touchy subject for me.

Nothing, absolutley nothing, scares me more than what my actions might be if I find out that some kid is bullying one of my children. I mean, ramming a 10 year olds head into a brick wall or breaking a limb or two could easily see me wind up in jail for a decade but it's well within the realms of possibility if they got me in a moment of low self control. Damn I hope I never have to find out.

[eskoba]

THE ARTICLE (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21726587-1702,00.html)
I just read the full article. The guy deserves more than a million dollars.

The judge found the school's responses to repeated complaints by his mother, Angela Cox, were "dismally inadequate".


His adolescence has been all but destroyed; his adulthood will not be any better...

He will never know the satisfaction of employment. He will suffer anxiety and depression, almost certainly, for the rest of his life. He is unlikely to form any relationships, romantic or platonic. He has no friends and is unlikely to make any

Her son continued to have nightmares and headaches, cried all the time and developed a severe stutter.

The little boy refused to use public toilets after telling his mother the older pupil jumped out from buildings - including the school toilets - and scared him.

Once she was called to the school office to find her son crying, with a lower tooth missing and a bleeding lip.

He told her the older boy had "tried to shove his jumper down his throat

The staff made no attempt to deal with a serious problem... The school authorities responded quite inadequately to an escalating problem and failed to take such steps as were reasonably required to protect (Benjamin) from the conduct of a plainly behaviourally disturbed older pupil.

When Mrs Cox took her son out of the school in September 1995, she told the principal she was not going to submit him to any more bullying or hurting.

She said the principal told her: "You lose some kids and keep some".

[Ruckus_Lord]

EDIT: Well now we have a full story thanks to eskoba we can now speak from facts. And previous statements of mine have been retracted, after hearing the full story, it's got me thinking how an education department can be so blind and careless!


But as for this statement eskoba:"The comment is obviously from someone who has never been bullied in their life and probably is just trying to justify what he did to the kid that picked his nose when he attended school."

Get your fucking facts right next time before you start accusing me hey? I've been through a lot more than you would know buddy!

[Dirt king]

Well really I think it is a joke! Bulling, okay isn't the nicest thing in the world, but if you ignore it and maybe take into account what the people are telling you are true e.g. you are fat, then do something about it, go to the gym, do exercise, yet people like this 18yr old dwell on it and say "Ohh, give me 1,000,000 because I am fat and can't work because I was bullied", utter crap, why can't he work, it is just an excuse so he doesn't have to work! RRR, it really makes me angry!:mad:

[leitch]

THE ARTICLE (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21726587-1702,00.html)
I just read the full article. The guy deserves more than a million dollars.

there you go. $1mil for a guy who is suffering from PTSD after what were effectively numerous counts of attempted murder, is no where near enough.

[leitch]

Well really I think it is a joke! Bulling, okay isn't the nicest thing in the world, but if you ignore it and maybe take into account what the people are telling you are true e.g. you are fat, then do something about it, go to the gym, do exercise, yet people like this 18yr old dwell on it and say "Ohh, give me 1,000,000 because I am fat and can't work because I was bullied", utter crap, why can't he work, it is just an excuse so he doesn't have to work! RRR, it really makes me angry!:mad:

did you read the story? you're a dickhead.

EDIT:

give it a couple of days and i'll get a transcript of the judgement for you all to read and make up your own minds on.

[Ruckus_Lord]

Well really I think it is a joke! Bulling, okay isn't the nicest thing in the world, but if you ignore it and maybe take into account what the people are telling you are true e.g. you are fat, then do something about it, go to the gym, do exercise, yet people like this 18yr old dwell on it and say "Ohh, give me 1,000,000 because I am fat and can't work because I was bullied", utter crap, why can't he work, it is just an excuse so he doesn't have to work! RRR, it really makes me angry!:mad:

Nah mate read the full story; It becomes very understandable afterwards..

[johnny]

Well really I think it is a joke! Bulling, okay isn't the nicest thing in the world, but if you ignore it and maybe take into account what the people are telling you are true e.g. you are fat, then do something about it, go to the gym, do exercise, yet people like this 18yr old dwell on it and say "Ohh, give me 1,000,000 because I am fat and can't work because I was bullied", utter crap, why can't he work, it is just an excuse so he doesn't have to work! RRR, it really makes me angry!:mad:Hmmm.

Warning! Pre-pubescent tough guy alert!!

[Plow King]

I wonder how much I could milk you c&%ts for.

[Regan of Gong]

$$!111!!$000 dollars.

[fatboyproductions]

its things like that that make me upset to be an aussie.
i live in Switzerland now a we have nothing like that over here.
if you trip over a crack in the walkway and try to get some money, they laugh and tell you to look where your walking next time...

[MasterOfReality]

I happened to go to a private college (all male) and it was the 'look after yourself or you are gonna cop it' mentality from the teachers.

I saw others cop some terrible bullying and pretty much nothing was done about it.

I remember clear as a bell some dude trying to have a go in Yr12 religion class, he had been picking away all year, and that day was the last straw. Anyway, after all the shenanigans had died down, I went to the teacher who was at his desk at the front and asked "Did you see what happened?" and of course I got "No" as a reply,with a smug smile thrown in. I told him he was a "fucking stupid useless cunt of a teacher".

I ended up gettin suspended, not for the fight that I didn't start, but for harassing a teacher!! How fucked up is that?

I hate to think how some of those blokes that used to cop it day in and day out without retaliation must be going now.

[Sam.]

its things like that that make me upset to be an aussie.
i live in Switzerland now a we have nothing like that over here.
if you trip over a crack in the walkway and try to get some money, they laugh and tell you to look where your walking next time...

I like that attitude trip over, then next time watch where you are going, after reading that I think that kid does deserve 1 million smackers, It makes me sick thinking about being bullied in that way.

[McBain]

Nothing, absolutley nothing, scares me more than what my actions might be if I find out that some kid is bullying one of my children.I don't have kids, but I agree 100%. I also copped too much shit at school from morons, and it left a mark.

To those waving their tiny e-penises in this thread telling the kid to toughen up: fuck the lot of you. You are acting no better than the gutless pricks that tormented this guy.

[haydn]

hey its one way to make a living....

[eskoba]

But as for this statement eskoba:The comment is obviously from someone who has never been bullied in their life and probably is just trying to justify what he did to the kid that picked his nose when he attended school.

Ahhh I think you should read it again, I was actually referring to Deniss. Who in his post said they bullied someone who picked there nose and didn't shave, and that that particular person shouldn't have been upset after being bullied.

Get your fucking facts right next time before you start accusing me hey? I've been through a lot more than you would know buddy!
Don't you think that statement is a bit hypocritical. You tell me I know nothing about you and therefore shouldn't accuse you or state such things 'about you' (even though they weren't about you)but then you go on to say you have been through more than I will ever know, even though you know nothing about me! That's a bit narrow minded and hypocritical considering your statement don't you think?

[Mr_hANky]

Ok throughout my high-school years i was bullied. Abit in primary-school. However i think it comes down to a person about wether they will do anything about it. In primary school i just cried to my friends who protected me, i owe them alot. In high-school i had enough of others protecting me. It was the worste in high-school, one day i just snapped i ended up breaking my left and right fist on lockers, walls and white boards, also smashed a ceiling fan with a chair. I didnt want to hurt any of the people doing it but i didnt have enough self control to stop myself from smashing thing. i dont know why i didnt hurt the bullies, but i think they learned a better lesson from my actions than if i had smashed them in the face. Also i would of felt like i was giving the people what they wanted if i had started a fight with them

People say harden the fuck up, but some people arent mentally capable of doing that, i never had the mentality to just harden the fark up until later high-school even then it wasnt by choice it was just i snapped. Also as mentioned before it also helps to have people around to help.

[matty_101]

How can you put a price on that kind of mental anguish??? 1,000,000 seems like such an uncalculated number, like he guessed it and thought it was decent, he might have been bullied but if he wants some real reparations, he should go to the bullies house and confront him, not kill him unless he's that deranged, but to get an apology or just belt him one,and then have a shot at a normal life rather than patching his problems up with a chunk of money.

Im not saying that he's making it up, but he could have sought help in the begiining, i he was that fucked up and depressed, he must have had something wrong with him not to seek help. i hope with that money he gets some good therapy.

Society has a lot of issues, and teachers aren't paid, or human, enough to really care, from what i see and hear anyway, but i do like certain teachers because they do their job, and then some.

[MMelissa]

He was bullied in kindergarten and year 1. I can't even remember kindy and year 1!!!

I don't respect people who carry on with a victim mentality their whole lives and draw on negative experiences to justify why they don't take responsibility for creating a better life for themselves. Its too easy to simply say : "I am this way because... *insert negative event*".

Newsflash: everyone has bad things happen to them in their lives. What you learn from bad events is resilliance and that you can overcome adversity!! You don't just give up and let them be an excuse not to try anymore. All is not lost when the kindy kids don't like you and call you the freckle fart from K-Mart!

And the MOTHER! My god I could slap her! A kick in the pants and a loving "get over it" is sometimes what a kid needs to get back out there and get on with life. Shit happens. It just confirms that her son is a complete loser and he has 'no hope' by filing a law suit and indulging him in his victim mentality.

Bullying is cruel and its wrong and I don't condone it at all. I think that indulging this guy with $1M is just ridiculous and sends out the wrong message. I would be very suprised if this judgement doesn't end up getting appealled and overruled.

[leitch]

Newsflash: everyone has bad things happen to them in their lives. What you learn from bad events is resilliance and that you can overcome adversity!! You don't just give up and let them be an excuse not to try anymore. All is not lost when the kindy kids don't like you and call you the freckle fart from K-Mart!

And the MOTHER! My god I could slap her! A kick in the pants and a loving "get over it" is sometimes what a kid needs to get back out there and get on with life. Shit happens. It just confirms that her son is a complete loser and he has 'no hope' by filing a law suit and indulging him in his victim mentality.


Shit happens? SHIT HAPPENS?!

I dont know about you, but when i was bullied/teased at school, i didnt have someone trying to strangle me or shove a jumper down my throat. That is pretty much equal to attempted murder. And it happened multiple times. That is not just shit happening. No offence, Melissa, but if I'd be very impressed if you could survive say, multiple rape attempts and be able to take a a loving "get over it" and "shit happens" attitude.

The guy is now mentally ill as a result of his bullying. PTSD is not something that you look at and say "oh well, shit happens. chin up buddy, you'll be right".

I hope to god your children are never seriously bullied, Melissa. I would hate to see a kid becoming clinically depressed and later suffering things like PTSD because their mum told them to "get over it" after a couple of grade 7 kids tied him down and cut off his testicles with sharpened paddle pop sticks.

For the record - HE filed his own lawsuit once he turned 18. That in itself should be evidence enough to prove the severity of the damage - 10 years on and he is still traumatised by it

[MMelissa]

I think its a better lessen to empower someone in a way that says "you do not need to let this event define who you are, prevent you from achieving things in life and make you a stronger person."

Shit does happen, whether it be right or wrong. I was bullied at school. I was taunted, screamed down, called ugly, outcasted, bashed and hit by kids. I've had a man try to rape me. I've had my drink spiked. I've had my heart broken several times. I've been rejected. My stepdad had a gun down his throat less than a year ago and ended up in a mental institution afterwards. My mum had depression. I've had episodes of major depression and anxiety especially after being told I had pre-cancerous cells recurring in my body and after several operations may not be able to have kids.

DO I LET IT DEFINE WHO I AM AND LIMIT THE POTENTIAL FOR ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY AND LIVE A POSITIVE LIFE?

NOOO!

Have I grown, have I learnt, have I become resilliant and am I happy, successful and living life to the max? Yes!!

Why? Because I don't dwell on those things. I am empowered. You address issues when they come to you and then you deal with and move on. You don't let what happened to you in kindy ruin your whole life. I am all for supporting people, counselling people, empowering people to move on with their lives. I am not for indulging people in a victim mentality and letting them believe that a negative event has to have so much power over them so as for it to be an excuse not to participate in life, take risks and get on with it.

[NCR600]

The events that occur in your childhood DO define who you are. They become part of your make up.

I was the biggest kid in my year 7, and while I didn't get any physical greif from my fellow year sevens I was pretty much ostracised and excluded from any group activity. Fortunately they did this to a lot of other people who also became outcasts, and I had a few, but very good friends (most of whom I STILL see occasionally, 20 years later).

The physical bullying came from the older kids who wanted to beat up the big kid with red hair. That lasted until year 9. I couldn't go into certain areas of the plaground without being beaten up, and culminated in me being bashed by a group of around 20 year 10's "for vandalising their yr 10 major works" The bloke who ACTUALLY vandalised them turned out to be the RINGLEADER of the bashing. (and wound up in jail a few years later). It was just assumed that I did it, because they were the same pricks who'd been picking on me since day one. I wish I did do it. Most of the physical bullying stopped dead when I got picked for the first XV, and most of the bullies left school anyway.

The ostracism from my own year continued. I was told by the wannabe socialite bimbo that organised the year 10 formal that "we don't want people like you at our formal" and refused to sell me a ticket. I didn't go, and neither did my now quite considerable band of fellow misfits, nerds, hippies and westies. Everyone who did go had to pay extra to cover the venue hire. (1 victory in 3 years!) I got the shits with it all and left school halfway through year 11.

How did all this effect me? It has had some positive effects. I hate bullies in all their forms, I'll go into bat for the underdog wherever I can, it's made me more accepting of "different" people. I hate trendy idiots, socialite bimbos and dumb jocks with a passion.

The bad... It made school so unpleasant that I didn't want to go. It's effected my earning power, and now I'm at university at 34 years old, it's made the learning process that much harder. I feel paranoid in large groups, I STILL wait for the rabbit-killer to the back of the head to come out of no-where and when meeting new people I always have a nagging fear in the back of my mind that I'm being set up. I get the feeling that people are laughing at me.

Now I know that is all paranoia, and it's mostly a construct of my own imagination, but that does not make it any less unpleasant, and with out it, I wouldn't have the good that came out of my experience either.

That kid deserves the million bucks.

[Techno Destructo]

I don't feel bad about this kid at all. Do you know what he went through growing up? Do you know the extent of being bullied?

This shit causes people to commit suicide. And I have no doubt that this kid probably got severely mentally fucked up by it.

Ever been bullied? I mean really, really badly? Every fucking day of your life? Beat up? Mentally and emotionally assaulted? If not, you're not really in a position to criticize.

Apparently, this kid was beat up regularly, and on one occasion was almost strangled to death. I wouldn't wish that kind of continual torture on anyone one.

It's a hell of a lot easier for teachers to stop that shit, than to detect whether something like gym equipment is faulty.

So yeah, I'm content to pay with my taxes to help this kid out. It's about the only way that the people responsible for this kid getting messed up will ever pay for their actions (albeit, in a pretty small way...).

Hopefully from now on, teachers will actually give a shit what happens out in the school yard.

*EDIT* And all those people criticizing this kid for his payout? Just a question: Were you part of the group that bullied other kids, or were you part of the group that just watched it happen? 'Cuz if you don't have sympathy for this person, I very much doubt you had anywhere near as tough a time as he did in school...

[noddy]

a million bucks for what??? what will he do with it???

if you asked me i think the payout should be somthing along the lines of a million bucks worth of counciling , truma management...
you might guess i have no idea what i'm talking about.. but i think he'll be better off able to function normaly than having a bit of money.

[NCR600]

Hopefully from now on, teachers will actually give a shit what happens out in the school yard.

Unfortunately, bullying goes on outside of school too. Certainly in my case, the teachers knew about it and did what they could to prevent it, but teachers are quite scarce when walking home from the shops on Saturday arvo.

Bullying is not just a school problem, although is probably most visible there.

Unfortunately many school bullies go on to be quite successful in the business world, the sporting world and perpetuate it in those arenas.

a million bucks for what??? what will he do with it???

if you asked me i think the payout should be somthing along the lines of a million bucks worth of counciling , truma management...
you might guess i have no idea what i'm talking about.. but i think he'll be better off able to function normaly than having a bit of money.

Mate, that young bloke went through a bloody traumatic time in his formative years and it will probably affect to some degree his earning potential for the rest of his life, not to mention taint his social perceptions and relationships.

I think a million to compensate for JUST the loss of earnings throughout his life is barely adequate.

[Techno Destructo]

Well really I think it is a joke! Bulling, okay isn't the nicest thing in the world, but if you ignore it and maybe take into account what the people are telling you are true e.g. you are fat, then do something about it, go to the gym, do exercise, yet people like this 18yr old dwell on it and say "Ohh, give me 1,000,000 because I am fat and can't work because I was bullied", utter crap, why can't he work, it is just an excuse so he doesn't have to work! RRR, it really makes me angry!:mad:

My god, you're a moron. You're a bully at your school for sure, aren't ya? But hey... why would you admit that, right? Except your response betrays you...:mad:

In fact, that sentiment goes to to a few others in this thread too.

[Techno Destructo]

Unfortunately, bullying goes on outside of school too. Certainly in my case, the teachers knew about it and did what they could to prevent it, but teachers are quite scarce when walking home from the shops on Saturday arvo.

Yeah, but school IS one place where it can be controlled... I hear what you say about outside of school, though. What can you do?

[Customjimmy]

a million bucks for what??? what will he do with it???

if you asked me i think the payout should be somthing along the lines of a million bucks worth of counciling , truma management...
you might guess i have no idea what i'm talking about.. but i think he'll be better off able to function normaly than having a bit of money.

The point is that this guy is so messed up that he can't earn any money. Nevertheless he will need some to say.. eat or... pay rent. I dare say his mum, who will probably manage the money will spend it on all the counselling and trauma management she can.

Not everyone ends up that far gone after being bullied (or copping abuse of other kinds). He had an underlying tendency to depression and anxiety which means that a normal day was probably as terrible for him as your worst day. And then the strangulation and beatings just fucked him. Imagine the fear!

Looking after people with disabilities is not cheap. You don't get the same level of health cover and you have 10 or 100 times as much need for health services. I'll bet a million bucks doesn't last him 10 years.

It's easy to be blase about the bullying thing as most of us are going to be able to cope better than this guy even if we were unfortunate enough to cop the same level of shit. I made it through some rough times (not completely unscathed!) but I'm OK. This guy is broken and needs some help.

[mtb1611]

Bullying exists in schools, anyone who thinks otherwise is seriously detatched from reality. Dos it get ignored? Unfortunately in many cases, yes. There are many teachers who adopt the old "play somewhere else then" mentality, which in my opinion is gross negligence, with a hearty dash of idiocy thrown into the mix. Bullying of any form can have serious detrimental effects on the development of children of all ages and many of these effects are exacerbated over time and can manifest themselves in all manner of psychological impairments. Anyone who thinks it's a simple case of "haredn up" or "learn karate" is a) likely to have been a bully themselves, b) fortunate enough to have never been the victim of a bully and c) a complete fucking halfwit. A 6 year old child simply does not have the social skll or nous to always deal with bullies. There's the issue of embarrassment, fear of retribution, etc etc, issues which your average 6 year old simply cannot work around. Quite frankly this poor kid's life has likely been eternally screwed by bullying, and the DET and teachers involved should not only be held liable for financial compensation, but should be subject to prosecution and disciplinary action via the DET code of conduct. BTW, given that I'm a principal at a primary school I'm confident that I know what I'm talking about. I've seen the impact that bullying has on kids and I always come down on the bullies like a tonne of bricks, for which I make no apology. Quite frankly, some of you posting in this thread are an absolute embarrassment and the opinions that you're setting forward indicate quite strongly that you're unahamed proponents of bullying. Your level of ignorance on the topic should cause you to be fucking well ashamed of yourselves. I hope that if an of you have children they are spared the grief of bullying' watching a 6 year old quiver and wet his pants in fear at the very THOUGHT of being bullied at school by an older or larger child is a very distressing image, one that I have seen and one which would change your mind irreversibly.

[nizai]

Ok so this guy went through phyiscal and mental abuse that resulted in significant problems for him.

All of you who oppose the million dollar payout for this guy. Would you also oppose it for a woman who had undergone physical and mental abuse from a rape incident?

Think outside the square for a moment and realise that the school has no doubt failed in its duty of care for this kid.

N

[red death]

we would all be well advised the actually read the decision (http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/scjudgments/2007nswsc.nsf/6ccf7431c546464bca2570e6001a45d2/c266a572e977e3b0ca2572d7000bf914?OpenDocument)rath er than simply accepting what is reported in the popular press. Whilst the decision is certainly a difficult read, once read you will then be in a position to make an informed contribution to the debate.

at least read pargraphs 18 to 71 anyway.

Personally I think its a correct decision though I wonder whether the floodgates will now open. I know at least one person who endured an equally difficult situation in her youth & has been very negatively affected for years as a consequence.

[leitch]

we would all be well advised the actually read the decision (http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/scjudgments/2007nswsc.nsf/6ccf7431c546464bca2570e6001a45d2/c266a572e977e3b0ca2572d7000bf914?OpenDocument)rath er than simply accepting what is reported in the popular press. Whilst the decision is certainly a difficult read, once read you will then be in a position to make an informed contribution to the debate.

finally haha. i've been waiting for it to come out on CaseBase. will have a read now.

edit:

105 The plaintiff has been the subject of intense scrutiny in a number of medical specialities. In a 2004 report to Centrelink, in respect of the plaintiff’s application for a disability pension, Dr Woods diagnosed major Depression/Anxiety, secondary to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, itself attributable to “severe bullying with near strangulation in primary school”. She described his current symptoms as “severe social phobia”, a “withdrawal from all activities involving contact with people outside the family”. In a section of her response to Centrelink’s questionnaire that directed her attention to the impact of the condition on the plaintiff’s ability to function, Dr Woods wrote:

“Severe anxiety outside own household
- unable to establish relationships or adequately communicate with non-family member
- anxiety can lead to aggression if pushed past ‘comfort zone’”

thats no "get over it" situation.

[NCR600]

we would all be well advised the actually read the decision (http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/scjudgments/2007nswsc.nsf/6ccf7431c546464bca2570e6001a45d2/c266a572e977e3b0ca2572d7000bf914?OpenDocument)rath er than simply accepting what is reported in the popular press. Whilst the decision is certainly a difficult read, once read you will then be in a position to make an informed contribution to the debate.

at least read pargraphs 18 to 71 anyway.

Personally I think its a correct decision though I wonder whether the floodgates will now open. I know at least one person who endured an equally difficult situation in her youth & has been very negatively affected for years as a consequence.

That makes for some quite harrowing reading.
I'll show that to the missus. She's a teacher and it will drive her mad.

[Hobzai]

I think those that are of the opinion that the payout is excessive or unwarranted should think about it this way; every time that young boy saw his tormentor, he thought he was going to DIE. When someone shoves a jumper down your throat hard enough to break a tooth, you will think you are about to be asphyxiated - paralysingly terrifying. At the age he was at the time of the incidents, that's enough to change his mental makeup for life. Every... single.... time he saw that kid, he thought he'd be killed. Think about that for a moment and now tell him to "harden the fsck up."

I was "lucky" at high school, I was deemed too pathetic to be the target of physical bullying but I copped a lot of the psychological abuse. I've run into a few of these monsters in later life. They're all bonhomie and how've you been and it's good to see you and what've you been up to. Without exception, in the plainest possible language and to their embarassment in public places, they've been told exactly how good it is to see them...

Judging by some of the responses here, bullies never change; but some of them now ride mountain bikes.

[red death]

...I've run into a few of these monsters in later life. They're all bonhomie and how've you been and it's good to see you and what've you been up to. Without exception, in the plainest possible language and to their embarassment in public places, they've been told exactly how good it is to see them...

Several years after leaving school I ran into a former tormentor. Without me saying annything, he offered up that he'd been a big dickhead at school. He'd changed. So had I. We had a beer. I think we'd both learned something. :)

[johnny]

He was bullied in kindergarten and year 1. I can't even remember kindy and year 1!!!

I don't respect people who carry on with a victim mentality their whole lives and draw on negative experiences to justify why they don't take responsibility for creating a better life for themselves. Its too easy to simply say : "I am this way because... *insert negative event*".

Newsflash: everyone has bad things happen to them in their lives. What you learn from bad events is resilliance and that you can overcome adversity!! You don't just give up and let them be an excuse not to try anymore. All is not lost when the kindy kids don't like you and call you the freckle fart from K-Mart!

I'm sorry for the way that this is going to sound, I don't mean it to be as forceful as it would come across and I hate to be so verbally aggressive to a lady..., but, you couldn't be any more fucking ignorant if you tried. If you don't like hearing that, well, you can just harden up and get over it can't you!

I think its a better lessen to empower someone in a way that says "you do not need to let this event define who you are, prevent you from achieving things in life and make you a stronger person."And what if he didn't have anyone to do this for him.., keeping in mind that he was a 12 year old kid at the time and probably couldn't do it for himself?

Shit does happen, whether it be right or wrong. I was bullied at school. I was taunted, screamed down, called ugly, outcasted, bashed and hit by kids. I've had a man try to rape me. I'm sorry, but everything after here happenned to you as an adult, not as a 12 year old kid...., EVERY FUCKING DAY FOR YEARS ON END. Different psychology and defence mechanisms, intelligence and you've probably got friends that support you in rough times. All of which this kid was without. If you think this is a comparable situation, you are letting your ignorance become self serving.I've had my drink spiked. I've had my heart broken several times. I've been rejected. My stepdad had a gun down his throat less than a year ago and ended up in a mental institution afterwards. My mum had depression. I've had episodes of major depression and anxiety especially after being told I had pre-cancerous cells recurring in my body and after several operations may not be able to have kids.

DO I LET IT DEFINE WHO I AM AND LIMIT THE POTENTIAL FOR ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY AND LIVE A POSITIVE LIFE?

NOOO!

Have I grown, have I learnt, have I become resilliant and am I happy, successful and living life to the max? Yes!!Oh, and everyone has the same brain/mind as you? Everyone has had the same upbringing as you and therefore the same mental tools that you have to deal with issues? Everyone is working with exactly the same psychologies and therefore you are the model human that has faced up to adversity and triumphed! Get over yourself, FFS.

BTW, go back and read my first post. I too was bullied and I too dealt with it, hardened up and got over it. I probably even came out on a positive result. BUT, unlike you, I am not holier than thou and I do not think that I am a model that every other downtroden should aspire to! I've got enough common sense to understand that not everyone had the guidance, opportunities and size that I had at the time.

I've also got a minor in psychology and unserstand the basic workings of PTSD. Do you think that our Vietnam and Gulf war vets that are committing suicide should just "harden up" too? I'm not comparing the two situations together, I just want to know just how deficient your knowledge actually is on this matter.

Once again, I'm sorry for being so forceful about this, but
1) You don't join conversations like this with what you had to say and expect people to use kid gloves...., because you sure as hell didn't.
2) What you said was terribly ignorant, IMO
3) If you don't like it, deal with it and get over it like you expect others to in far worse situations.

The bad... It made school so unpleasant that I didn't want to go. It's effected my earning power, and now I'm at university at 34 years old, it's made the learning process that much harder. I feel paranoid in large groups, I STILL wait for the rabbit-killer to the back of the head to come out of no-where and when meeting new people I always have a nagging fear in the back of my mind that I'm being set up. I get the feeling that people are laughing at me.I too, as you know, ended up at uni in my 30's, wonder if it was from the same reasons and if my school years had have been different that I would have stayed in school and actually achieved something before I turned 25.

I am always thinking that my friends will find me out. I think that I'm not the like able person they think I am and that I will be discovered soon and humiliated and ostricised (sp?) again. That's the bit that I hang on to. As it turns out, I end feeling that I am always more together than many of the people I am very close to and that I am probably a much more dependable friend than most. The only other people that I know that are 100% reliable in any and every situation were either severely bullied like myself or were abused as kids. If you can make it through adversity on the right side of sane, I think you end up as one seriously solid mother fucker. Piers, I only ever met you once and didn't get much chance to chat. But I'm tipping this is exactly who you are too.

There are many teachers who adopt the old "play somewhere else then" mentality, which in my opinion is gross negligence, with a hearty dash of idiocy thrown into the mix. My bloody word it does. It's good to hear a head master say this, thanks man. I often think of those teachers and sometimes I have some pretty unmentionable fantasies about what I would like to do to them.

A little piece of me can empathise those who shoot up schools in the US.

.
.
.

[olly1oo6]

Forget about the sympathy card for a moment, just think what this will do to the legal system. We will soon be inundated with compo payouts from people who claim bullying in the past, and who will be paying for it?

The education system; further diminishing the skill and training required to stop precisely what the purpose of a compensation payout entails.

I see this sort of outcome as a "reactive approach rather than a "proactive" one. Although it is obvious that the damages he indeed suffered from being buillied may well amount to $1million, why not everybody else? If we were all compensated for being "bullied", if all minority groups would recieve payouts equal to their defecit in the light of racial hatred, we would be dealing with this the wrong way.

What needs to be established now is an efficient structure of equality and due care throughout ALL schools. The benifit of this case is that it sheds light to a serious problem, yet by doing this they are going to cut off the circulation to their own arms.

In one sentence, this case solves his personal problem, but makes everyone elses problems worse.

[johnny]

He was bullied at school - now he'll walk away with $1 million
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bullied-at-school--now-hell-walk-away-with-1-million/2007/05/14/1178995079788.html
Leonie Lamont
May 15, 2007

BEN COX has no friends. He is unlikely to make any in the future, or form any romantic relationships. At 18, his teenage life has "all but been destroyed", and his adult life will be no better.

He will never know the satisfaction of a job, and anxiety and depression will be his likely companions for the rest of his life.

With this bleak forecast, the Supreme Court's Justice Carolyn Simpson yesterday found schoolboy bullying was to blame and Mr Cox was entitled to compensation.

In what is believed to be the biggest school bullying damages award in NSW, Mr Cox's legal team estimates the reclusive Hunter Valley teenager will receive about $1 million, giving him an income for life and superannuation.

About $213,000 of the award is for his pain and suffering.

Justice Simpson found authorities "grossly failed" him when he was in kindergarten and year 1 at Woodberry Public School by failing to protect him from repeated assaults, bullying and harassment by an older, disturbed student.

During one attack he was "throttled" and lost consciousness, and in another had a tooth knocked out when the bully tried to make him eat his jumper.[A little bit more than the usual calling of names and tripping over, etc....]

When his mother, Angela Cox, contacted the Department of Education and complained that the school had done nothing to stop the attacks, she said she was told that "bullying builds character and [the officer, Ian Wilson] thought it was a good thing Ben got bullied".

In his class photograph, above, one of many signs on the wall behind the children read: "If I hit a bully it makes me a bully.' [Even his school actively encouraged him NOT to stand up for himself and harden up etc. So all you tough guys out there with your Chopper idioms, please stick your heads even further up your arse. that way I may not have to listen to any more of your ridiculous and uninformed crap.]

Another read: "To have a friend I must be a friend."

Since the bullying in 1994 and 1995, Mr Cox has seen pediatricians, psychiatrists and counsellors and was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, a separation anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.

He transferred to Black Hill Primary School where he settled well but continued to spend days at home with his mother, who herself had significant anxiety and depression. [And there we have it, he didn't even have support from the person closest to him. It could not have been any tougher for this kid. Anyone who says "Well I had a hard time and I'm now perfect" Please, don't compare yourself to this kid if you had so much as one friend or so much as half a caring parent.....] His schooling effectively ended in year 7. He is on a disability pension and, according to his mother, spends most of his time in his bedroom playing PlayStation.

The state of NSW had argued that it was his mother's emotional and psychiatric condition which had fostered Mr Cox's avoidance of school. A spokesman for the Education Department said it was examining avenues for appeal.

Justice Simpson accepted the opinion of a psychiatrist who said: "Had, at the time of the bullying, Ben been a completely normal child with no genetic history … it is my opinion more probable than not that he would have recovered from the trauma of bullying. [But] he was not a normal child. There was a genetic vulnerability."

Outside court, Mr Cox's barrister, Dennis Wheelahan, QC, said: "The implications are that pupils in our school systems who are the subject of this type of conduct [if liability is established] can expect to recover substantial damages as is the case for Benjamin Cox. This is a matter I know school authorities view differently now to the way they did 12 years ago when these series of events occurred."

[johnny]

In one sentence, this case solves his personal problem, but makes everyone elses problems worse.Yeah, You think so?

Maybe you'd like to ask the parents of those who were recently masacred at Virginia Tech, or even Columbine High what they think about that.


I'm still not going to pass judgement on whether he deserves the money or not, I don't know the ins and outs well enough to be credible..., much the same as pretty much everyone here. BUT, I will say that it may be a good thing, indirectly, if it FORCES schools to take this shit more seriously before we get school masacres over here too.

[McBain]

Forget about the sympathy card for a moment, just think what this will do to the legal system. We will soon be inundated with compo payouts from people who claim bullying in the past, and who will be paying for it?The legal system is big and ugly enough to look after itself.

We have judges to judge things on their merit. If people decide to take things up with the legal system, then good on them. Think about this: you don't hear about the hundreds of cases that never make it past initial hearings - judges aren't complete fools, they do know when they are being sold a line.

(I'm ignoring that the only real winners here will be lawyers - fecking sharks that they are. :p)

[olly1oo6]

Realistically speaking, this is the sort of case that begins a wave of litigation that will simply not stop. I, like you, agree that we do not have the sufficient facts to judge the amount he deserves as a compensation payout. (like I already mentioned above) but think about it in the long run. You're fighting fire with fire, and the money that could be potentially sapped from the education department could be IMMENSE.

Teachers will be scared of how to teach bullied kids, lest they be labelled as liable for their suffering; schools will be overdone with slogans and messages; worst of all, some may even opt to avoid liability altogether by contractual agreement. It might even force another group to deal with the problem.

Just imagine walking into a school and having a big sign at the gates stating that "all children who enter the facilities do so at their own risk, and that the school cannot be held liable for any bullying behaviour by other students."

McBain, I do see your point, yet you have to realise that a case like this can act as a very strong precedent for judges to base their future decisions on.

[Randy Rhoads]

I bet the 1 million wont even help him much either. It is a hell of a lot of money but some things cant be forgotten or erased with cash. He will probably have trouble doing things normal people can do easy and be paranoid about a lot of small things. Find it hard to get a job or make friends and always be insecure.

He probably does deserve the money, many other people would too. He was just a lucky one who got it. I don't see why people are quoting "harden the F**K up" when many of them have no idea what its like to go through years of abuse. The people who were bullied to an extent not even close to him like Johnny and NCR600 say it has affected their life, imagine how bad it would be for him.

[johnny]

Realistically speaking, this is the sort of case that begins a wave of litigation that will simply not stop. I, like you, agree that we do not have the sufficient facts to judge the amount he deserves as a compensation payout. (like I already mentioned above) but think about it in the long run. You're fighting fire with fire, and the money that could be potentially sapped from the education department could be IMMENSE.

Teachers will be scared of how to teach bullied kids, lest they be labelled as liable for their suffering; schools will be overdone with slogans and messages; worst of all, some may even opt to avoid liability altogether by contractual agreement. It might even force another group to deal with the problem.

Just imagine walking into a school and having a big sign at the gates stating that "all children who enter the facilities do so at their own risk, and that the school cannot be held liable for any bullying behaviour by other students."

McBain, I do see your point, yet you have to realise that a case like this can act as a very strong precedent for judges to base their future decisions on.Of course precedents are set and further litigations will probably follow. But common law is known for its properties of change reflecting social norms, revolution and vulnerability to legislative alteration. all of which make your point of alarm significantly less of a problem than you pose. Also, as McBain said, judges aren't beholden to precedent and the system can appeal decisions. Additionaly, I'm tipping the education system can hire better QC's than most Joe Citizens can.

As for signs saying "enter the school at your own risk", I respond by saying "Earth to Olly. Earth to Olly! Come back to the light Olly, you're fading fast. Run Olly! Run to the light!!!!"
[Said with all due humour intended]

[FR Drew]

Frankly, if what comes out of this is that schools are terrified of being held accountable and actually take action against bullies and have a zero tolerance instead of just paying the issue lip service, then it will have been a million dollars well spent.

Open the litigation floodgates I say. Maybe the education system will "harden the f$&* up" and actually deal with the rotten shits instead of letting them get away with it.

Sorry MMelissa, but when something that happened over 2 decades ago is still having a significant impact on my life then I think it's an issue. (and I never got strangled till I passed out or had to eat my jumper)

[olly1oo6]

Ah yes but I am distinctly referring to the days before such exagerrated litigation. Great, he gets what he deserves, but I still do not see it as the right step toward a better education system, which is what some seem to think.

Judges might still be able to pass good judgement, but without statutes, common law or precedent that guides them, sometimes they are left with little choice in the matter. In the end we must follow what the law dictates. This is now part of that law, whether small or large.

Having said that, I do not have a solution to offer.

[EDIT: I do have an idea! Reprimand all the teachers involved in said schools procedures that could warrant the allowance of bullying, and consequently ensure the school is brought back on track through independent inquiry and heavy reworking of the schools teaching structure.

thus a benifit is reached in the way of reprimand of negligent behaviour, and the litigation "floodgates" are left closed. too late now:(

As to the kid, still too hard to judge eh.]

[roxy12]

Open the litigation floodgates I say. Maybe the education system will "harden the f$&* up" and actually deal with the rotten shits instead of letting them get away with it.



I wish that schools would do something but as ive learnt its just always been talk theyve always talked and never taken any action.

6 years before i started at my school a boy was killed by bullies, teachers had been well aware of what had been going on but did nothing.

My first year of high school my best friend commited suicide, after 5 months of him, his parents and even the police trying to stop the bullying he was getting at school, I still remember teachers turning a blind eye as the walked past what was going on.

3 months after his death, i was knocked out cold for the 5th time bya group of girls that just decided they didnt like me and tormenting me was great fun! Apparently it wasnt cool to be upset that your friend had killed themself.
I had y stuff stolen repeatedly, was constantly physicaly and verbally harrassed.

My mum came to the school 9 times before bringing the police in and screaming the place down for something to be done. They changed my home group, wow! did that do basicaly nothing or what! fortunatly it did mean i gained some new friends, and it basicaly just became bullies against bullies, Just stupid. Incidents would occur dureing class and teachers would say nothing.

Nothing happened to those girls nor the 17 yo boys who beat up and tortured my friend.

Schools dont do shit........nothing has changed since ive left either, same crap happens now. But I suppose as long as there talking about harder punishments and rules they can turn a blind eye and feel like there doing something allright.

[FR Drew]

I guess I hope that the fear of being held accountable will mean that schools will have to take action. If you think that you're going to be up for squillions then the education department will be down on the responsible headmasters like a ton of bricks and the headmasters will be down on the responsible teachers who will be down on the guitly students.

No more turning a blind eye if you want to keep your job.

[spartan_s]

This is definitly a case of "harden the fuck up"
What country is he from just out of curiosity?

AUSTRALIA..
YES.. AMERICA NUMBER 2

[matt.l]

i know some one that sued some one because he fell off his motor bike whilst riding on the road and did not have a licence. having nothing wrong exept being on crutches for a week or 2 sued the person that accidently hit him part of 14mill:eek:

[Techno Destructo]

The previous two posts are great, poignant additions to this thread. Very relevant.:rolleyes:

[mtb1611]

My bloody word it does. It's good to hear a head master say this, thanks man. I often think of those teachers and sometimes I have some pretty unmentionable fantasies about what I would like to do to them.

Mate it would be very remiss and ignorant of me to deny the existance of poor teachers; actually, teachers who are more of a hinderance to a child than anything else. Unfortuntaely they exist and unfortunately they are EXTREMELY difficult to get rid of.
PS: I've never actually been referred to as a "head master" before, brings back memories of being on the other side of the fence! :eek: :D

[mtb011]

This is definitly a case of "harden the fuck up"
What country is he from just out of curiosity?

what he said.. think hes from aus.

we had something similar at our tafe happen.. we gave him his fair share of shit(as everyone got), and he goes n dobs at the front office!
like fukkn hell.. what a pussy-grow up n get over it!

[craigh1]

i think he deserved it because he was probably a funny little kid that got payed out all the time n the bulling made he very scared and he maybe wet his pants and that is not nice because it will get payed out about it then maybe even go cut him self and that is not very funny says jamie because he has got a crap stp bike.

[ryno]

yeah i heard about that, i heard it on the radio like 2 days ago, it was like his mum on the radio, she said he has big bones or something. i wasn't suprised that he got bullied knowing that he was a fat kid.

i aslo heard that he had like a complete nervous breakdown or something...is that right???

[leitch]

i think he deserved it because he was probably a funny little kid that got payed out all the time n the bulling made he very scared and he maybe wet his pants and that is not nice because it will get payed out about it then maybe even go cut him self and that is not very funny says jamie because he has got a crap stp bike.

yeah i heard about that, i heard it on the radio like 2 days ago, it was like his mum on the radio, she said he has big bones or something. i wasn't suprised that he got bullied knowing that he was a fat kid.

i aslo heard that he had like a complete nervous breakdown or something...is that right???

fuck. can we please have a stupidity filter for new members to farkin? like each week, new members have to answer a relevant question to guage whether they are a fucking retard (see above), or are worth having on the site.

id be more than happy to filter the applications.

[Techno Destructo]

fuck. can we please have a stupidity filter for new members to farkin? like each week, new members have to answer a relevant question to guage whether they are a fucking retard (see above), or are worth having on the site.

id be more than happy to filter the applications.

Yeah... remember that recent discussion about the public image about mountain bikers? There's a few good examples of why the general public don't hold a high opinion of us...

[NiK TyLeR]

yea i agree this is farkin bull, allmost eveyone get bullied why cant we get 1,000,000 each haha but that guy just wanted money but hes gunna waste it and end up a bum hopefully
nik

[Breaka]

yea i agree this is farkin bull, allmost eveyone get bullied why cant we get 1,000,000 each haha but that guy just wanted money but hes gunna waste it and end up a bum hopefully
nik

DUDE WTF!. Have you read anything in this thread..are you ready for some serious flaming?

Honestly mate, I needn't say it again, but this kid is suffering from a mental illness due to the severe bullying he copped at school. Grow the fuck up and stop acting like a fucking child, numb skull. As for the whole 'that guy just wanted money but hes gunna waste it and end up a bum hopefully'...your a sick bastard and maybe if you go through a day of what he copped every day from low-lives like you then you may actually realise that it aint so nice after all..let alone living a life like it.

[hardinge915]

yea i agree this is farkin bull, allmost eveyone get bullied why cant we get 1,000,000 each haha but that guy just wanted money but hes gunna waste it and end up a bum hopefully
nik

Your an idiot! Yes everyone has been bullied in one way or another. The extent as to which one is bullied varies ALOT! From a simple tease of your name, through to physical and mental abuse day in and day out for periods of time, like this boy has suffered. The abuse that he has undertaken has caused a severe social phobia, but i guess this doesn't mean anything to you as you have no morals.

[Techno Destructo]

yea i agree this is farkin bull, allmost eveyone get bullied why cant we get 1,000,000 each haha but that guy just wanted money but hes gunna waste it and end up a bum hopefully
nik

Well, here's a great example of the meat-head, dumb-as-a-brick bully right here!

I hope people like you get what's coming to them...

[Plow King]

Well, here's a great example of the meat-head, dumb-as-a-brick bully right here!

I hope people like you get what's coming to them...

Arn't you just bullying him by saying that?

[Techno Destructo]

Arn't you just bullying him by saying that?

By calling him names once? I don't think so. My understanding of bullying is something that takes place repetitively.

[donthucktoflat]

one of my best mates was bullied all the way through primary school..pretty much up till year 10. some of the stuff that was done to him was fuckin ridiculous (like you johnny, it appears that the trough bashings were pretty common), he was regularly going home with a black eye and a blood nose because of the (pretty severe) beatings that he was getting. the teachers did NOTHING. i remember going to one of them and they just stood back and wouldn't get involved. it was pretty terrible.

he struggled his way through year 10 (now that he had friends other than jsut me) and did OK in year 11. year 12 he started on a school based apprenticeship, end of year 12 he was awarded the school apprentice of the year, worked full time and progressed through 2 years of stuff at CIT in one year, moved work 3 times and has just got out of the trade (he was a mechanic)

to say it stuffed him up a bit would be true. to say that what he suffered was a shitload worse than the other bloke.. well i dunno. mainly cos i dont know what happened to the other dude.

i got picked on pretty badly for being his friend and we basically just hung out at school together. i dunno what it was about him. he wasn't real big (some may say pretty small) but it didnt seem enough to me for him to get all this greif.

early last year he was considering a lawsuit against the teachers and principal at the school because they didn't do anything and things were extremely rocky at his work at the time cos he was being picked on again (apprentice:p) and it was starting to bring back what had happened to him in primary school but he hardened the fuck up.

in any case he has turned out fairly normal (what is normal anyway) and happy. i really think this bloke needs to have a bit of a think as to what that money should go towards and yes.. maybe if he should harden the fuck up.

[floody]

I am sick off people like his they should get over it a why should the tax payers, pay for some Wang chops mental anguish.

I beet the kid was a total razo kids just don’t get bullied for NO REASON.
For example we had this kid at my school who would pick his nose, wear dirty cloths and not shave, he was just down right wrong an he was always crying about people picking on him.

Take a note from choppers book HARDEN THE FARK UP!

AN I THINK THE MONEY SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THIS WANG CHOP AN PUT INTO AREA'S LIKE HOSPITALS, ROADS AND EDUCATION.

You sir are an idiot, thats all I can say to that drivel. There is no reason to bully ANYONE.


There are odd circumstances in this case, the school staff, then the DoE both failed to even attempt to correct the issue, stating in one case that it would build character. For f#cks sake, the kid lost a tooth and drew blood in one incident, I have seen schools bring police in over less.
The parents also seem a little remiss in their responsibility but mostly did all they could (though it seems they weren't altogether persuasive).

So on the balance of that it seems fair enough that he got paid out. However, they go on to suggest the kid was bullied at age 6-7, then continued through until early high school when all of a sudden he couldn't cope - 4 years or more later. Then this case is brought, another 7 years separating the circumstances...
In 11 years, someone, particularly the family, could have sought adequate counselling AND an alternative route for education, but they didn't, and now the case comes to court. I feel that is wrong.

However, I also feel that nobody needs to be bullied at school, and schools need to take responsibility for what their students do - violent bullying is not on at all - and in this case it should be a good signal to educators to get their act together in regard to bullying, that it can't be swept under the carpet.

All in all its a damn weird case.

[johnny]

what he said.. think hes from aus.

we had something similar at our tafe happen.. we gave him his fair share of shit(as everyone got), and he goes n dobs at the front office!
like fukkn hell.. what a pussy-grow up n get over it!That post makes you sound like an idiot.

I'm tipping I'm a lot older, bigger and badder than you. If I knocked you out and then pulled a few teeth out of your head, do you think you should just get over it?

Anyway, You're a little dickhead and I'm going to hassle you everywhere you go on this site. If you answer back and complain to Scott, I'll ban you because you should just get over it.

Think about it, tough guy.

[MMelissa]

It seems like the people on here who are anti-bullying are the first people to try and put down and disregard the opinions of anyone else.

I don't think many people support or condone bullying.

I certainly don't.

I am opposed to the judgement. Completely opposed to it. Not because I am uncompassionate, but I am opposed to the principle that this guy is being treated as if he CAN'T get better, he'll never make friends and he won't ever get a job. I oppose the idea that because of an assault on him at 7 years old that he won't ever recover, no matter what psychological condition he developed (and has been allowed by his parents not to receive adequate treatment or therapy to alleviate). There is something that can be done for this guy... and it is possible for him to rise out of his circumstances.

I have a psych degree and can attest to its uselessness and the subjectivity of psychology. So much so that I choose not to practice psychology. I don't think its useful to label someone as incapable of making friends or incapable of working. Psychology isn't an exact science and its pretty easy to get an 'expert' witness to act as a hired gun in law suits. If you don't like what the first psychologist says, shop around until you find one who will write the report you want (you're paying them for their report).

There are plenty of people who overcome anxiety and depression and PTSD. In fact, there is a huge proportion of people (80 - 90%) who have cognitive-behavioural therapy for these conditions and recover completely, as measured by follow-up tests.

I think the effect of this judgement is to throw a guy $1m, acknowledge that he is a perpetual victim of his circumstance and that there is no hope for him. At some point, if he choose to improve his life there are so many services, support groups, kind people and opportunities in the world for him to embrace so he can move on with his life. Most importantly, he can make simple steps, put himself out there and create a better life for himself if he chooses to believe its possible for his life to be different. I think the point a lot of people are making is that so many people go through terrible events in their lives and overcome horrendous ordeals and go on to lead happy, prosperous lives and that this doesn't need to be a life sentence for this guy.

I don't think that people minimise the ordeal he endured as a kid, nor the abhorent nature of abuse, assault, voilence and harrassment (lets call it what it is) on anyone by saying that it is possible for a victim to move on, get over it and lead a fulfilling life afterwards.

[Plow King]

It seems like the people on here who are anti-bullying are the first people to try and put down and disregard the opinions of anyone else.

I don't think many people support or condone bullying.

I certainly don't.

I am opposed to the judgement. Completely opposed to it. Not because I am uncompassionate, but I am opposed to the principle that this guy is being treated as if he CAN'T get better, he'll never make friends and he won't ever get a job. I oppose the idea that because of an assault on him at 7 years old that he won't ever recover, no matter what psychological condition he developed (and has been allowed by his parents not to receive adequate treatment or therapy to alleviate). There is something that can be done for this guy... and it is possible for him to rise out of his circumstances.

I have a psych degree and can attest to its uselessness and the subjectivity of psychology. So much so that I choose not to practice psychology. I don't think its useful to label someone as incapable of making friends or incapable of working. Psychology isn't an exact science and its pretty easy to get an 'expert' witness to act as a hired gun in law suits. If you don't like what the first psychologist says, shop around until you find one who will write the report you want (you're paying them for their report).

There are plenty of people who overcome anxiety and depression and PTSD. In fact, there is a huge proportion of people (80 - 90%) who have cognitive-behavioural therapy for these conditions and recover completely, as measured by follow-up tests.

I think the effect of this judgement is to throw a guy $1m, acknowledge that he is a perpetual victim of his circumstance and that there is no hope for him. At some point, if he choose to improve his life there are so many services, support groups, kind people and opportunities in the world for him to embrace so he can move on with his life. Most importantly, he can make simple steps, put himself out there and create a better life for himself if he chooses to believe its possible for his life to be different. I think the point a lot of people are making is that so many people go through terrible events in their lives and overcome horrendous ordeals and go on to lead happy, prosperous lives and that this doesn't need to be a life sentence for this guy.

I don't think that people minimise the ordeal he endured as a kid, nor the abhorent nature of abuse, assault, voilence and harrassment (lets call it what it is) on anyone by saying that it is possible for a victim to move on, get over it and lead a fulfilling life afterwards.

Great post, that sounded abit better than what you were saying before about how he should 'just get over it'

This case shows us the public that his parent/s have very little faith in him and give him no support. Who the hell ever says about their kids ' Yeah hes screwed for life' Hell even parents of children with downs syndrome support their kids more than his mother has supported the kid in question. her mentallity is that he will never get over it, what the Fk will throwing money at it do. If he's as screwed up as everyone says he is he will piss it away on drugs and alcohol.

[demo man]

what the Fk will throwing money at it do. If he's as screwed up as everyone says he is he will piss it away on drugs and alcohol.

'inspire' schools and their staff to make sure this shit doesn't happen anymore.

[Dirt king]

did you read the story? you're a dickhead.

EDIT:

give it a couple of days and i'll get a transcript of the judgement for you all to read and make up your own minds on.Sorry! Yes I did miss the story! yes after reading it, it made a lot more sense! Still 1,000,000 is a lot of money! But yes sorry guys!

[Techno Destructo]

It seems like the people on here who are anti-bullying are the first people to try and put down and disregard the opinions of anyone else.

Uh, yeah, that's because the majority of the responses against the decision don't exactly show a lot of consideration or thought for the actual situation.

Most of the responses against are along the lines of:
"He should harden the fuck up"
"Take his money off him!"
"What a pussy"
etc...

If those people against the decision showed any attempt to put themselves in the other person's situation, or even THINK for a few minutes about the scenario, then we wouldn't have to have such strong reactions against these idiots.

Seriously... how many responses against were written like "Well, I can understand his situation, but I think this might not be the best solution because...."?

I think there might have been one, *possibly* two. The rest are internet-tough guys (aka kids under 18) who don't think before they post. Or worse, they either participate, support or allow bullying to happen.

[Ruckus_Lord]

Uh, yeah, that's because the majority of the responses against the decision don't exactly show a lot of consideration or thought for the actual situation.

Most of the responses against are along the lines of:
"He should harden the fuck up"
"Take his money off him!"
"What a pussy"
etc...

If those people against the decision showed any attempt to put themselves in the other person's situation, or even THINK for a few minutes about the scenario, then we wouldn't have to have such strong reactions against these idiots.

Seriously... how many responses against were written like "Well, I can understand his situation, but I think this might not be the best solution because...."?

I think there might have been one, *possibly* two. The rest are internet-tough guys (aka kids under 18) who don't think before they post. Or worse, they either participate, support or allow bullying to happen.

Well, yes, at 1st when we had the roughest details; When a full story was provided, however, many views chnged. All of the "Harden the fuck up" quotes have come to a stop; It doesn't sound so bad or misunderstandable when we just had "Kid gets 1 million bucks for being bullied", many people are going to say "Ah it happens to all of us, get over it", when things like "He was made to eat his own jumper" is said, it changed peoples perceptions on the matter.

[leitch]

Well, yes, at 1st when we had the roughest details; When a full story was provided, however, many views chnged. All of the "Harden the fuck up" quotes have come to a stop; It doesn't sound so bad or misunderstandable when we just had "Kid gets 1 million bucks for being bullied", many people are going to say "Ah it happens to all of us, get over it", when things like "He was made to eat his own jumper" is said, it changed peoples perceptions on the matter.

but most reasonable people would assume that for a bullying victim to be able to get 1000000 dollars, then there must be a valid reasoning/sufficient evidence to warrant such a payout.

[Ruckus_Lord]

but most reasonable people would assume that for a bullying victim to be able to get 1000000 dollars, then there must be a valid reasoning/sufficient evidence to warrant such a payout.


Yeah maybe your logic would work about 20 years in the past, leitch; But in this day'n'age I really could belive that 1'000'000 smackaroos could be dished out to your average punter who "suffered mental trauma". The amount of cases you see where people are getting ridiculas amounts of money for shit all, it really comes of no suprise how many people took this case in a bad way at first.

[Regan of Gong]

Is 1 million really that much these days? I doubt he'll be able to survive on it for life, especially considering he's only 18-19 and without his own house, assuming he can work through the issues of living alone (I'm being serious). $1 mil. will only just get you a house in Sydney these days.

[Pushbike76]

I don't condone bullying but seriously,

Chopper Reed says

"HARDEN THA FUCK UP!"
That kid got the money for being a ginger, come on don't we all feel sorry for those freckleptics

[Drizz]

I don't condone bullying but seriously,

Chopper Reed says

"HARDEN THA FUCK UP!"
That kid got the money for being a ginger, come on don't we all feel sorry for those freckleptics

"I am not racist, but I hate black people........"

Back on topic, this just came out of the SMH today.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/firms-face-big-bullying-fines/2007/05/17/1178995315597.html

TBH, bullying happens everywhere and not just the schoolyard. One of the guys in our work is a "bully" and hes like 36. For a 12 year old you can blame them for a lack of commonsense, whats the excuse for an adult? I can see that school is like a mini reflection of the general society like a workplace. If bullys are not address when they are young they will just think its acceptable behaviour and keep it as they grow older.

Bullys themselves are bullying as a survival mechanism. The guy here only mock and tease people as he become stressed. Sure the whole team got a few laughs and destress a little but at the expense of increase stress on the victim. I love to see them take a zero tolerance on bullying EVERYWHERE. Starting with Farkin



BTW the defence legal team "estimated" damages to be $1 mill but might not be a final figure.

[Hungry]

well i rekon this kid needs to see uncle chop chop....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

"i got bullied when i was in school wah wah fuckin wah..... HARDEN THE FUCK UP!!!"

[NCR600]

I don't condone bullying but seriously,

Chopper Reed says

"HARDEN THA FUCK UP!"
That kid got the money for being a ginger, come on don't we all feel sorry for those freckleptics

well i rekon this kid needs to see uncle chop chop....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

"i got bullied when i was in school wah wah fuckin wah..... HARDEN THE FUCK UP!!!"

Here's an idea. Before any more mentally deficient types put up any more posts with reference to Chopper Reid quotes, how about you drop me a PM first to arrange a meeting so you can tell me to "Harden the fuck up" personally.

Along with bullies, I really hate those morons who yell stuff at people from a position of safety. For example from a moving car, an express train, the internet etc etc.

[red death]

...That kid got the money for being a ginger, come on don't we all feel sorry for those freckleptics...

I'm sorry, I dont understand what you're saying. Could you define "ginger" (in this context) & "freckleptics" please?

[TonyG]

I don't condone bullying but seriously,

Chopper Reed says

"HARDEN THA FUCK UP!"
That kid got the money for being a ginger, come on don't we all feel sorry for those freckleptics

It's people like this that are often the source of the problem, encouraging the bigger less confident guy into bullying someone else. Apart from showing an intelligence level slightly below that of a retarded orangutan you have also shown yourself to be coward and a bully.

This is a terrible story of abuse, and that is what it is abuse. I have to agree with MMELLISA though. I think a large monetary compensation is going to send the wrong message to both the victim and the perpetrators.
If he has proven the assaults actually happened, which I assume he has to be awarded the damages, then the perpetrators should be charged. There is the bully, or possibly bullies, not sure if there was more than the main guy bullying this kid. Then there are the teachers and the principle. Surely they have a duty of care, and if this is true they have certainly breached it.

I believe more should be done here. I know there a few of you with open wounds on this topic and I don’t want to take away from your experience, but I think there could be a lot more positives coming from a mediation session with all those involved than a court hearing and a cash payment.
If this young kid was represented by someone (so he wouldn’t get bullied in the mediation session) he could let all these people know what they did to him and his mother. I think if they knew what they did they would be very remorseful, and perhaps if he knew that he would realise that the world really isn’t out to get him.
What sad bloody life, makes you feel a lot more grateful for what you have had.

[Drizz]

......but I think there could be a lot more positives coming from a mediation session with all those involved than a court hearing and a cash payment.
If this young kid was represented by someone (so he wouldn’t get bullied in the mediation session) he could let all these people know what they did to him and his mother. I think if they knew what they did they would be very remorseful, and perhaps if he knew that he would realise that the world really isn’t out to get him.

I see where you are coming from and would agree if the concern is only related to this case. And you are right they probably have alot more positive effect to this boy and his bullies than say a large sum of money.

However, not to be discounted is the message that this decision send to the society. Bullying does not just happened in school, It happens everywhere and sadly its part of the way nature build us and how we weed out the weak from our species. To send this message out to the society put the onus back to the people like teachers, managers and supervisor to actually do something rather than just turning a blind eye. (hence condoning bullying IMO.)

[blue gum warrior]

i dont know if we should be too judgemental, i heard an interview with the mother and this happened when he was 8 y.o.. and the response the mum got from dept. of ed. was disgraceful. it sounded pretty legitamate to me. when most of you guys have children you will understand, we cannot let bullying continue, although i understand peoples dissollusionment about 1 mill. i also do not like aus. slide into u.s. litigy.
we still have to protect our kids, because this kid looked and sounded pretty stuffed up. !!!!!

[TonyG]

I see where you are coming from and would agree if the concern is only related to this case. And you are right they probably have alot more positive effect to this boy and his bullies than say a large sum of money.

However, not to be discounted is the message that this decision send to the society. Bullying does not just happened in school, It happens everywhere and sadly its part of the way nature build us and how we weed out the weak from our species. To send this message out to the society put the onus back to the people like teachers, managers and supervisor to actually do something rather than just turning a blind eye. (hence condoning bullying IMO.)
I think it is very important to get that message out. I think charges laid against the actual perpetrators would do that a little bit more directly. Even if they don’t stick it would be a good example.
I guess the two most important issues here are
1 – This young kids welfare. In time when mental disability gets such poor funding he will need a monetary support to help him get back on the road to recovery.
2 – Punishing the perpetrators and sending a clear message to others that this sort of behavior is not acceptable in our society.

The answers to the issues

1 – He will need to have access to free counseling. And as I stated earlier I think he needs some sort of closure from this. In order to do this I think he needs a mediation session, and hopefully he can get something positive out of it. It doesn’t look like he has had too many positives in his whole life. I really feel for this kid, he has had such a sh!t shot at having an enjoyable life. It is time for him to get some support and encouragement.

2 – A suitable punishment and deterrent. I think suing the school will send out a clear message, but in doing so will also disadvantage other innocent students and teachers. What if the school has to make cuts (which I’m sure it will) and the only staff it can realistically remove is the new school councilor? I think charging those that should be charged and bringing public scrutiny on this social problem is what is needed. Schools should be counseled on how to deal with bullying, as it does happen at some degree at every school at some level.

I guess Drizz there is no clear answer on this but there should certainly be public debate about it. The more people speak about it the less it will happen in my opinion.

[red death]

there's been lots of examples of bullying in the workplace which have resulted in employer prosecutions. here's (http://www.austlii.edu.au//cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/cases/nsw/NSWCIMC/2004/42.html?query=Coleman%20Joinery)a pretty horrible one which resulted in the employer being fined $24K. The bullied employee didn't get the money, that goes to the govt. I dont think the employee ever sued for damages for trauma etc.

I can remember a bit of initiation stuff going on when I was an apprentice, but nothing like this. Where I worked it would have meant the sack for sure!

an extract from the Court's decision follows:

On 21 December 2001 Dwayne Doyle who was 16 years old at the time of the incident and employed as a labourer was called to the upstairs area of the factory to assist in moving cabinets. Doyle arrived at the upstairs level. He was grabbed by Bruno Pomente, Emmanuel Manolis, Branislav Prastalo, Jason Gobbo and Mark Ashby who proceeded to wrap him from his feet to his neck in clean wrap using the manual cling wrapping machine located on the premises. Doyle was picked up and placed facing up on a wheeled work trolley and secured to the trolley using more cling wrap. Doyle’s shoes and bumbag were removed and filled with saw dust.


Doyle claims to have asked to be freed from the cling wrap and trolley. Gobbo placed a Stanley knife at the end of the table before Doyle and said words to the effect of "if you can reach it you can cut yourself free". The trolley was pushed from side to side and spun around. Saw dust was thrown over Doyle, down his pants and in his shirt. Pomente squirted wood glue in to Doyle’s shoes, over his body and in his mouth.


The trolley was pushed to the open edge on access penetration to the upstairs area. The open edge was approximately 4.2 metres above ground level. Pomente grabbed a handful of saw dust and shoved it in to Doyle’s mouth. Doyle, an asthmatic, coughed, choked and was unable to breath. Gobbo or Ashby used a fire hose to wash the saw dust and glue out of Doyle’s mouth. As one of the groups of men squirted glue in to Doyle’s mouth, others squirted a fire hose into his mouth. Doyle spat the mixture out of his mouth as more was pumped in.


The entire incident lasted approximately half an hour. Doyle was cut free from the cling wrap and trolley by Michael Fraser contracted to the first defendant as a site foreman for the installation and joinery and shop fitouts. Carmen Doyle then gave Doyle his asthma ventilator. Pomente told Fraser not to cut Doyle free

[mtb1611]

when most of you guys have children you will understand


BINGO!

However given the murkiness of the gene pool in some cases, ideally natural selection will exclude them from procreation.