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No doubt some of you will be aware of the latest school yard (Darwin NT) atrocity where a student was attacked by a number of students from another school (all members of a local rugby team) .
This (for me at least) would normally elicit another bewildered response and sage head shaking.
However this time it’s different. The victim involved is Mrs GPH’s nephew, who I know to be a humours and gentle lad, not prone to violence or outburst.
This event in and of itself is distressing enough, but as is so often the case, the devil is in the (unknown) detail. This attack is even more vile and senseless when you know something of the events leading up to it.
There is an ex-girlfriend in common here, the relationship some 6 months ago severed.
Who knows what nonsense a 14 yo girl has been up to in the intervening 6 months that has caused this other person and his rugby team to march en masse to the other school, seek out and aggressively coward punch the other boy.
When you consider they were turned away at the gate a few hours earlier by teachers on duty , only to disguise themselves by turning their school uniform inside out and then come back, this premeditated act of violence takes on a whole new level of nastiness IMHO.
He (the victim) never saw it coming, and were it not for his brother and another student rushing to his aid, one wonders what additional violence may have been inflicted upon him.
The nephew involved was hit so hard that he staggered and fell smashing his head into a wall. He spent the night in hospital, a fractured eye socket, amnesia, severe concussion and ongoing short term memory problems are all we know at present. He will be restricted from watching anything on a screen for a week, and no playing sport or even blowing his nose for the next 6 weeks. As I write there has been no disciplinary action against the 15 odd boys and their ring leader, and one wonders with the passing of time just what punishment will be meted out?
While this may not be the time to roll out my conservative views on crime and punishment, I can’t help but reflect on the woeful slide into violence and disrespect by many young people (who eventually become adults) and consider what the punishment would have been in my day at the same age.
The real story will not ever be known by the wider community, mainly because we will be restricted from knowing the full extent of this vile episode due to the young ages of the individuals involved. But what I find even more vile is the hero worship of the perpetrator on social media (Face book) by so many of his peers.
My BIL has been concerned for some time about the bullying culture he sees in the NT and this may in fact be the final straw that sees him uproot his sons and move interstate.
Interestingly he and his family had a short stint in Christchurch a while ago where he was working on earthquake rebuilding projects. Both of his sons had been victims of bullying in Darwin before they left, but were astonished to find that the very things they were bullied about in Australia, were the same things that saw them become popular and happier children in their new kiwi environment .... and they played rugby ! ..... go figure.
There is much I could say about this but won’t, (at least not on social media) but this event is far more vile and nasty than even the graphic reporting has shown.
This (for me at least) would normally elicit another bewildered response and sage head shaking.
However this time it’s different. The victim involved is Mrs GPH’s nephew, who I know to be a humours and gentle lad, not prone to violence or outburst.
This event in and of itself is distressing enough, but as is so often the case, the devil is in the (unknown) detail. This attack is even more vile and senseless when you know something of the events leading up to it.
There is an ex-girlfriend in common here, the relationship some 6 months ago severed.
Who knows what nonsense a 14 yo girl has been up to in the intervening 6 months that has caused this other person and his rugby team to march en masse to the other school, seek out and aggressively coward punch the other boy.
When you consider they were turned away at the gate a few hours earlier by teachers on duty , only to disguise themselves by turning their school uniform inside out and then come back, this premeditated act of violence takes on a whole new level of nastiness IMHO.
He (the victim) never saw it coming, and were it not for his brother and another student rushing to his aid, one wonders what additional violence may have been inflicted upon him.
The nephew involved was hit so hard that he staggered and fell smashing his head into a wall. He spent the night in hospital, a fractured eye socket, amnesia, severe concussion and ongoing short term memory problems are all we know at present. He will be restricted from watching anything on a screen for a week, and no playing sport or even blowing his nose for the next 6 weeks. As I write there has been no disciplinary action against the 15 odd boys and their ring leader, and one wonders with the passing of time just what punishment will be meted out?
While this may not be the time to roll out my conservative views on crime and punishment, I can’t help but reflect on the woeful slide into violence and disrespect by many young people (who eventually become adults) and consider what the punishment would have been in my day at the same age.
The real story will not ever be known by the wider community, mainly because we will be restricted from knowing the full extent of this vile episode due to the young ages of the individuals involved. But what I find even more vile is the hero worship of the perpetrator on social media (Face book) by so many of his peers.
My BIL has been concerned for some time about the bullying culture he sees in the NT and this may in fact be the final straw that sees him uproot his sons and move interstate.
Interestingly he and his family had a short stint in Christchurch a while ago where he was working on earthquake rebuilding projects. Both of his sons had been victims of bullying in Darwin before they left, but were astonished to find that the very things they were bullied about in Australia, were the same things that saw them become popular and happier children in their new kiwi environment .... and they played rugby ! ..... go figure.
There is much I could say about this but won’t, (at least not on social media) but this event is far more vile and nasty than even the graphic reporting has shown.
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