My son got a day off for clobbering a kid in school today.  This kid has been terrorizing my son since the third grade.  We always told him to take it to the teacher/play ground monitor/whom ever, but never resort to violence (at least when the wife is around).  

About six months ago my son and myself went to school, after I got home from work, to retrieve his hat that this kid had snatched off his head and threw up on the roof.  While we up there I told him that sometimes there just isn't going to be anybody around to "take it to" and you have to defend yourself.  "When you decide that there is no other recourse you double up your fist and jab it, don't swing, straight line right to the point between the eyes and lock your elbow as you make contact.  Follow through with your whole body.  Don't stop until 1. Someone pulls you off.  2.  you're sure he has had enough.  3. He starts kicking your ass, then break it off and run like hell."  I told him.  I showed him how and we practiced up there on the roof a little bit.

Well yesterday in gym the perp started bouncing a basket ball off the floor into my sons head.  After telling the teachers aid (a high school senior) and 2 more incidents he bloodied the kids nose and blackened his eye and had to be pulled off the poor sole.

I'm so darn proud I can hardly contain myself.

Anyway the wife wants me to collect all my firearms and get them locked up.  I will comply, but I told her that you know, this is the way kids SHOULD  be taught to deal with bullies at school.  If the options you give them are tell the authorities and they do nothing I see how it might lead someone to extraordinary measures.  I think our son acted appropriately.  He gets a new Honda XR 100.

Bravo!  I will do exactly the same.

Good for you,buddy!!!!!

Good for him !!

THAT is the way to handle problems at school.  It's alot better than going nuts w/ a firearm.

Yes, Why to go dad!!

Your instruction was right on the money on all counts. If more parents would do this, there'd be a lot less bullies, including the ones in Congress who've been getting away with this in some form for years. Bill Clinton is an example of a Bully who never got set on his behind properly. I think your wife is overreacting, your son did exactly what you told him to do. Now, a little post combat get together wouldn't hurt, reinforcing what you told him and telling him that's the last step in the escalation process. You did good..so did he.

Fuckin-a, man.

HE FOUGHT LIKE A MAN AND USED HIS HANDS INSTEAD OF USING A GUN....AWESOME IM PROUD OF HIM ALSO.

That's WAY to go.


And good for you and your son.  I'ts tough seeing someone pick on your kid and I hope it finally stops.

Nice job!  Please tell you son that he is going to be great man someday!!!

A similar thing happened to my 11 year old a few months ago.  He got hit first, but then got up and kicked the aggressor's ass.  Get this; BOTH boys were expelled for 3 days!  The aggressor was expelled for starting the fight, and my son was expelled for "fighting back"!!!

I fought it all the way to the school board, but the liberal arts major public school administrators kept spewing "zero tolerance" crap to me.

Josh took a 3 day ride (with all "zero" grades on assignments during that time), but I am still proud as hell of him for standing up for his skinny little self.

Bud

Halfcocked,
IMHO you did good.
[B)]  [^]

My daughter has the same instructions. Under no circumstances is she expected to take a beating simply because it's school policy. Fortunately, we haven't had to test our school.

Are any of your friends/neighbors lawyers?  Threaten a lawsuit, saying the teacher's aide did nothing to curtail the bully and that your son is being unjustly punished for defending himself.  A letter on law-firm letterhead goes a long way.

Kharn

A Kenny Rodgers song comes to mind...

"Nice job! Please tell you son that he is going to be great man someday!!!"

Let me second that motion, but tell your son to watch his back for a while.  His enemy might want to try some payback.  Once is not enough for some folks...  At least that is the way it was with me.

I was almost expelled two weeks before high schol graduation for settling the score with my enemies.

Congradulations to your son...  Tell him not to be ashamed at all and reinforce the fact that what he did was 100% right.

Heck - I'm proud as hell of him and he's not even my KID!!   Great job Halfcocked!  You're a good father.....

I encourage my children to resort to violence at school when picked on or bullied by others. I train my kids in martial arts and tell them to always stick up for themselves and for others. And I was very proud of my 7 yr old son when he was suspended for a day for kicking a older boy in the sack, who had tried to steal his watch during lunch. If your kid has a problem, they need to handle it themselves. Talking to the teacher or principal gets nothing good accomplished. I tell my kids to do what they need to do, I'll handle the school adminstration.

Le'me buy this kid a beer!!!

[beer]

Kudo's to your son. Congrats you YOU!
My 12 year old has had to deal with several like this since third grade also and to date he has not suffered any serious disciplinary action and I believe this is why. We as parents have made ourselves very visibly involved at the school. We have made ourselves very vocal to the principal and teachers concerning specific bullying behavior. We insured that corroborating "testimony" from other kids were taken into account. We've also met at school on two occasions with the parents of the "beatee" to discuss how their child's behavior contributed to the a** whuppin'.
Our son has never started a fight or bullied anyone and he knows if he ever did he is in deep kimshi. And by the way, he is a good shot, the Bushy CAR and SA 1911 being his favorites. Took his first deer last Fall with a .308 M98 Mauser and aspires to be SpecOps. He is very responsible with firearms and has "easy access" to them and being "old school" I'm fine with that. Best regards to all.
PS - My hat's off to all the young lions.

You couldn't have done better, and from the sounds of it, neither could your son. My guess is that the bully will find someone else to pick on now.

Augie

Way to go.
XR 100 and a slap on the back are in order.
It also sounds like you get a new safe out of the deal too. :)

way to go, tell him we are all proud of him for defending himself, and to not bother with the grown-ups who think he was wrong.

i remember several incidents when i was in school.
whare the victim didn't fight back, he was considered a wimp, and many times was victinised again.

whare they faught back (like i did) and faught like a lion, they were considered a hero.
after my one and only fight in high school, i was respected untill graduation, by all.

give him a hug for me.

Your son did a good job. I only have a 1 year old so I can't tell him much of anything but I have a 13 year old nephew that I told that the way the school is they think "I' t takes two to fight." So if he does not fight he still gets in trouble so I told him next time hit the kid in the crock (The kid is 100lbs and about a foot taller then my Nephew.) then when he buckles over grasp his hair and place your nee in this nose well he got in trouble but the kid he did it to got in trouble and my nephew got a big W over this kid and now the kid leaves him alone.

Dude, that's the way to do it.  No PC BS.  No touchy feely.  Just Kick Ass & Take Names.

I came back to this to show my wife.
She said "it sounds good to me".

Tell your son that all of us are proud of him.  I think that it is sad that our children get in trouble for defending themselves, and even sadder that they have to defend themselves even after the teachers and administrators have been informed of the problems that the child is having.  I myself am about to graduate to become a special education teacher, and I myself do not tolerate any kind of bullying.  However, if a child is being bullied and getting picked on, then I think they have EVERY RIGHT to defend themselves, and I don't understand why there is even a question about it.  My kid will know how to defend his/herself, and I will expect them to do so under any circumstance.  They will be taught that there are 2 major things that are always worth fighting for:  their safety, and family.  No excuses!!!

Jamie

AR18
Member

HI,  US
28 Posts
Posted - 06/06/2001 :  18:23:44            



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Dude, that's the way to do it. No PC BS. No touchy feely. Just Kick Ass & Take Names.


Oh Hell No!  Let the wimps take names!  Great job to both of you!  Sound advise given and great judgement exercised!

Semper Fi

Good for you and your son.  However, he was suspended, not expelled.

Tell your son way to go, if more that are terrorized would kick ass and take names then bullies would get what's coming to them.

Right, Larry G, suspended.

He's taken it kind of hard.  He's really embarrassed and doesn't want Grandma, Grandpa  and his cousins to find out.  He's also pretty mad at himself for getting so mad.

I told him he did OK and that some times even doing the right thing will get you trouble.  You just have to take it like a man (he just turned 13 this last month) and take solace in the fact that you did what had to be done.

I gave him a couple of hugs but I'm afraid I'll be encouraging him too much if I show him how I really feel. [:D]

Halfcocked

Do you realize what happened here.... your son stood up for himself and did what was right even though he new he would take heat for it...

He just became a man.

Way to go.

I seem to remember my dad giving my brother and I the same talk years ago, much to my mother's chagrin.  It has worked well too.  Neither of us go and look for trouble (ok maybe my brother does on occasion), but when we find it we know how to deal with it without guns, knives, etc.

He did good.
Teaching your children to defent themselves assures independant adulthood.

Very good job.

McUZI

BRAVO ZULU to you and your son.

FMCDH
Semper Fidelis
Jarhead out.

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“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
--Barry Goldwater