tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26082526.post3077428710171851112..comments2024-01-31T10:40:57.896-08:00Comments on Here in America: "Well my mom told me if anyone hits me, I should hit them back!"Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01964168957599835165noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26082526.post-47304650060988520582011-04-22T08:16:34.391-07:002011-04-22T08:16:34.391-07:00I think there's a lot of truth to the reason w...I think there's a lot of truth to the reason why some of my students are taught this by their parents--that they don't want their kid to appear weak and get picked on as a result. Particularly those that come from a certain environment where you have to project a certain tough "don't mess with me" image just to stay safe. Of course this mentality won't help anyone get out of that environment.<br /><br /> And in truth I can't be certain that only the kids that are taught to "hit back" are the ones that get in trouble more. It could be that there are students who stay out of trouble who are taught the same thing, but just find less cause to put it into practice. Correlation is not causation after all. Your own story indicates that motives for kids lashing out can be more complex then I've indicated.<br /><br />But I guess my theory is that most of us don't need to be "taught" to defend ourselves and when parents do emphasize this it results in a kid that overapplies going off at the slightest offense to his or her pride.<br /><br />I confess I can't imagine the yolland I know (as much as one can know someone on a internet forum :) ) bashing some kid on the head with a rock!Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01964168957599835165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26082526.post-40162382202065201332011-04-21T22:38:12.264-07:002011-04-21T22:38:12.264-07:00When I was in second grade, I went after an older ...When I was in second grade, I went after an older bully who was doing 'Indian rope burn' on my friend to make her fall from a tree on the playground (she was several feet up and hanging upside down). I beat him over the head with a rock until his scalp bled and also used a few expletives. I was then placed in detention because "you used some very bad language, young lady." When my father came to pick me up, he accosted the principal: "Let me get this straight--you fault a child for cursing in a situation where most adults would curse too, but you DON'T care if one child beats another over the head with a rock?" He then marched me over to the kid's house and made me apologize in person for hitting him. The parents were rednecks and just slouched around smirking at our lunacy. After we left, my father said, "Did you see how his parents don't even care? That's probably why he's a bully."<br /><br />I did have a bit of a reputation as a kid for reacting five thousand percent to the most minor physical slights. I think this was mostly because my next oldest brother physically bullied me a lot (when our parents weren't around, naturally) which I found humiliating, and I concluded that while I couldn't stop him, I'd be darned if I'd let anyone else even try it. I was afraid of looking weak. I wonder if that, too, is something certain parents who tell their kids to hit back are concerned about--that if the kid doesn't stand up for him/herself, s/he'll be branded a sucker and pursued mercilessly. Or that it seems their kid is a "sucker," then maybe it means they are too.yollandnoreply@blogger.com