Well, Duh….

The headline in the Eugene Register-Guard* print edition on March 5 reads:

Bullying persists despite state laws

The article opens with:

Despite Oregon’s eight-year-old anti-bullying law, about one-third of Oregon teens report having been harassed according to a review released Wednesday by a coalition pushing to strengthen the law.

Did the writer really expect that a piece of legislation would eliminate bullying?

Glancing around I notice theft, fraud, murder, speeding, and so on, are still pretty rampant despite endless rounds of legislation.

Some in the Oregon legislature (see HB 2599) seem to think that since the current law hasn’t worked they should expand the definition of bullying , harrassment and intimidation to include, amongst other things:

…interfering with the psychological well-being of a student.

Teachers better be careful to not call on students who are not prepared, Sally better not turn down Billy when he asks for a date and that coach had better start everyone on the team.

Perhaps if we did not force our children into holding pens for so much of their early lives there would not be as much bullying.

*Sorry, no link to an online version of the article. Such links are very hard, if not impossible, to come by at the Register-Guard. Especially when looking for something in an older than 7 days edition. If any of you know a good way around this problem please let me know.