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September 20, 2007
Not quite good enough
The British have always been good at punishment. Drawing-and quartering? Check. Posthumous hanging? Check. It comes as no surprise to me, then, that the British are allowing victims of bullying to pick the punishment for their tormentors:
Victims of school bullies will be able to mete out their own justice under new Government guidelines published tomorrow.
They will be encouraged to have a say on sanctions for perpetrators – which may include litter-picking, removing graffiti or detentions.
Ministers say it will ensure pupils see punishments as "fair" and give victims greater confidence. The move forms part of a comprehensive crackdown on bullying amid fears that pupil intimidation is on the increase.
This wouldn't be very satisfying to me. As a kid, I think there's nothing greater than seeing somebody get their comeuppance. Removing graffiti? Lame. Picking up trash? What are they, petty criminals? No, the punishment should fit the crime: time in the "cooler," aka getting stuffed in a locker, or whatever the British equivalent of the locker is. A well-placed wedgie is also a good punishment. That would really discourage bullying. Detention is about the stupidest punishment ever. The typical bully can do a one hour detention standing on his head.
I got a detention once. It was for chronic tardiness. (Imagine that.) Here's what I did in detention: there was a school disciplinarian guru at good ol' Thomas Ewing Jr. High School, and his sole job was apparently to monitor detention after school. Occasionally he beat people with yardsticks, I think. (This was in the 90's, in the "Golden Age" of school discipline. Actually, I doubt that. But compared to now it was like the Dark Ages... All brutality and no compassion.)
I showed up to detention after school. I was petrified. What could be in store for me? Erasing chalkboards? Counting to ten in Greek, a la Young Indiana Jones? Lord of the Flies reenactments, with me as Piggy? Whatever your guess was, it's wrong, for the answer was "D, none of the above." We sat, in a room, with the shades drawn. For an hour. It was excruciatingly boring, and time dragged on for what seemed like forever.
As I left the detention hall, I vowed never to return. Not for fear of shivs carved from erasers, but from sheer and utter boredom. I guess what Johnny Cash said about prison also applies to detention: time keeps dragging on. If I had to pick up trash, however, that would've been a whole other story... Yes it would've.
entry no. 966
Posted by oz115 at September 20, 2007 01:38 PM