Posted on 05/02/2023 7:08:20 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
If someone punches back once after being poked at repeatedly for months and months without consequence, who should get in trouble? Allison Arnall Davis recently went viral after her son Drew received out-of-school suspension for beating up another boy.
On Facebook, Allison explains that she's not mad at Drew for doing what he did because the boy Drew beat up has been tormenting him for months. Her son finally fought back against the bully who has been torturing and threatening him while the school has sat back and done nothing. Allison's post has prompted an impassioned discussion about bullying, school responsibility, and whether violence is ever warranted.
Allison's Facebook begins, "Five days of OSS for beating up the kid that has been tormenting and bullying him since middle school. I know as a parent I'm supposed to be upset with him for resorting to violence or getting suspended, but I'm not. Not even a little bit.
"For years the school has failed Drew," she continues. "When this kid has constantly threatened to beat Drew up along with several of his friends, the school did nothing. When this kid followed Drew down the hall threatening him and making fun of him AND it was all captured on video, the school did nothing. When other kids told teachers and administrators that this kid was threatening Drew, the school did nothing. When this kid took to social media, voicemails, and testing threats, the school did nothing. When this kid threatened Drew over and over in every class they have together. The school did nothing."
The school repeatedly failed to take this kid's behavior seriously. From Allison's post, it seems like many people tried to make the school aware of this kid's unacceptable bullying and they turned a blind eye. She explains that, all through middle school, the bully and "his minions" made Drew frightened of even walking down the hallway. But eventually, he stopped reporting this kid to adults because they would never take him seriously.
"I sent the school a lengthy email at the beginning of the year begging them to do something because Drew refused to talk to adults at school about it because he knew it would do him no good," Allison wrote. "Drew had four classes with this kid and he would not leave Drew alone. Their solution and response was to have him and bully sign a no contact contract." But clearly, that didn't work.
Allison wrote, "When this kid threatened Drew (while on the bus) and then moved on to making fun of his Dad and then threatening Jackson, his 11-year-old brother, Drew decided that he would quit relying on the school and the adults who are suppose to protect him and HE would do something. Three punches and his bully screamed like a baby, his minion friends shut up, and this morning the bully wouldn’t even look at him. Problem solved."
While it might seem like Allison is celebrating Drew's bully's demise a little too excitedly, it's clear that her whole family was at their wits' end when it came to this bully. Bullying can have catastrophic effects on kids' lives, and school's really do need to take responsibility and protect all their students.
Allison's post exploded on Facebook because it's a new take on such a pertinent issue for parents everywhere. It garnered 225,000 reactions, 132,000 shares, and hundreds of comments that have contributed many different opinions to the conversation. "I don't agree with violence," one commenter wrote, "but when no one helps you you gotta do what you gotta do to stop a bully... Shame on the school system for not doing something."
The vast majority of comments were totally supportive of Drew standing up for himself. Many shared similar stories of their children standing up to bullies and then being the ones to actually get punished.
While it wasn't ideal that Drew beat up another kid, hopefully this incident will result in conversations between Allison and the school that will lead to them actually taking action against this bully and others. School should be a safe space for all, and while it's unfortunate that bullies exist, schools need to recognize the seriousness of these situations and protect their students.
Ditto. I made it very clear to my kids that I would punish them if they ever started a fight, but I would stand up for them 100% if they ever had to defend themselves from someone else who started a fight.
Before covid, we have had various groups of young people out fundraising on an anti-bullying message.
When I looked into it, the only “bullying” they were protecting against was any type of anti-gay or anti-trans message.
If this happens in a fairly conservative part of Texas, imagine the efforts put into fighting anti-gay or anti-trans messages elsewhere.
Though I still think that they set up tables around here, because it was safe and “that’s where the money is”.
Liberals hate it when people stand up to fight back against wrongdoing. They want us to be victims who cower in fear. That’s why they try to punish anyone who fights back in clear cases of self defense.
“I’m telling my Dad!”
Glad the boy finally stood up for himself. Too bad he didn’t do so years ago in middle school. That would have saved him a lot of grief and taught the bully a lesson. No one can rely on public schools anymore.
I think last years training they added the LGBTQrstuvwxyz+ stuff in.
You have no idea what the parents did all these years. I can tell you from first hand experience that parents can talk to the school, the administration, the school board all day long they will still do nothing until it is too late. They always blame the victim. Cut the parents some slack.
Your smug answer shows how unaware of her situation you are, so easy for you to say. How about blaming the bully???
You have no idea what the parents did all these years. I can tell you from first hand experience that parents can talk to the school, the administration, the school board all day long they will still do nothing until it is too late. They always blame the victim. Cut the parents some slack.
I love the way you handled everyone in that situation.
Liberalism is alive and well in Texas schools.
My own experience with bullying was in high school in Sacramento. The black boys were pressuring me to “date” them (sex) and they felt like they had a right to drape themselves all over me.
One in particular was very aggressive and I reported this to the teachers and administrators and the school resource officer (an SPD cop).
None of them would do anything. One of the teachers even suggested I was a racist because I would not have sex with these boys.
I had an older Jewish friend who was a Holocaust survivor and when I told him about it he gave me a Fairbairn-Sykes dagger and taught me how to use it.
So one day the particular black boy was grabbing at me, his friends were laughing about it, and two teachers were doing nothing to stop it.
So I stabbed him a few times.
And guess what happened to me? Nothing.
Because the teachers, the admins, and the SROs all realized they had done nothing to stop this and that they were liable. So they made the problem go away.
After that I was ‘the crazy girl’ and I got left alone. Which was all I had wanted in the first place.
Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Much respect here!!!!!!!!!!!!
My son, when in the eighth grade, was sprayed in the eyes with a mouth wash substance. His first reaction was to punch the offender in the nose...hard.
I got called in for my son’s “misbehavior” and I asked, “What should one do when attacked like that.” It could have blinded him. They wanted him to apologize to the kid with the broken nose and I said “No, he won’t be apologizing for hitting the bully. He would, however, accept and apology from the bully.
I just don’t understand this if it was going on for years, nothing was being done, and they still sent the child to school knowing he was miserable and will be bullied.
I had a friend turn on me and started a fight. I stood there because I was afraid of hurting her. Imagine that? I walked home and instead of my mother being concerned about me she was mad that I didn’t defend myself. I never forgot that,I was 12.
When my daughter was bullied, I told her she had every right to defend herself. At 13 she shoved the girl into the lockers. It resulted in both having in school suspension. I picked her up and spent the day shopping. I refused to let her sit there that day. She was never bullied again. We tell that story to her 2 daughters who at 9 and 10 years old are Black Belts in Taekwondo. Good luck bullies!
Good for Drew, take the 5 day suspension as a badge of honor and do some fishing.......
How do you know nothing was being done? Having lived this experience with an abhorrent administration who also covered for a pedophile groomer, I can tell you that it is very difficult to monitor the bullies all day long. They are trying to be proactive parents and follow the law and policies but maybe they both work and can not afford home schooling, or there is no other HS available so they make do with what they have. It is so easy to sit there and blame the parents.
Yup.
When I was 10 I ran home crying that the two brothers across the street where smacking me around Dad told me to go smack them around.
When I said “There’s two of them!” His reply was “so bang their heads together”.
I did. It worked.
Well said. I would bet that from now on Drew will not put up with others being bullied, either.
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