That wasn’t a killing mob. Most of the voices encouraging the attack were white; there is a white boy with his hand on the black boy’s shoulder encouraging him, and a little red-haired boy who punched the victim.
I’ve been a target of gang-up white bullies in middle school. This looks just like that. It makes the target’s life a misery, but there is almost zero chance of serious injury.
There really doesn’t seem to be a racial element here. It’s a large majority white school.
And where on earth are the teachers? They campaign against bullying in the school in a way they never used to, but what really makes the difference is observant adults who take action, not consciousness-raising.
In a way, not to belittle the trauma the victim suffered, I’m glad this happened and was videoed. First of all, the school cannot wiggle out of this like so many do, and secondly, there is supposed to be a teacher or administrator in the hallway between classes, in each hallway and pathway the students use.
The video shows there was not. Someone will be punished for that alone. People will want to know what actions the school took, including why a teacher wasn’t there.
The school will now be extra vigilant about stuff like this happening, parents too, and the bullies will no doubt wish they hadn’t done it. The reaction from across the country will force the school to man up and seriously fix this.
If they let the bullies off the hook, people will be further outraged, and that cannot be good for the school administrators. The last thing a school administrator wants is to be thrown under the bus and lose the gravy train job.
In other words, their hands are tied as far as ignoring this.