Teen faces expulsion after brining stun-gun to school to fend off bullies

[senordesol]

An Indiana mother who sent her gay son to school with a stun gun after administrators apparently didn't do enough to stop the bullying against him said she would do it again -- even though the teen now faces expulsion.

"I do not promote violence -- not at all -- but what is a parent to do when she has done everything that she felt she was supposed to do ... at the school?" the mother, Chelisa Grimes, told CNN's Don Lemon on Sunday. "I did feel like there was nothing else left for me to do, but protect my child."...

...After six other students surrounded him at school on April 16, calling him names and threatening to beat him up, Young pulled the stun gun from his backpack. He raised it in the air, setting off an electric charge, and sending the group scurrying, Young said.

Unlike a Taser, which fire barbs attached to long wires at a target, a stun gun has to be near or pressed against a person to shock them.

It's hard for me to feel anything but sympathy for this kid. It's truly heartbreaking when you seek protection through 'proper channels', but are forced to take matters into your own hands.

I'm forced to ask, given the same situation: would you?

P.S. To be clear, no one got hurt in the incident.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

It's all fun and games until someone gets shocked into cardiac arrest.

Back in my day, when we had to deal with bullies, we performed a musical number that showed the bullies why they wrong to do such nasty things. They would then join in with our song, proclaiming their lives changed.

The more you know.

 

[him over there]

The kid is probably going to end up expelled, which is a little upsetting but you know it's the principle of the thing, he did have an actual potential weapon. However the fact that proper channels have constantly failed him proves that we need to teach kids how to handle problems themselves, not constantly intervene. Also that isn't bullying, bullying is when the kid who has absolutely no social skills is shunned because people saw him eating his boogers. This is straight up discrimination.

Alternatively schools could stop recommending ineffective solutions at the elementary level:

 

[Dags90]

He's already won because the principal has admitted to asking him to not dress in a homosexual manner and he played the suicide card.

I'm pretty sure years of harassment and facing expulsion isn't what most people would call "winning" (except maybe Charlie Sheen). Schools often have zero tolerance policies for any sort of weapon on school grounds. I doubt they're going to avoid those because of national attention, they're still accountable to the school board. The best he can hope for is that the school works out an arrangement to provide home schooling and allow him to graduate. And hopefully they actually start paying attention.

 

[Heaven's Guardian]

The kid brought a weapon to school. The instant someone does that, you absolutely have to expel the kid, no matter what the circumstances were. I'm not sure that there was a good option for the kid if the administration genuinely wasn't doing enough, but worst-case scenario, the stun gun could kill someone, and you only use something like that in a genuinely life-threatening situation, one that I doubt was really ever a possibility. If there was a real threat to the kid's life, he wouldn't have been going to school. At least he didn't actually use it on anyone, so he probably won't end up with a criminal record.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

The kid brought a weapon to school. The instant someone does that, you absolutely have to expel the kid, no matter what the circumstances were. I'm not sure that there was a good option for the kid if the administration genuinely wasn't doing enough, but worst-case scenario, the stun gun could kill someone, and you only use something like that in a genuinely life-threatening situation, one that I doubt was really ever a possibility. If there was a real threat to the kid's life, he wouldn't have been going to school. At least he didn't actually use it on anyone, so he probably won't end up with a criminal record.

This^. I feel sympathy for the kid, but it doesn't change the fact that he brought a weapon to school. This time he might not kill somebody, but you never know if the next time if he will bring a gun to school.

 

[Terminate421]

She was dumb to give the kid a weapon, though for self defense purposes weapons are great, especially guns. BUT NOT AT SCHOOLS, what I mean is, a weapon is acceptable in life or death scenarios, this guy was not in one of those scenarios.

The school may not have done its job, but the parent pretty much caused mutiny. Weapons are not allowed in schools, period.

She should have taught him martial arts, much more legal.

 

[kickyourass]

If they were genuinely not getting any help through 'proper channels,' I'm not sure what else could have been done. If the kid's not getting any help from the school when large groups of people are threatening to beat him what they hell else could he do but take matters into his own hands? I'm just glad it was only a stun gun.

The kid brought a weapon to school. The instant someone does that, you absolutely have to expel the kid, no matter what the circumstances were. I'm not sure that there was a good option for the kid if the administration genuinely wasn't doing enough, but worst-case scenario, the stun gun could kill someone, and you only use something like that in a genuinely life-threatening situation, one that I doubt was really ever a possibility. If there was a real threat to the kid's life, he wouldn't have been going to school. At least he didn't actually use it on anyone, so he probably won't end up with a criminal record.

The kid was being threatened by 6 people and a 6 on 1 beating is absolutely a life threatening situation. The school wasn't doing anything to protect him for this sort of thing so what else was he supposed to do?
If you have a better solution I'd honestly love to hear it, but I don't see any other options this kid had

 

[shadowstriker86]

She should have taught him martial arts, much more legal.

not exactly a better alternative route if the kid is highly motivated by what can be done. Case in point: a friend of mine who used to get bullied alot who one day almost got car jacked but ended up curb stomping the guy after breaking his arm and ribs. Got off scott free for self defense.

 

[triggrhappy94]

Well if I was going to bring a weapon, it'd deffinately be a good idea to make it a (for the most part) non-lethal one.
It's hard to give any other alternative given the circumstance. The only other thing I can think of is going to the police, school board, or even LGBT or Amnesty (LGBT works like Amnesty doesn't it?).

 

[teh_Canape]

what is a mother to do?
make her kid stop being gay
-parents groups

srsly though, don't have much to say other than "when push comes to shove..."

 

[thePyro_13]

Bringing a weapon to school? That's a terrible idea. Kid shouldn't have expected to get away with that.

I can sympathise with his situation, but he totally made the wrong choice.

 

[Risingblade]

Back in my day we had adults patrolling the school to avoid this kind of shit (sure it still happened but at least it was something).

 

[Gennadios]

He should have done it proper and brought an AK. Stun gun? No wonder pundits are saying we're raising a nation of wusses. Next up it'll be pepper spray or a rape whistle.

 

[White Lightning]

The kid was being threatened by 6 people and a 6 on 1 beating is absolutely a life threatening situation. The school wasn't doing anything to protect him for this sort of thing so what else was he supposed to do?
If you have a better solution I'd honestly love to hear it, but I don't see any other options this kid had

You call THE POLICE. It's their job. The school can deal with small stuff, but threatening a physical attack is a crime.

There is also self defense training, deescaelation training, walking with friends, standing down bullies (most will back off if pushed), switching schools, and MANY other solutions.

In addition to the kid being charged in this case, I'm rather disappointed the mother wasn't charged as well. At the very least child services needs to review her custody, she doesn't appear to be a fit parent. I wonder where the dad is in all this, oh wait, I can probably guess.

I dealt with bullies as kids, a stun gun is not the answer. There are plenty of answers, that isn't one of them.

Of course, because the kid could just ask the 6 bullies to just wait a second while he calls the police. Switching schools isn't easy either. Alot of your "solutions" would only work in a best case scenario.

From reading the story I guess the kid was in the right. Although from what I can gather the kid sort of made his... gayness? (Couldn't think of a better word lol) quite obvious so I'm not surprised he was treated like that. If the school had done it's job this could of been avoided.

 

[Random Fella]

Difficult to say really
But bringing a stun gun to school is very unnecessary, then again lack of bully prevention in the school is clearly just wrong.
Everyone's in the wrong in that situation, both parties could have done more, or less in the mothers action, to react to the bullying.
In any case they were threatening to beat him up, not actually doing it, if they'd actually beaten him up before in the same sort of situation it may be justified, but still extensive.

 

[Bat Vader]

Hopefully the six students that threatened this poor kid all end up getting suspended or expelled. Perhaps if the school had worked harder to stop bullying this never would have happened.