> What bullied kid really thinks "it's not those kids doing this, it's the system"?
Me, I thought this. I wrote a long post explaining it and then erased it because this pattern exists everywhere and is essentially the foundation of all terrorism (which terrorists often believe works, e.g. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing: "McVeigh believed that the bomb attack had a positive impact on government policy. In evidence he cited the peaceful resolution of the Montana Freemen standoff in 1996, the government's $3.1 million settlement with Randy Weaver and his surviving children four months after the bombing, and April 2000 statements by Bill Clinton regretting his decision to storm the Branch Davidian compound."
Obviously I don't condone terrorism or agree with Timothy McVeigh about anything, but the idea "group X is neglecting their responsibility for this broken system, and they need to feel the pain of the brokenness so that they take the responsibility seriously" is common)
Would students not believe this because they're young? In middle school and high school I was definitely aware enough to see the ocean of people who didn't think the bad behavior of bullies was their responsibility (or were too timid to confront bullies' constant boundary-testing, or both) but loved the opportunity to repremand any victims who tried to escape their situation by escalating the conflict. In that case I think the argument that the bad behavior of bullies actually was their fault is credible, since they weren't forcing bullies to take responsibility for their own behavior and they were denying victims any tools to escape their situation. Likewise, we, as voters, know that schools all have this problem and yet few of us are taking any responsibility for it. Major school reform is rare.
Honestly for me the escape was a late growth spurt and an enthusiasm for weightlifting. A reality of human psychology is that if you're physically intimidating, both peers and teachers will give you some space. The magnetism of "might makes right" is powerful, even if it's unfair
Me, I thought this. I wrote a long post explaining it and then erased it because this pattern exists everywhere and is essentially the foundation of all terrorism (which terrorists often believe works, e.g. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing: "McVeigh believed that the bomb attack had a positive impact on government policy. In evidence he cited the peaceful resolution of the Montana Freemen standoff in 1996, the government's $3.1 million settlement with Randy Weaver and his surviving children four months after the bombing, and April 2000 statements by Bill Clinton regretting his decision to storm the Branch Davidian compound."
Obviously I don't condone terrorism or agree with Timothy McVeigh about anything, but the idea "group X is neglecting their responsibility for this broken system, and they need to feel the pain of the brokenness so that they take the responsibility seriously" is common)
Would students not believe this because they're young? In middle school and high school I was definitely aware enough to see the ocean of people who didn't think the bad behavior of bullies was their responsibility (or were too timid to confront bullies' constant boundary-testing, or both) but loved the opportunity to repremand any victims who tried to escape their situation by escalating the conflict. In that case I think the argument that the bad behavior of bullies actually was their fault is credible, since they weren't forcing bullies to take responsibility for their own behavior and they were denying victims any tools to escape their situation. Likewise, we, as voters, know that schools all have this problem and yet few of us are taking any responsibility for it. Major school reform is rare.
Honestly for me the escape was a late growth spurt and an enthusiasm for weightlifting. A reality of human psychology is that if you're physically intimidating, both peers and teachers will give you some space. The magnetism of "might makes right" is powerful, even if it's unfair
edits: wording