Does anyone remember the anti-bullying campaign of a few years ago? Given how little we hear about it today, one would infer that the problem is solved. Maybe it’s a thing of the past elsewhere, but bullying is alive and well in Alpena public schools. Children are bullied mercilessly, with no evident repercussions. Name-calling, cyber-bullying, even physical assault, still the perpetrators are in school, with no punishment in sight. Situations are reported to teachers, principals, superintendents, up to the school board, where no satisfactory solutions are found. One wonders why? Bullied children are often the ones who, having been continuously abused, return to end the nightmare with violence. We all know what happens after that. It’s the parent’s fault, right? Never the bullies, or the system that fails victims and shields perpetrators. And, of course, the ultimate focus of blame: the gun. Never mind that the whole situation could have been avoided, never even thought of, had those “educators” entrusted with our youth had just done the job for which they were hired. One wonders if the goal of allowing bullies to victimize their classmates might be to support the gun haters’ rationale, irrational as that may be.

Beth Scheer

Hillman