Dealing With School Bullies

Re Shawn Hubler’s May 6 column: The child psychologist who said that “kids tend to get picked on because they’re mean in the first place . . . because they’re already doing things that make other people dislike them” should spend more time out on the playground. For every maladjusted child on the receiving end of bullying, there are many more ordinary children having to deal with the cruelty of their peers, not because they’re “mean,” but because their clothes aren’t right. Or their ears stick out too far. Or they just moved to the school. Or they sat too close to the in-crowd’s lunch table. Or their skin color is wrong or they are shy. Or small or big, or smart or slow, or from the wrong neighborhood. Or simply convenient--in the wrong class with the wrong group at the wrong time.

While I agree that the mental health of adolescents and teens should be afforded at least the same emphasis as their physical well-being, I am appalled that any child psychologist would make statements supporting the notion that bullied kids ask for it by being mean and maladjusted. And if they just got counseling to be more acceptable, then bullying would not occur. That is just not true.

SHARON G. MOSIER

Hermosa Beach

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My son Roddy was a beautiful, frail, timid boy of 10. His bullies at school outweighed him by 50 pounds. Life was miserable for him. His bullies called him a girl.

My wife had a brilliant idea. She enrolled Roddy in a judo class. He never even had to fight again. He just said that he was a judo expert. The bully would back off. He could not run the risk of being beaten by a girl.

Roddy’s sons were the same frail kids. He just taught them judo. No problems!

LEROY J. DAVIS

Anaheim