Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

by **Frekwency** 14/5/2014, 9:30 pm

DEBATE TOPIC

Should bullies be held legally responsible for a victim's death?

TOPIC LEADER

Kid Rampage5

RESEARCH

(provided by Topic Leader)

None.

(provided by Frekwency)

I looked into this topic a little and found this debate to be extremely similar to one on debate.org
Here's what the top answers are for both sides:

YES:

kawaii_crazy wrote:
Bullies are responsible for their own words and/or actions. If someone kills themselves because of their mean words, well so be it. Bullies should be charged for the wrong that they have done just as Murderers should be charged for anyone they kill.

NO:

slin2678 wrote:
In my opinion, this is a dumb question. Unless the bully got their hands on a mind-control device, each individual is still responsible for their own actions. If I commit suicide because my wife left me, should she get charged for murder? If I kill myself because I lost my job, can my wife sue my ex-employer? What happened to personal responsibility? People who vote yes should think long and hard about the choices they have made in their own life rather than blame something/somebody else.

DEBATE

(provided by Topic Leader)

Of course bullies should be held legally responsible for THEIR actions; the verbal, emotional or physical harm they cause that leads to suicides. There is no legal definition of bullying. However, it’s usually defined as behavior that is: repeated, intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally, often aimed at certain groups or well worn stereotypes.

Should bullies be held legally responsible for a victim's death?
What should the minimum age for prosecution be and why?

(provided by Frekwency)

I'm going to side with "NO" for this debate. It's so incredibly hard to identify the exact cause for a persons suicide, even if they leave a note with names. You must first look at those accused. Why are they being bullies? More often than not, it's because they have their own problems at home and direct that anger towards kids at school. Should they be labeled as murderers because someone took what they said and killed themselves over it? Definitely not. Should they feel absolutely horrible? Yes! Whether or not it was actually their fault, the kid - who is now dead - decided to place the blame on them. Should they be punished for it? No. They need help. If someone lists you as the reason you killed yourself, you should seek consultation with a therapist immediately.

It's a tragic situation and everyone loves pointing fingers. In the end, it was the choice of the child that was bullied to commit suicide. I am not one to judge a choice like that. I personally think suicide is the wrong choice for everything you encounter in life. But I cannot claim to understand everything that went into the decision process that ultimately resulted in suicide. These are all case by case situations and they have different opinions on suicide than I. The best thing people can do is remember the events that lead up to this and do their best to prevent it from happening again. That and help the bully sort out his/her problems. You might hate him/her, but they need help.

So, what do you all think? Is Kid Rampage5 right? What should be done when a child names a bully as the reason for their suicide?

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by **DoYouPlay_RS** 14/5/2014, 9:46 pm

This is one I feel I can post on without looking clueless.

Here in New Jersey we have some of the heaviest bullying laws in the country. While I can't speak for other states as I haven't lived in them, I have had several people in my class alone, which is about 300-400 people, been jailed for 7-8 years because of verbal/physical harm to another student, and that is without the victim killing themselves. I have a friend who knew somebody who got bullied down and ended up killing themselves in a not so strict area, and when I heard the bully didn't get punished / jail time, I got fucking pissed, and I didn't even know this person.

While I can't speak for myself, as I wasn't bullied as much as others (albeit everybody gets bullied one time or another), I have numerous friends who have really taken a pounding from bullying, and it has severely affected their mood around me and others. When I'm talking to a friend, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I want our conversations to be about things that we are into rather than suicidal thoughts and terrible messages from others.

Bullying has really declined in my area because of these new laws, and honestly, it is an extremely obvious change for the better. Those friends close to suicide are now perfectly normal again because people are too scared to cause mental or physical harm; the law is always watching over them. This has really helped out my relationships with a few people I know that were big bully victims. I can say I haven't seen a single suicide report in my town in over a year, while the two years before that, there were around three, give or take.

If somebody does get harmed by a bully, whether it is physical or simply verbal, the bully should be punished. Even if the victim doesn't even have a suicidal thought in their mind, the bully has caused severely devastating effects on the victim, which can scar the victim and loved ones. There have been too many bullies as of late from other states because these laws aren't in effect or simply aren't enforced strictly enough. I know first hand the effects of bullies and what they can do to friends and others, and enforcing these laws is simply the right thing to do.

TL;DR - Yes

by **Roberto1** 14/5/2014, 10:34 pm

My idea on bullying is - basically you shouldn't do it.
I've had friends who have taken their life for what a bully said or did to them. for a period of time. i personally couldn't possibly fathom the wanton desire on the bullys point of view nor could i think why a victim would want to take their own life, as much as I sympathize.

A person may be having a really bad day, or a bad year. Various circumstances constantly putting them down making them feel bad, family issues, finances etc etc,a bout of depression sets in, a "bully" could say the wrong thing and tip the person over the edge enough for them to do something as drastic as take their own life. If the bully in this instance had a modicum of compassion.

someone could be thinking "if one more person says something to me, im just going to do it, end it all" or "im just going to give up" - a Bully doesn't know nor care about that possible circumstance. And in this instance it could be anyone.

You don't know if what you say could effect someone badly, or at least worse than you intended, so its best to not resort to bullying of any kind.

Who to blame is a hard, a very very hard thing to say.
"the Bully" usually the first one to be blamed. - you have to take into account, however, the mindset of the person being bullied, as i said above, what are they going through in their life? what is their "mental state" i know it can be a harsh thing to say but "things" effect different people in different ways and some people just cant cope with general banter, what is perceived as bullying, isn't bullying.

It really does depend on circumstances, there are so many factors in both the victims and "the bullies" life to be taken into consideration, especially the victim, especially when a death is concerned, I couldn't say if a bully deserves to be prosecuted or not.- I've been bullied, although it was for quite a while, It didn't make me want to take my own life, and it didnt get to me much. But thats because everything else was good, good family home, good friends.

Thats not to say a bully shouldnt be punished or reprimanded for their actions - If it doesnt lead to a death, which it usually doesnt - the bully should still face, or the group of bullies should still face a punishment of some kind. like if a victims bag is torn, then they should be made to pay for it, etc.

Everything is a factor. take everything into consideration << not done enough.

by **Frekwency** 14/5/2014, 10:54 pm

Roberto1 wrote:Thats not to say a bully shouldnt be punished or reprimanded for their actions - If it doesnt lead to a death, which it usually doesnt - the bully should still face, or the group of bullies should still face a punishment of some kind. like if a victims bag is torn, then they should be made to pay for it, etc.

Everything is a factor. take everything into consideration << not done enough.

So, what's your opinion on the topic question?

Should the bully be legally responsible for the suicide? What - if any - consequences should the bully face?

by **Blood** 16/5/2014, 11:08 pm

My thoughts are pretty clear and simple on this matter: no. Individuals are responsible for how they act (bully), but they are also responsible for how they respond (victim). I actually brought this up with my father who agreed and even brought up the point that before the last couple decades it was pretty rare to ever hear about a kid committing or attempting to commit suicide over bullying which means it is something that only recently has cropped up which begs the question why? Should the bullies be taken aside and punished for the bullying? Yes. Should they be held legally responsible for the death of another? No.

by **JIGL0JAY** 17/5/2014, 5:33 am

I think this actually extends to a larger question by and large. I know we use the term "bullying" and that is generally looked at as a younger (under 20 years) issue, but can someone be legally held responsible for harassment in general? Therapists are sometimes sued by those who believe that the therapist (counselor, etc) did not do their job correctly. This would be filed under malpractice rather than accessory to suicide. But this does not answer the question.

The problem is that as many others have stated before, if the bully is not able to physically manipulate someone else into suicide, verbal/physical/emotional harassment is not enough to dictate another's actions. Now the grey area is where abuse pushes someone into a dangerous situation (off a cliff, etc) and in that regard I feel that it would most likely breach the homicide area.

by **Gildarts** 17/5/2014, 3:43 pm

JIGL0JAY wrote:
The problem is that as many others have stated before, if the bully is not able to physically manipulate someone else into suicide, verbal/physical/emotional harassment is not enough to dictate another's actions. Now the grey area is where abuse pushes someone into a dangerous situation (off a cliff, etc) and in that regard I feel that it would most likely breach the homicide area.

You are correct a bully doesn't necessarily get the victim to commit suicide directly, however over an extended period of time an individual might feel like they have had enough and see no other option as to what to do apart from committing suicide. This could be the result of perpetual emotional abuse that may constrain their liberty and have detrimental negative effects on their life to a point in which their life is then dictated by the bully. Furthermore, I believe that they should be legally responsible for the causes of their actions in which they merely provide the victim little to no alternative as to whether they want to live an abuse ridden life or no life at all. What's the point of life if you can't live it peacefully and freely? Place yourself in the shoes of someone who hates themselves more than anyone else, someone who can't live without questioning life, someone who hates, in most cases, what they can't change... Now tell me, is justice served.

by **Frekwency** 18/5/2014, 6:45 am

I believe those in favor of punishing the bully would agree you could define the criminal offence as Involuntary Manslaughter.

Definition: A killing can be involuntary manslaughter when a person's reckless disregard of a substantial risk results in another's death. Because involuntary manslaughter involves carelessness and not purposeful killing, it is a less serious crime than murder or voluntary manslaughter.

If there were to be legal action taken, you would most likely end up with 1-3 years of prison time(according to common involuntary manslaughter sentences). Does that seem just?

by **Blood** 18/5/2014, 6:48 pm

If the bully is going above general level bullying and getting into some heavy stuff, then that is more than just bullying from that kid you need to worry about so psychiatric help would be something to look into, but just general bullying leading to a suicide no. 1-3 years in prison for calling someone fat or gay causing them to kill themselves is unjust for me.

by **JIGL0JAY** 19/5/2014, 3:57 am

Frekwency wrote:I believe those in favor of punishing the bully would agree you could define the criminal offence as Involuntary Manslaughter.

Definition: A killing can be involuntary manslaughter when a person's reckless disregard of a substantial risk results in another's death. Because involuntary manslaughter involves carelessness and not purposeful killing, it is a less serious crime than murder or voluntary manslaughter.

If there were to be legal action taken, you would most likely end up with 1-3 years of prison time(according to common involuntary manslaughter sentences). Does that seem just?

But there is an issue at hand here. Involuntary manslaughter involves actions taken by an individual that result in death of another, that is true. However the death of the victim has to be caused solely by the perpetrator, which then leads to the semantics argument of whether the bully physically forced the victim to commit suicide. Because that would then springboard it into actual murder charges, rather than suicide.

Suicide is a mental issue where the desire to live is suppressed enough that death is seen as the only plausible option. The bully is crafting the victim's mental state, but the victim does not ever truly lose control of their own mental state unless they were already mentally unstable to begin with.

by **Frekwency** 19/5/2014, 5:02 am

JIGL0JAY wrote:
Frekwency wrote:
Spoiler:

But there is an issue at hand here. Involuntary manslaughter involves actions taken by an individual that result in death of another, that is true. However the death of the victim has to be caused solely by the perpetrator, which then leads to the semantics argument of whether the bully physically forced the victim to commit suicide. Because that would then springboard it into actual murder charges, rather than suicide.

Suicide is a mental issue where the desire to live is suppressed enough that death is seen as the only plausible option. The bully is crafting the victim's mental state, but the victim does not ever truly lose control of their own mental state unless they were already mentally unstable to begin with.

See, I agree with what you are saying. I'm trying to gain perspective on why the opposing side thinks they should be charged for the suicide. If anyone who agrees (such as kid rampage5) with legally punishing the bully, please respond to my previous post.

At no point in bullying does the bully make a decision to end the victims life. They are usually doing it because of their own insecurities and problems at home. While that is pretty broad and not all cases are like this, it's mainly what I've seen happening. So, when you take into account the bullies own problems, using the same logic, wouldn't the person causing the bully to mentally/physically harm the victim be at fault?

I'm super tired right now, so this might not make any sense...

by **JIGL0JAY** 20/5/2014, 4:43 am

Frekwency wrote:I'm trying to gain perspective on why the opposing side thinks they should be charged for the suicide.

Then allow me to enlighten you with my own biased perspective.

The issue at hand is that we believe the act of bullying/harassment to be an independent factor to the end result of suicide. However those in favor of punishing bullying believe that the series of events uses bullying as the primary reason behind the suicide, and therefore the cause. Because we can see that harassment has very obvious side effects on the mental disposition of the victim, the "pro" side would then believe that due to the nature of harassment the victim is not in a mentally sound state of mind. This mental state is what allows for the thought of suicide to become more prevalent, which then leads to the end result.

At many points, the "con" side to this argument could raise their own issues. Obviously this is because the only true common ground we share is that harassment is a negative issue. The branching of "negative interaction (harassment)" and "personal free will" is nearly immediate in the argument. The argument that the "pro" side has to provide is why bullying overwhelms the personal free will of the victim to such a point that the act of suicide is not the fault of the victim themselves, but of the bully.

by **Frekwency** 20/5/2014, 9:54 pm

Great debate, people. If you have anything more to add, feel free to do so.

This debate will be ending tomorrow (may 21, 2014) as I put up the new one.

The debate will always be up and unlocked, so feel free to add to the discussion at any time.

by **GiovanniM** 21/5/2014, 5:37 am

Really depends on who is judged the bully,
Someone was insulting me so i kicked his ass and he made a police declaration against me for bullying.

by **JIGL0JAY** 21/5/2014, 5:45 am

GiovanniMoonen wrote:Really depends on who is judged the bully,
Someone was insulting me so i kicked his ass and he made a police declaration against me for bullying.

This anecdote is not helpful to our discussion, unfortunately. Someone insulting you does not equate to the full fledged harassment we are discussing here. An exchange of words that evolves into a violent conflict does not talk about the subject of suicide.

If someone is going to commit suicide because of harassment, there is no judging who is the victim and who is the bully.

by **[ADMIN] Adrijana** 21/5/2014, 11:09 am

I'm really glad to see this topic here. I think all of us that spend anytime in RS or any community have experience some forms of bulling in addition to IRL. I have personal experience and I have seen the end result of suicide from bulling.... my stand is still that bullies should NOT be held responsible.

I strongly believe in the sink or swim mentality. I believe that each persons's action and reaction is their own responsibility and choice. There are a few reason's for why I think like this...

Little background on personal experience. As many of you know, I was not born in America. My family came here when I was 11 years old and we spoke no English at all. I was put a year back in school to 4th grade to be given a chance to learn English. Now... kids can be cruel... I remember being in my 4th grade class and not knowing what anyone said at all. I carried around this tiny little yellow book that has translation English to Croatian/Croatian to English and my teacher would use it to communicate with me. I was essentially lost for the first 6 month of school here. I remember this one girl... Christina... who was the queen bee of the class. She seemed nice to me (at least I thought) and would have me repeat things in English to help me "learn". She had me say some pretty shitty things for her own amusement and her friends amusement. My cousin was in the same school and one day told me and I was devastated. It ruined my outlook on ever improving or making friends. It was a lonely feeling. This was my first experience feeling so isolated and beaten down and hurt. But.... I held my own. I went thru all of middle school with this girl and learned to ignore her. Her abuse went into high school and spread to other people. The statement from one of the football players was always "Go back to your own country" But among all this.... I found friends. I met people who at times I'm sure felt like me. I found my own refuge.

Reason #2... My parent's friend's daughter committed suicide over being bullied a few years ago. She had a hard time at school and there was some social media issues and her answer was to commit suicide. In my opinion... her suicide was not fully caused by those bullies. Her parents may think so and they may blame the school and even know fight with other parents protecting their son but they are 100% handling it wrong. Her upbringing and her parents constantly blaming other kids for their own kids being "down" or attacked is the main reason (just my opinion). They raised their kids to be in this protected environment that never gave them a chance to feel strong when someone hurts their feelings. They thoughts them how to give the bully power instead of seeing a bullies weakness. That is not the bullies fault... that is on the parent's hands.

I was thought thru the struggle of life to see past the surface of people. There is always an underline reason for a hurtful word and most times.... that bully feels bad about himself and his way of dealing with that is to bring others down so they feel stronger. If more parents thought their kids this... we would have less of a bully problem.

Protecting a child thru all of school and limiting the bad moments they need to experience and learn thru will only keep them sheltered and unprepared for this world. It is making them handicapped in a way for later on in life. The law and the school cannot protect us forever so learning skills to deal with everyday bullies will allow growth. Parents are responsible to ensure this instead of the law getting involved.

This generation is building weak minded and an emotional generation that needs to learn to stand on its own two feet.

TL;DR The law should not be involved in verbal bulling issues.

by **GiovanniM** 21/5/2014, 12:48 pm

[ADMIN] Adrijana wrote: I'm really glad to see this topic here. I think all of us that spend anytime in RS or any community have experience some forms of bulling in addition to IRL. I have personal experience and I have seen the end result of suicide from bulling.... my stand is still that bullies should NOT be held responsible.

I strongly believe in the sink or swim mentality. I believe that each persons's action and reaction is their own responsibility and choice. There are a few reason's for why I think like this...

Little background on personal experience. As many of you know, I was not born in America. My family came here when I was 11 years old and we spoke no English at all. I was put a year back in school to 4th grade to be given a chance to learn English. Now... kids can be cruel... I remember being in my 4th grade class and not knowing what anyone said at all. I carried around this tiny little yellow book that has translation English to Croatian/Croatian to English and my teacher would use it to communicate with me. I was essentially lost for the first 6 month of school here. I remember this one girl... Christina... who was the queen bee of the class. She seemed nice to me (at least I thought) and would have me repeat things in English to help me "learn". She had me say some pretty shitty things for her own amusement and her friends amusement. My cousin was in the same school and one day told me and I was devastated. It ruined my outlook on ever improving or making friends. It was a lonely feeling. This was my first experience feeling so isolated and beaten down and hurt. But.... I held my own. I went thru all of middle school with this girl and learned to ignore her. Her abuse went into high school and spread to other people. The statement from one of the football players was always "Go back to your own country" But among all this.... I found friends. I met people who at times I'm sure felt like me. I found my own refuge.

Reason #2... My parent's friend's daughter committed suicide over being bullied a few years ago. She had a hard time at school and there was some social media issues and her answer was to commit suicide. In my opinion... her suicide was not fully caused by those bullies. Her parents may think so and they may blame the school and even know fight with other parents protecting their son but they are 100% handling it wrong. Her upbringing and her parents constantly blaming other kids for their own kids being "down" or attacked is the main reason (just my opinion). They raised their kids to be in this protected environment that never gave them a chance to feel strong when someone hurts their feelings. They thoughts them how to give the bully power instead of seeing a bullies weakness. That is not the bullies fault... that is on the parent's hands.

I was thought thru the struggle of life to see past the surface of people. There is always an underline reason for a hurtful word and most times.... that bully feels bad about himself and his way of dealing with that is to bring others down so they feel stronger. If more parents thought their kids this... we would have less of a bully problem.

Protecting a child thru all of school and limiting the bad moments they need to experience and learn thru will only keep them sheltered and unprepared for this world. It is making them handicapped in a way for later on in life. The law and the school cannot protect us forever so learning skills to deal with everyday bullies will allow growth. Parents are responsible to ensure this instead of the law getting involved.

This generation is building weak minded and an emotional generation that needs to learn to stand on its own two feet.

TL;DR The law should not be involved in verbal bulling issues.

If you suicide for bullying you're a fucking pussy,
Sorry for the people you cared about that you lost, But in my opinion they're pussy's
I've been bullied for my whole life, At every school I've been I have been kicked off again for kicking ass.
People suicide because they can't handle it, I learned to defend myself and kick their fucking asses.

by **[ADMIN] Adrijana** 21/5/2014, 1:14 pm

GiovanniMoonen wrote:

If you suicide for bullying you're a fucking pussy,
Sorry for the people you cared about that you lost, But in my opinion they're pussy's
I've been bullied for my whole life, At every school I've been I have been kicked off again for kicking ass.
People suicide because they can't handle it, I learned to defend myself and kick their fucking asses.

So unnecessary to be this harsh...

by **GiovanniM** 21/5/2014, 1:19 pm

[ADMIN] Adrijana wrote:
GiovanniMoonen wrote:

If you suicide for bullying you're a fucking pussy,
Sorry for the people you cared about that you lost, But in my opinion they're pussy's
I've been bullied for my whole life, At every school I've been I have been kicked off again for kicking ass.
People suicide because they can't handle it, I learned to defend myself and kick their fucking asses.

So unnecessary to be this harsh...

I'd rather get called cold as usual.
Now I think of it I'll change my IRC name.

by **Broeder** 21/5/2014, 1:46 pm

Thats not cold, that's harsh use of language. You can be cold and still be polite.
Your point might have been cold and thats fine, but how you expressed it made it harsh Smile

by **Frekwency** 21/5/2014, 5:05 pm

Adrijana, thanks for sharing that with us. I think put what a lot of us were thinking into words. It does appear to be too common to bring the law into disputes such as these. I would call myself a Liberal for thinking the government and police need to step off from a lot of things such as bullying and minor offences.

I have my own experiences with bullying, and I'm sure everyone here has witnessed it themselves. It's all up to how you react to it. The thing is, how you react to bullying is all up to how you have been prepared to handle it. This obligation would fall on the parents to mentally "condition" their kids to understand that what others say is not in fact true, or even matters.

Thanks.

GiovanniMoonen wrote:If you suicide for bullying you're a fucking pussy

I'm going to ignore your bluntness. I do agree with your statement, or at least I used to. Until you have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts, you simply cannot understand it. I remember having the same thought, "suicide is for pussies", when I heard of people taking their own lives. I saw it as a form of weakness, as do you. However, after years of hardship and generally bad things happening in my family, I can tell you that I get it. I understand why suicide can look like the best option. Fortunately for me, I conditioned myself into thinking I would never do it, which really stifled all those feelings and I didn't have to go any further down that road.

So yes, I do agree that bullying shouldn't be legally punishable (unless phy - Right here. While I was typing this up, I got to here and had to stop. I don't know what to think. I do believe mental health is equally important as physical health, so why should you only be punished for physically hurting someone? That doesn't make sense to me. )

After thinking about this for a little while longer, I think I can explain why physical harm is punished more severely than mental harm.
You see, when you are being attacked (physically), you are either bigger than them or you are not. Obviously, you are being attacked, so you're likely smaller and cannot defend yourself. No way to escape.
When you are being attacked (mentally), you get to decide who's the bigger person. It's plain and simple to see a persons physical strength, but completely impossible to judge their mental strength and self confidence. Therefore, it's not so much the bullies fault for not knowing what you were thinking. While it does suck and bullies should be punished, they can't take the same blame as someone causing physical trauma. They simply do not see results. Until suicide.

by **JIGL0JAY** 22/5/2014, 2:58 am

GiovanniMoonen wrote:I've been bullied for my whole life [...] I learned to defend myself and kick their fucking asses.

I will repeat what I said before: Your anecdote is not beneficial to the discussion. Adrijana's insight is definitely beneficial to the idea of how a victim feels about their life, but also does not further a point necessarily.

The reason these anecdotes do not further a point is because there are three samples of people that would need to be observed which cannot: Those who overcame their bullying and WANT bullies to be persecuted, those who overcame their bullying and DO NOT want bullies to be persecuted, and those who did NOT overcome their bullying (cannot be sampled for obvious reasons). Adrijana's quote was informative of one sample of people, there is no doubt. However she is of the opinion that individuals have their own reactions and therefore the bullies are not at fault which indicates that she is on one side of the argument.

Moreso, I believe that you are not addressing the argument purely because you rely on your anecdote as evidence of the true answer. This debate is somewhat philosophical as well as legal, and your answer to this is a straightforward anecdote which does not offer rebuttal to any ideas brought forward thus far.

by **loopin louie** 23/5/2014, 8:19 pm

Bully should be held responsible and punish for there action. When you constantly bully someone you might as well hand them him or her the "weapon." Even the victim of bulling does not end up hurting themselves physically over bullying they are still hurt mentally, and the mental damage sometimes can't be undone.

What give someone the right to break your self worth. If you hurt someone physically on purpose cant charges be brought against you? Why can it not be the same when you hurt someone mentally. I would much rather deal with a broken leg than a broken confident any day of the week. A broken leg is a lot easier to heal that your confident. Till this day I have trouble functioning because of what people use to do and say to me. Funny thing is I cant remember the name or faces of the people that use to make my life a living hell but I can still remember they way they made me feel as clear as day every day.

by **GiovanniM** 23/5/2014, 9:31 pm

JIGL0JAY wrote:
GiovanniMoonen wrote:I've been bullied for my whole life [...] I learned to defend myself and kick their fucking asses.

I will repeat what I said before: Your anecdote is not beneficial to the discussion. Adrijana's insight is definitely beneficial to the idea of how a victim feels about their life, but also does not further a point necessarily.

The reason these anecdotes do not further a point is because there are three samples of people that would need to be observed which cannot: Those who overcame their bullying and WANT bullies to be persecuted, those who overcame their bullying and DO NOT want bullies to be persecuted, and those who did NOT overcome their bullying (cannot be sampled for obvious reasons). Adrijana's quote was informative of one sample of people, there is no doubt. However she is of the opinion that individuals have their own reactions and therefore the bullies are not at fault which indicates that she is on one side of the argument.

Moreso, I believe that you are not addressing the argument purely because you rely on your anecdote as evidence of the true answer. This debate is somewhat philosophical as well as legal, and your answer to this is a straightforward anecdote which does not offer rebuttal to any ideas brought forward thus far.

That's not what i meant to say at all,
I'm trying to say don't suicide, But stand up for yourself and do it good.

by **JIGL0JAY** 24/5/2014, 12:40 am

GiovanniMoonen wrote:I'm trying to say don't suicide, But stand up for yourself and do it good.

That's great, but how is that answering either side of the debate question at all? Please refer back to all posts that are not yours and realize that everyone (minus Adrijana) is presenting an argument. You are not.

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Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]

Re: Debate Topic: Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible [PAST]