Billy, busy building a miniature house, didn’t see it coming: the boy hit him so hard in the left cheek that he briefly lost consciousness. [His mother] remembers the family dentist sewing up the inside of Billy’s cheek, and a school official refusing to call the police, saying it looked like Billy got what he deserved.
A car the color of a school bus pulls up with a boy who tells his brother beside him that he’s going to beat up Billy.... While one records the assault with a cellphone camera, the other walks up to the oblivious Billy and punches him hard enough to leave a fist-size welt on his forehead.
The video shows Billy staggering, then dropping his book bag to fight back, lanky arms flailing. But the screams of his sister stop things cold.
The aggressor heads to school, to show friends the video of his Billy moment, while Billy heads home, again. It’s not yet 8 in the morning.
....
Judging by school records, at least one official seems to think Billy contributes to the trouble that swirls around him.
The story's not about Billy, or the Bullies. The story is about how bullying in school and elsewhere is overlooked, tolerated, or encouraged as a way of enforcing social conformity... which is unacceptable in the modern day.This is very true, situations like this are treated in an entirely different way in schools then they are in the real world. On the other hand, his parents are treating the problem as if it was an adult problem. They are engaging the bureaucratic channels (documenting evidence even!), and this approach is clearly failing miserably.
Adults can get a restraining order, an assault charge and a lawsuit laid down upon the perp to stop that shit cold. The way things are now, kids got nuthin - they have to take it and take it and take it, regardless of the physical and psychiatric injuries that occur. That is the very opposite of justice, and it happens every day to children.
Whatever the reason, addressing the bullying of Billy has become a second job for his parents: Curt, a senior data analyst, and Penney, the owner of an office-supply company. They have binders of school records and police reports, along with photos documenting the bruises and black eyes. They are well known to school officials, perhaps even too well known, but they make no apologies for being vigilant. They also reject any suggestion that they should move out of the district because of this.These parents obviously feel that by being more involved, that they're helping the situation. There's no doubt in my mind that they're making things worse for their boy. Not only is he not learning to fight back, but the kids will undoubtedly resent him more for invoking parents and teachers.
The many incidents seem to blur together into one protracted assault. When Billy attaches a bully’s name to one beating, his mother corrects him. “That was Benny, sweetie,” she says. “That was in the eighth grade.”
Why isn't the solution to properly "socialize" the bullies?Exactly. Once anyone says, "people need to be better socialized to avoid being bullied," it raises the immediate question of why we aren't saying that "people need to be better socialized to stop bullying others."
"Recently, Fayetteville High School has had negative light shed upon it by national media and it has cause [sic] many to look down upon our students, teachers, and administration. We wish to share the whole story about the Billy Wolfe ordeal and to do so we would like those who have had alteracations [sic] with Billy to come forth and share their side of the story, which with their permission will be used for a documentary filmed by Skyler and myself.I have e-mailed the page creator William Michael Sharp (sharpwill97@yahoo.com) making him aware of this thread and seeking clarification on the "ordeal" and "whole story."
NOTE: This group is not intended to ridicule, mock, or attack Billy. I, personally, am tired of all the crazy rumors that I hear going around and just want to hear truth. Any harmful things said to or about Billy (or anyone else) will result in deletion from group [sic].
The creators of this group do NOT advocate bullying. It is childish and the intent of this group is not to bully anyone."
"Billy is one of my friends. What I'm saying may make you think that he's not, but don't be fooled.Were Billy's injuries the result of repeated "bullying" or of "schoolyard scrapes?" Wahtever the answer, we live in interesting times where we have access to national media reports, as well as to local comments. The Web truly provides for the "local" to go "global;" the "golobal" to go "local."
Billy has started A LOT of the fights he's been in. Just recently, he was punched in the face by a boy whom will remain un-named. And it wasn't just out of randomness. This boys mother is deceased, and Billy took it upon himself to talk about his mom. He called his mom a 'German Nazi Skank'. So the boy punched Billy in the face. I'm not sure if this was the LAST thing that happened to Billy, but it was recent.
Billy has been getting into fights since middle school. I don't know how many, but Billy has started plenty of fights by spitting in people's faces, or calling them names, or by provoking them in some other way. I don't believe that Billy deserved all of these beatings he got, no one deserves to be beaten up no matter what they did. The school board should've stepped in sooner and done something about it. Thats a short version of this story."
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"My side of the story is Billy was never rude to me or vice versa but he has started multiple fights.
Billy has called two unnamed girls gay lesbians when both of them are 'straight', have boyfriends, and to knowledge have never been rude to him.
I have also heard that he had beaten up a mentally disabled kid in a wheelchair and killed his cat by throwing rocks at it and kicking it."
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"I'm not saying that he deserved all these beatings, but i am saying that more than likely (if not for sure), he started the fights."
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"There are two things I remember about Billy really. I remember hearing a first hand account of Billy killing the cat of one of my friends. That warranted his house being tp'd, with the, tp'ers being threatened to be sued by Billy's parents.
The second was Billy being knocked out in front of Matthews' room back at Woodland last year. The only thing there, is that Billy did start that, by insulting the kid's mother to his face. After that, it's all shrouded in rumor."
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"I've seen him get in fights ever since grade school. And he always makes it seem as if he is the victim when he is anything but that."
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"Anyway I think Billy just needs some counseling and some good friends but that must be hard to make if your constantly pushing people away with your rude mouth?"
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"i was in the bathroom one day and he looked me up and down and said "what the fuck are you looking at." i didnt do anything knowing his mom would get legal with it.
and he was caught with a knife at school"
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"don't believe the media. Billy is not the victim. He actually picks fights with others. What he's saying to the media is total bullshit."
“Fayetteville School District officials filed a terroristic threatening complaint with the Fayetteville Police Department regarding a phone message received as part of the fallout from a recent New York Times news column.posted by ericb at 4:06 PM on March 26, 2008
The Monday story dealt with Fayetteville High School sophomore Billy Wolfe and acts of bullying that he has endured in and out of school during the past four years. Earlier this month, Wolfe’s parents filed suit against students who allegedly assaulted him, and they have hinted that they might sue the district for allegedly not doing enough to prevent the bullying.
As a result of the article, the district has received more than 300 e-mail messages and numerous phone calls.
The phone message in question was left at McNair Middle School on Tuesday and features a woman’s voice. Assistant Superintendent Ginny Wiseman played the recording. The caller could be heard saying: ‘All I can say is if it had been my kid who got repeatedly beat up in your school, some of you would be so dead, dead, dead.’
Wiseman said school officials think the call came from out of state and that they know who made it because the school has caller ID.
Police Sgt. Shannon Gabbard said officers are investigating to determine if the call fits the terroristic threatening statute.
Wiseman said she also planned to file a report with the FBI since the call apparently came from another state.
The district reported one of the e-mail messages received Monday to the FBI’s cybercrime division through the FBI Web site, said Chief Financial Officer Susan Norton.
The e-mailer, named Judge Holden, suggested the district would be hit with some sort of Internet or computer network attack.
It stated, ‘Myself and a few like minded individuals, who are involved in what some would call a hacker club, have decided to take action.’”
'-May 5, 2006 - Burk struck Wolfe in the face after Wolfe called Burk's (deceased) mother a vulgar name.Billy a'int no angel.
-Sept. 9, 2006 - Wolfe was talking back to a substitute teacher and not listening to the teacher.
-Sept. 7, 2006 - Wolfe was given an assignment and directed to write a report about a certain issue. Wolfe gave the assignment back to the teacher and wrote 'Ya right LOL (laugh out loud ) you write a three page report about dancing.'
-Nov. 8, 2006 - Zeagler spoke to Wolfe regarding four complaints from teachers and students about him picking on students.
-Dec. 19, 2006 - Special Education Teacher Becky Knight witnessed Wolfe pushing a student. Wolfe admitted wrongdoing and stated he would not do it anymore.
-February 2007 - Special Education Teacher Terri Speer witnessed Wolfe scaring a disabled student in a wheelchair in the hallway. Speer also said another student told her that Wolfe stole his markers. He told Speer that he didn't want her to say anything to Wolfe because he was afraid of Wolfe.'" *
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Disrespectful of authority? Imagine that!
I suppose there's an explanation for this in anthropology or primatology, that every social grouping needs a runt or a scapegoat to serve as an outlet, as the base of the school's rough herrenvolk democracy, and the authorities at the school instinctively realize that without Billy to be beaten up, their jobs would be all the harder. Or that'll "make a man out of him" or something. I just fear what it will make our society.
posted by orthogonality at 11:17 PM on March 23, 2008 [7 favorites]