04/02/2007
British Family Gets Police Visit After "Gay Boy" Email
Two British parents, in fear that their son was being bullied at school, called police after their 10-year-old son received an email from another student (pictured, with his mother) calling him a "gay boy". Officers were sent to the school the boys attended. The school directed them to the home of the student who had sent the email. No further action will be taken, according to the police, but the incident would be recorded.
The accused boy's father, Alan Rawlinson, was livid: "It is completely ridiculous. I thought the officers were joking at first, but they told me they considered it a very serious offence. The politically correct brigade are taking over. This seemed like a huge waste of resources for something so trivial as a playground spat....I feel very aggrieved about this. We are law-abiding citizens who have paid taxes all our lives. I've constantly contacted police about break-ins at my business and never get a suitable response. George was really upset, he thought he was going to be locked up. This just seemed like a huge waste of resources for something so trivial."
Officers defended the visit, claiming it was behavior by the student that had been "ongoing".
In related news, a study of 7,500 U.S. youths between the ages of 14 and 22 by Children's Hospital Boston revealed that gay and lesbian teens are three times more likely to report bullying by their peers than heterosexual teens.
Police send four police officers to tackle boy, 11, who called schoolmate 'gay' [evening standard]
Police check on 'gay' email by 10-year-old [the guardian]
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Posted 10:01 AM EST by Andy Towle in Bullying, Education, Gay Slurs, Great Britain, News | Permalink
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Frickn hilarious.
Newsflash: paying your taxes doesn't give you the right to harrass others (who presumably also pay their taxes). If your son learns that now, it may save him a trip to jail later.
As far as using 'gay boy' as an epithet, I doubt that being politically correct was part of the police actions.
Posted by: karashi | Apr 2, 2007 10:33:57 AM
Heh, reading the article, it appears logic (or lack thereof) can be genetic
"George told his parents that the comment was in no way meant to be homophobic and that he had simply been using the word gay instead of 'stupid'."
George? That? Is homophobic!
Posted by: karashi | Apr 2, 2007 10:36:08 AM
Haha, look at the fat kid.
Posted by: chrisb | Apr 2, 2007 10:43:28 AM
The pouty face on that fat little wanker is awesome. And I seriously enjoy how his parents offer no comment on their son's behaviour, only that of the police.
I'm glad little Alan's father was livid. He should take it out on his fat son's behaviorial issues.
Posted by: CF | Apr 2, 2007 10:56:55 AM
Did I miss the part that identifies the kid in the pic as the bully? I thought it was the kid receiving the taunts.
Anyway, I have mixed feelings about this. Having been the victim of bullies in school, this is EXACTLY the sort of fantasy a picked-on kid has, and it actually came true.
Hooray for the little guys!
As an adult, however, I sort of think that getting the police involved is a bit much. As clueless as the father is about what constitutes homophobia, he does raise a valid point concerning the use of public resources to quell what is essentially bad conduct on the Internet.
If there were death threats or threats of bodily harm, I can understand police involvement.
However, I think if I was the father of the kid being called "gay boy" I would visit the offending kid's family and (ahem) "Explain" the situation to dear old dad myself.
Posted by: mark m | Apr 2, 2007 11:57:29 AM
uh, that's right, focus on the police response rather than the admitted pattern of bullying that was perpetrated by Rawlinson's son which was the impetus for the police visit. PC has nothing to do with it..., the ghosts of Columbine most certainly do.
Posted by: sean | Apr 2, 2007 11:58:18 AM
My opinion, and please don't throw daggers at me: Everyone gets bullied, it's not something that's isolated to gays or blacks. Even the guy who bullied me in jr. high school had a bigger kid that bullied him...it's what kids do. Is it right, no, but is it a crime...I don't think so, at least not at this level.
Posted by: Wayne | Apr 2, 2007 12:08:55 PM
I'm glad to see the welfare of a child who has been cyber-bullied taken seriously by the British Police. Let us, however, reserve *our* comments and criticism for the adults and not the children implicated.
The protests of one of the accused child's parents, who does not take childhood bullying seriously [a playground spat?], tends, in my view, to demonstrate that he doesn't have a clue how bullying ruins and sometime takes children's lives. The 'spat' clearly is homophobic in tone, and can't be seen as anything else.
From recall, I note how there have been several cases of how bullied UK kids commit suicide because of the ongoing taunts (of various kinds). While whining about policing, the parents don't trouble deny the child sent this offensive email or deny what was written and what was intended.Its not about your dissatisfaction with policing, its about the failure of a parent - this is given spectacular effect through the media.
This sad attempt at parenting is indicative of the child's behaviour isn't it? Blame the police, the playground, but don't blame yourself for allowing such language to be uttered.
But most of all, blame yourselves for letting your son's image be used in the media: now people actually know what he looks like, rather than protecting him as a child [even when he's done some wrong].
Posted by: ulSean R | Apr 2, 2007 12:16:22 PM
The kid in the photo is the bully. I'm assuming the parents of the victim are less interested in justifying themselves, or else more concerned for their son's welfare.
It's interesting to see the source of this article - London News, in association with the The Evening Standard, part of the Mail group. My suspicions were first aroused by the 'I'm a taxpayer' defence. It's one of the most tiresome arguments in Daily Mail Land.
The mother looks like a hard-faced harpie and the fact she is a magistrate is troubling (although not as troubling as that collection of twigs she has for hair). I'm very pleased the police tackled this issue. The fact a ten year old is aware of the harmfulness of using the word 'gay' as a bullying insult is all wrong. He's TEN, for crying out loud. Unfortunately, it's not unusual - but of course, it's learned behaviour. That's why his parents can't help but defend him. They are, by proxy, defending themselves.
Bullying costs lives, and the police have to take it seriously, because once it starts but the aggressor and the victim find it hard to break the cycle. I hope both kids learn that there are better ways of being as a result of what happened.
Posted by: Ren B. | Apr 2, 2007 12:44:27 PM
Oh, and I should add that the comments after the article reporting this were all in favour of the police action, and critical of the bully's parents. So there's hope yet.
Posted by: Ren B. | Apr 2, 2007 12:45:49 PM
The kid should not have been taunting anyone. He clearly learned it from his bigoted parents.
Posted by: Jack! | Apr 2, 2007 12:54:02 PM
Two words: Pugsley Addams.
Posted by: Rad | Apr 2, 2007 12:54:13 PM
As a kid who was bullied in high school, it's good that adults take it seriously. Gay kids are in fact more likely to be bullied and I can say from experience that it isn't just a playground spat. Being harrassed and humiliated day in and day out can destroy a kid. Though I would worry if I was the bullied kid that this incident will just more attention to him and cause more bullying. But kids should be free to go to school and not be tortured by their peers. Thinking of how I felt in school being called names and pushed around still makes me tense up and sick to my stomach.
Posted by: JR | Apr 2, 2007 1:12:55 PM
Tony Blair has tried to introduce all sorts of laws to force people to be "nicer" to one another and petty crime rates have soared. This looks like an example of administrative priorities taking over from common sense. That being said, the bullying could have been "ongoing" for a long time, we just don't know. I should think this would have been better dealt with at the school admin level first.
Posted by: anon | Apr 2, 2007 1:21:14 PM
Ah yes, yet another example of political correctness gone mad I tell you! I can just picture the nostril-flared hordes of Daily Mail and Evening Standard readers spluttering and snorting over this outrageous waste of taxpayers money!
Another piece of totally biased reporting from ES and Daily Mail as per usual. No surprises there. I mean, come on guys, just look at poor fatso and his poor mum, they must be really going through hell, bless 'em.
Its about time bullying was taken seriously, too many kids wind up committing suicide. I hope this teaches this spoilt, little bullying brat a lesson.
Posted by: atheist | Apr 2, 2007 2:36:48 PM
If there's a real pattern of abuse and bullying, and sincere concern on behalf of the parents of a child, then I have no problem with the cops paying a simple visit. That sounds like it was the case here. It's not like George got tasered.
However, if people start calling the cops everytime someone says something mean, even really mean, it'll become a pathetic spectacle. Here's hoping the authorities continue to use sensible judgement.
Posted by: Zlexar | Apr 2, 2007 5:56:28 PM
"It's interesting to see the source of this article - London News, in association with the The Evening Standard, part of the Mail group."
Posted by: Ren B. |
I hear people trash newspapers from the Mail Group a lot, so I googled Daily Mail:
"The Daily Mail considers itself to be the voice of Middle England, speaking up for the "small-c" conservative values and against what it sees as a liberal establishment. It generally takes an anti-European, anti-immigration, anti-abortion (despite the "abortion hope" headline -see below) view, and is correspondingly "pro-family", pro-tax cuts and pro-monarchy, as well as advocating stricter punishments for crime."
http://www.answers.com/topic/daily-mail
Interesting..
Posted by: Da | Apr 2, 2007 9:14:29 PM
What could be stricter than a visit from the police?
Posted by: anon | Apr 3, 2007 12:43:49 AM
I wouldn't protest their funeral.
Posted by: andrew | Apr 3, 2007 5:09:03 PM
I cannot possibly be the only one immature enought to have notice the mom's name is Gaynor!
Posted by: Christopher | Apr 6, 2007 12:59:06 PM