“In a surprise, the City Council of Carson, California, rejected an ordinance aimed at making the Los Angeles suburb the nation’s first zero-tolerance place for bullies. The measure would have been the nation’s toughest piece of anti-bullying legislation, but was defeated Tuesday night after sailing through a reading and vote by the full Council earlier this month. The second and final step was viewed to be a formality, after the measure received strong support from Councilmembers in a May 6 preliminary vote.”

I have to admit, when I first saw this piece I felt disappointment; how could something designed to keep young people physically and emotionally safe be rejected?

But, then I read the article and the natural complexity of the situation started to emerge: “Opponents took issue with what they said was vague language and the overly-broad definition of bullying…’The biggest issue you deal with is always ‘he said, she said…’”

Of course, this issue also brings to the forefront the difficulty and possible ineffectiveness of trying to solve a problem with punishment rather than rehabilitation or reeducation; it’s akin to ‘treating’ the symptom rather than the cause.

To read the full story, visit MSNBC.

And visit our website to learn more about Adventure In Adventure Out’s growing anti-bullying program You Belong, a bold and transformative program that engages students and teachers in the creation of a physically and emotionally safe environment where courageous action is encouraged, and the true expression of each person is welcomed and celebrated.

A recent article in the LA Times citing the journal JAMA Pediatrics addresses the hard and intuitive truth that bullied children are more likely to consider and attempt suicide.

And, in tragic confirmation of this fact, we now have the story of Michael Morones. Bullied so severely, Michael attempted to end his life by hanging himself, but being unsuccessful he is now “being treated for potentially lifelong neurological injuries caused by a lack of oxygen. [His mother] said they don’t know how much he will recover or when, if ever.”

“The world has developed stereotypes for our children, and when our children don’t fit these gender and sexist stereotypes they’re ostracized, ridiculed and bullied…Our society is no longer building up our children and setting them up for success, only tearing them down.”

The full story can be found here.

And, if you’re as passionate as we are about working to address bullying, or if you’d like to speak with us about setting up an anti-bullying workshop, check out Adventure In, Adventure Out’s program You Belong.