The Glade 4.0

Fair enough. I'm mostly speaking in terms of my own views rather than whatever the relevant laws and school policies are in practice. It's also quite likely that my view is heavily influenced by my own anecdotal experiences and those of my family and friends, all of which are from low-crime settings and most of which are from rural settings to boot. I saw many fights in school, but none that didn't end with a teacher, janitor, coach, bus driver or whoever stepping in and pulling the kids apart. I'm sure things would be different in an urban and/or high-crime district.

No, for me. I think I would have a hard time coming to terms with my cowardice and waste of space.

(To reiterate, I'm not judging anyone who feels it is unsafe for them physically to intervene. I would, I think - always tough to say - intervene regardless, but I can't demand that of others. I'm only referring to folks who are more concerned about their pocketbooks or being punished than a 13YO boy.)

I don't - now. If I go around ignoring the pleas for help of children, then I would suddenly need to.

FTFY.

Sack up, people.

Fair enough. My mother and some friends did the urban school thing for quite a well.

The rural/suburban setting is changed though, and you may not recognize it. Schools don't want teachers or anybody else stopping fights unless they're the "proper" authority to do so. Schools are afraid of lawsuits. If I'm the teacher/intervener, I'm afraid of prosecution or harm to self.

Also "fair enough." Again, I wouldn't call it cowardice in this circumstance though.

To your point of "demand that of others," that's a very good discussion as well: for people who feel the driver should have intervened, how far does "should" go? Are we compelling action, under the views of those people, or is it a moral "should?"




Ultimately, it comes back to incentives. We have created incentives to stay a sheep, and disincentives to be a sheep dog. Personally, in such an environment, I don't think it's very "right" of me to judge others for being not helping.

And don't get me wrong, I have NO problem judging others in a myriad of circumstances. Just not this one.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Let's get something straight. The bus driver did not ignore anything. He took action per his training and per what he, personally, felt was safe and right.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Clearly, the only morally right way forward is to Federally mandate Bus Marshalls nation-wide. Obama can bill it as job creation, too!

And if you oppose this measure, you hate children.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Didn't the NRA propose this after Newtown only to be shot down by Obama?

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Depends on his motivation. If he cites a policy or fear of punishment/lawsuit, he's a coward and I'd tell him so.

If he says he was afraid of getting hurt, then I'd try not to judge, but ultimately, I'll either agree with him (5'3" pixie woman) or disagree. My opinion of him would be shaped by this, though I would likely not voice it.

If he came up with some other reason (afraid it would escalate to include more students or something), then I'd base my opinion on that.

I also want to point out that it is not/should not be illegal to be a coward and/or waste of space.

I don't agree with this. Not completely. Yes, he made a call on the radio. Maybe "ignore" isn't the right word, but I'm not sure the better term for a half-step above ignore.

Just as I suspected. Little white ****'s a snitch. He got what he deserved. Snitches get stitches.

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Holy shitsnacks!

School's getting sued.

Well yeah, that **** goes without saying. I don't know what they're getting sued for honestly. Dude woulda got beaten up anyway. Not like the school had anything to do with it.

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Holy shitsnacks!

The school's going to be hard pressed to demonstrate they provided adequate protection for the children in their charge. KNOWN threat, no action.

/troll mode hardcore on

But if you need to after someone three against one, you are just a little pussy who deserves the shooting or incarceration you will undoubtedly receive in the future.

/troll mode nominal on

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

So they should have provided an armed guard for the snitch?

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Holy shitsnacks!

Uh, no. The snitch should have been armed. THIS IS AMERICA.

Or plead for asylum from Putin.

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They were just playing Quidditch. They were the beaters, and he was the snitch. It was all a huge misunderstanding.

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Holy shitsnacks!

I'm all for lowering the handgun age.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Not sure why any of this makes you a coward or waste of space. At this point I have to believe you're intentionally trolling, or wrapping into some sort of machismo ideal. Which is demonstrably.... impractical.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Not directly, but if I espoused such a view, I apologize.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

No, it should have been turned over to police. Or the kid's parents. Or something. Allowing them to all get on the same bus immediately afterward is pretty dumb. A little common sense goes a long way.

What are you talking about? Protecting/helping children, or otherwise helpless people, is pretty much the number 1 responsibility of any adult in a society. Refusing to perform the most basic of tasks diminishes a man's societal worth pretty dramatically IMO. Waste of space? Maybe not completely, but other responsibilities are pretty minor in comparison.

^So being a member of society means that I am required to risk my livelihood, life and health for everyone else in society? Interesting.

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