A Bad Story: Bullying Among Boys

Questo appunto di Inglese tratta del tema del bullismo tra gli adolescenti e racconta la triste e brutta storia di Michael, un ragazzo di quindici anni che, per un videogioco, è stato bruciato da un suo compagno, Matthew. La storia fa riflettere sulle conseguenze delle nostre azioni.

The beginning of Matthew’s bad story

Lately, the news has been full of stories of bullying and conflict between teenagers. On October 15, 2009, the news reported the story of Michael, the 15-year-old Florida who was burned by bullies. It all started with a simple video game exchange between two guys: Michael and Matthew. The two, we do not know if it was friends or not, met one day to exchange a video game, Matthew had lent it to Michael, or so Michael believed. The two 15-year-olds meet and the exchange takes place. At one point, however, Matthew asks Michael for 40 pounds for the game, but Michael did not take them with him, because he believed the boy was just playing a game. From this moment on, tensions between the two increase.

The revenge of Matthew

Michael doesn’t have the money to pay Matthew, so he leaves without paying. Matthew, who is a bad, vengeful boy, thinks about how to make Michael pay for the money. Michael’s father has a very nice bike worth 500 pounds. Matthew, immediately, thinks that the best revenge is to steal the bike of Michael’s father, so he will do a wrong to both the boy and his family. Here he goes to steal the bike. Michael’s father immediately reports the theft and the police track down Matthew and take him to prison, accusing him of theft.

Matthew does not stop

Matthew, once he gets out of prison because he’s a minor, he’s blinded by the rage of what Michael put him through. His revenge this time must be even more violent because he decided to give a good lesson to Michael. With some of his friends, as bad as he is, Matthew starts searching for Michael’s house, and finds it. In an apartment building, Michael is swimming in the pool, quiet and serene, when he sees Matthew and his gang of friends arriving, who do not seem to have good intentions. After various threats and violence, Michael is blocked by the gang of children, is sprinkled with alcohol all over his body and with a lighter is set on fire. Michael fortunately managed to have a clear head enough to think that he could only save himself by jumping into the pool to extinguish the flames, which in the meantime were rising throughout his body.

The consequences

Michael managed to save his life thanks to his intelligence, but after this episode, his body remained burned for 65%, a very high percentage for a fifteen-year-old boy who has yet to grow up and live his life. Michael will be scarred for life and every time he looks in the mirror he can not remember the terrible afternoon in which his companion, for revenge and for a stupid video game, was going to kill him without scruples. However, Michael will also remember that in life you must always think before you act and remember to be kind and loving towards everyone. The five boys were charged with aggravated assault, and Matthew, who used the lighter, was charged with attempted second-degree murder. Think about how that situation could have been avoided through the figure of a peacemaker.

Bullying is a problem of our science. How can we think of solving it?

Bullying is today a very serious problem that plagues our society. Kids, through social networks and the violence that comes out of video games are increasingly accustomed to scenes of violent actions against others. This habit acts on the growing minds of boys as a kind of justification to act in this way. The role of parents and schools is very important to sensitize children to act consciously, but unfortunately, reprimands do not always serve, indeed, sometimes worsen the situation. If children feel oppressed and controlled by their parents or school, this can encourage even more violent and unexpected attitudes. It would be necessary to equip all the schools of the world with professional figures, capable and competent in the field of bullying: the peacekeepers. They are those people who wander around the classrooms and corridors, who talk to children and parents, who try to understand the problems of adolescence and to "put out the fire" of violence while you are in time. This way, the Peacekeepers can prevent incidents like Michael’s never happening again.
Per ulteriori approfondimenti sul bullismo vedi qua.