I heard about this today on the radio, then saw the kid who was beaten tonight on Greta.
School Bus Video Shows Beating of 10-Year-Old Boy in Michigan
Quote:
NEW BALTIMORE, Mich. — Videotape shows a 10-year-old boy being repeatedly punched by two others on a school bus while the driver continued her route without stopping, the child's father said Monday.
The videotape from a camera on the bus shows two boys taunting and teasing Chester Gala on their way home from New Baltimore Middle School, 30 miles north of Detroit, earlier this month. The tape was shown Monday on NBC's "Today."
After finger pointing and shoving, one of the boys stood up and punched Chester repeatedly. Despite the altercation, the driver continued her route without stopping, the boy's father, Eric Gala, said on "Today."
"I want the whole world to see this tape. I want every parent to realize that when you put your child on the bus, there is a concern for their safety," he said.
Representatives of the school district and the Macomb County prosecutor's office did not immediately return calls seeking comment Monday.
The identities of the boys beating Gala's son were not available and there was no indication if any charges would be filed.
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The kid who was beaten had skipped two grades in school and attends classes with kids who are 2-4 years older than him. They said on Greta that the two have been formally charged, but nothing will really come of it.
I skipped 2nd grade and was beaten by older kids pretty regularly until middle school. They would usually gang up on me 3 or 4 at a time and they always got me after school. Most of the kids who beat me were in my grade or the one above me, but there was one jr. high kid who took part in it, too (I've never known why). I don't remember ever telling my parents because I was too embarrassed that I was getting my butt kicked. However, I do remember telling my sister's boyfriend, though (he was in high school), and he beat the ever-loving shit out of the jr. high kid. He was never a problem again, but the rest of them kept going at it.
I never knew why they did it, and I never knew why they stopped. I turned out fairly well adjusted, and all the way through jr. high and high school I was a popular kid who was friends with just about everybody.
When I watched the video on the news tonight, I was struck by the kids sitting around the beating who just looked out the window as if nothing was happening. For the first time in 35 years, I started remembering how many kids used to walk right past my beatings and just kept going. They never cheered them on and they never tried to stop it. They just kept going as if nothing was happening.
Weird memories, tonight. Maybe I oughta sue somebody....
