According to the Cambridge Dictionary Online, “pummel” means “to hit someone or something repeatedly, especially with your fists.”
The father did not hit or punch the boy even once, let alone repeatedly. All he did was pull his hair and shove him. I’m not saying it’s right for an adult to treat a child like that, I’m just saying that it was a pretty mild punishment, and the bully deserved worse. What parent wouldn’t want to pull hair (or worse) if someone was bullying their kid?
And while we are defining things, Wikipedia says, “Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person, physically or mentally” (emphasis added). This bully was repeatedly hurting another boy. Bullying is a chronic problem, one that the school and bus driver did not address. Of course the boy’s father was upset. Not only had his son been mistreated in the past, this was an ongoing problem, and he had to do something to prevent his son from continuing to be hurt in the future. In defense of his son, he decided to take action. Yes, he behaved too aggressively. But since his actions were (1) pretty minor, and (2) in defense of his son’s well-being, I think the father should be declared not guilty of the child abuse charges he now faces. He’s been in jail since last Friday. Okay, that’s punishment enough. Drop the charges.
Did anyone punish the bully? There’s no mention of it in the article. But maybe he learned a lesson: What goes around comes around. Personally, I’m glad this dad created some consequences for a bully. If bullies keep getting away with this kind of behavior, they will grow up to be real criminals, who really assault people (not just pull someone’s hair). If anything, this dad did a favor to the bully. He certainly did what the school failed to do. I’m proud of him for standing up for his son.
If you are proud, too, forward this post to a friend.
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