Don't you realize that I could have killed you ten times by now your monkey boy bodyguards notwithstanding... anonymous.
The hate-filled words heading this essay are from a bullying letter sent to an African-American student leader at Pennsylvania State University, La Keisha Wolf. Bullies thrive here in America. More often than not, the words of racist bullies turn, either directly or indirectly, into hate crimes.
For women, men and children of colour, death as a result of such hatred is as common today as it was 50 years ago. Recently, the bodies of two black men were discovered near State College, Pennsylvania. There is a lot of hate in America.
Bullying is a problem that has been in a lot of ways ignored for quite a while, according to Tonja Nansel, a researcher for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. That is the same thing I have been telling people ever since I first encountered it as an elementary school student more than 50 years ago.
In reaction to a plethora of school shootings in the United States, this dehumanising aspect of American life has been getting some long overdue attention. However, the bad news is that many in seats of power cannot see the longstanding effects of bullying and the need to put a stop to it. They have a myopic view of what ails this nation.
For example, a fight was incited by racial hatred at a school here in Walker County, Georgia. A white student allegedly made a racial slur on a school bus and later was approached by several black students about the comment... A brawl erupted, and eight students were suspended, according to a report in the April 18 Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
As a result of that incident, a policy designed to prohibit racial intimidation and disparaging comments was introduced before the school board. It was voted down.
The school's principal, Jon Pike, objected to the proposed policy, complaining that "several community members [here read blacks BAJ] are making this fight stand out.
Board member Mike North (you can be fairly certain that he is a Republican) stated: It is my belief that we have policies in place in Walker County at this time to prevent harassment, regardless of what form it takes.
Logic tells me and it would tell North, too, if his vision was not so myopic that the current policy is not working. As we all can see, it did not prevent the white student's racist slur and subsequent fighting.
The Mike Norths of America are quick to remind us that, for them, things are fine as they are. Via tacit approval, he and his ilk routinely hide their acceptance of verbal bigotry. They often cite the United States Constitution's right to free speech. The question is, how free is one's right to free speech if it disparages a whole race of people?
Georgia has a fighting words law. You can be fairly certain that the n-word is categorically a fighting word for the average African-American person when it is uttered or even inferred by a white racist. According to Esquire magazine (November 1997), African-Americans don't like to be called the n-word. Most white people accept this as a given and there is ample evidence to suggest that it is true. I have been an African-American for at least 58 years, and I can tell you that, for a majority of us, this is true.
If words are used that elicit violence (be that violence in support of, or in opposition to your speech) are you not inciting riot? Is it not illegal to knowingly incite a riot?
The Walker County school board passed up a good opportunity to craft an administrative school policy that would have rejected all harassment with equitable vigour.
The good news is that a bill designed to prevent bullying throughout the state of Colorado was signed into law on May 2, 2001, by Governor Bill Owens. the bill is a reasoned response to the 1999 killings at Columbine High School, goes into effect in August, and requires school districts to adopt policies against bullying. According to the May 3 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, A growing number of schools across the county have adopted similar programs.
I would not be surprised to learn that Mike North and those others on the school board who voted down the anti-intimidation policy will see the Colorado governor as being too sensitive. Alas, they cannot see the vastness of the bully forest for its Constitution trees.
BY BRANDON ASTOR JONES
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns (include your name and full return address on the envelope, or prison authorities may refuse to deliver it). He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G3-77, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA, or email <brandonastorjones@hotmail.com>. Jones is seeking a publisher for his collected prison writings. Please notify him of any possible leads. Visit Jones' web page at <http://www.brandonastorjones.com>.]