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Bullied boy interview reprehensible: expert
Erik Jensen
March 21, 2011
Comments 124
Bullied boy picked on for years
A 16-year-old boy who controversially fought back against a younger assailant says his problems began as soon as he started high school.
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JUDGING from his face, you could not possibly guess at the trauma of these past eight years. He has a child's eyes; a broad smile, filled out by the gaps between his teeth.
But this is the same boy, 16, who last week retaliated as a schoolyard bully punched at his face; who hurled the smaller boy into the ground, and in doing so became an internet phenomenon. He had been picked on since year two, he said, but he had finally cracked.
''Once I hit, um, high school, one person started it,'' he told Channel Nine last night. ''I had about eight friends. My eight friends ditched me that first year, and then the teasing started from there.''
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The teasing was fairly basic: other children calling him ''fatty'', telling him to lose weight, tripping him, slapping at the back of his head.
At one point, he was pelted with waterbombs. At another he was duct-taped to a pole. ''They put duct tape over my eyes first, dropped me down and then duct-taped me to a pole.''
At his worst, about a year ago, he said he contemplated suicide. ''I just started putting myself down, putting myself down to that level. And then all the crap just kept on piling on.''
Michael Carr-Gregg, an adolescent psychologist and founding member of the National Centre Against Bullying, called the interview reprehensible.
''All this is going to do is put more focus on this kid. I can't see this as a positive - he'll just be further victimised and his life made more difficult,'' Dr Carr-Gregg, who is also the Queensland government's adviser on bullying, said.
''Should this kid deteriorate and possibly harm himself, doesn't that sit squarely on the shoulders of Channel Nine?''
The boy, who this website has chosen not to name, said the support he received online had made him feel ''pretty good''. He did not regret lashing out, even after being suspended. ''All I wanted was it just to stop. So … I just did it.''
His father thought similarly. ''I don't condone the violence - it was a horrific thing to see, two boys fighting in a schoolyard and it ending like that. It is nothing to be proud of, but I'm glad that he stood up for himself.''
Lifeline: 131 114
Sane Australia: 1800 187 263
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Well the bully got what he deserved and good on the kid for slamming him. As for Dr Carr-Gregg what's wrong with allowing this kid to tell his story? Everyone should stand up and tell their bullying stories and this might lead to some effective action being taken to stop this in schools. I thought we had learnt long ago that keeping quiet was not a good thing.
Bob | Southbank - March 21, 2011, 12:32PM
Kids everywhere should take heed to the fact that if you throw the first punch - then expect to get something back harder - I would have done the same thing
ken | south yarra - March 21, 2011, 12:35PM
I can't believe that school only suspended the bullied child - they should have suspended both kids, to show they don't condone violence of any kind. It doesn't matter that the bully was younger.
Veronica - March 21, 2011, 12:31PM
Good on the kid for standing up! When I was little you were taught that bullies didn't like their own medicine, and that rule still stands. The bully forewent his right to physical safety by taking that right away from the victim, and, given the victim is a fair big bigger than he is that was a mistake. After being punched three times the victim has every right to defend himself. Good on him. This is self-defence, pure and simple.
Sow the wind | Sydney - March 21, 2011, 12:31PM
Schools, just like our legal system are protecting the rights of those perpetrating violence against others. The system does NOT provide adequate protection, but is established to minimise noise for our so called government and community leaders. Since we don't have a constitution protecting our individual rights to secure our rights to freedom, and happiness – this violence has no rebuttal, other than flimsy laws and policy, based on outdated public opinion of the 70's.
Where is the government protecting this child's rights? What is needed is an anti-bully commission. The ability to do anonymous submissions against perpetrators of bullying and violence against others at school and the workplace. Three strikes and you have to undergo mandatory rehabilitation. 3 x 3 and mandatory jail term (juvenile or other). Protection of individual rights should be everyone's primary concern during the next election.
FreeAsIam | Melbourne - March 21, 2011, 12:29PM
He should be applauded for standing up for himself instead of sliding down to depression and suicide. He will feel much better for it in the future. You cannot reason with bullies. Sometimes a just war must be fought.
g - March 21, 2011, 12:27PM
Dr Carr-Gregg might be out of touch; picking up a bullying kid above one's head and slamming him on and ground and then receiving internationally fame because of it—this kid will now be untouchable at school!
Max - March 21, 2011, 12:25PM
Where were the teachers in all this poor kid's years of suffering?Were their heads in the sand? Bullying in any form is reprehensible, even though it is commonplace. Everyone has a breaking point and he obviously reached his. All power to him. The ones who should be suspended, not the poor victim who cracked under the pressure. I'm with his dad, glad he stood up for himself.
Langy Cynic | Melbourne - March 21, 2011, 12:24PM
I usually agree with Michael Carr-Gregg, but I don't this time.
I have to admit I didn't see the interview, but from what I can tell this should be very empowering and allow the boy involved to stand up and say enough is enough, rather than lead to more bullying.
I think a lot of that depends on how the parents and teachers handle the situation from here on in too.
David Johnson | Wyndham Vale - March 21, 2011, 12:23PM
This kid is a champion, he did absolutely nothing wrong in his actions.
I do agree with the psychologist, the school/his parents must now ensure that there is no revenge attack or alike.
Cpaino | Sydney, Australia - March 21, 2011, 12:20PM



Aussie bully buster's viral video game debut
Asher Moses
April 6, 2011 - 10:29AM
A screen grab from the Zangief kid video game.
The 16-year-old Australian schoolboy who garnered worldwide fame for laying the smackdown on a bully has joined the Star Wars Kid in the internet hall of fame - and he now stars in no less than two online video games.
On the internet, you're never truly a viral hit until someone has made a video game about you - whether it's Tiger Woods' marital tiff, the George Bush shoe-throwing incident or swine flu.
The Australian schoolboy, who Fairfax has chosen not to name, was dubbed "Zangief" by netizens after the large body-slamming Street Fighter character of the same name.
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A screen grab from the now infamous bully clip that went viral last week.
In one of the games, Zangief Kid: The Game, players take on the role of the schoolboy and beat up bullies, but only after they hit you first. The game even has its own leaderboard where player compete for high scores.
"Bullies, beware. There is a new hero in town. And he's not the captain of the football team," reads a description of the game.
Another game, Super Bully Fighter, puts you in the shoes of the accused bully. But the game is rigged so the player always loses - perhaps a moral lesson to bullies out there.
Someome has even created a fan page for the kid using his real name with the tag line, "a gentle giant who had enough". The page includes a photo gallery with scores of humorous images of the kid that have been created using Photoshop, news articles and several pages of video mashups and remixes.
One image depicts the boy as the Hulk while another portrays him as the "Beverly Hills Ninja". One shows an image of the kid's face with the tagline "He planted his knuckles in my face; I planted him into the concrete".
There are dozens of fake Facebook profiles for the boy and several fan pages, the most popular of which has 229,860 "likes".
This website has chosen not to link to the games or fan sites so as not to reveal the identity of the boy, whose face and identity were plastered all over commercial TV news and in tabloid newspapers.
Child welfare groups and psychologists have warned that such internet fame could come back to haunt the boys later in life, as the entire ordeal can be dredged up via a simple Google search of their names.
In an interview with A Current Affair, the boy, who was suspended from school after the incident, said he had been overwhelmed by support from people after the footage went viral.
"I've never had so much support before. Nobody touches me and teases me anymore," he said.
The accused bully, who was also suspended, told Today Tonight that he was provoked by the larger boy, following the airing of the ACA interview.
