Art Teacher Beaten on MySpace

An interesting question. I don't know what punishment the attacker has received, but I don't think that the onlookers should be punished "as severely." They should, however, definitely be punished - and not just a slap on the wrist. It is amazing to me that not a single student would come to the teacher's defense - or at least slip out to get help.

I was a teacher for one year. Attitude and ingratitude are to be expected - but, to have to fear for your own safety for such a low-paying gig from the very people that you are trying to help brings the word "thankless" to a whole new level.

Should the kids who watched be punished just as severely as the kids who beat the teacher?

Probably not as severely - I haven't gone to the links and teenagers are so easily influenced by others. I think this is deplorable. Very upsetting but it's reality. Thank you. Salud.

this is such a disturbing story!!! i definitely think the attacker should have been punished more severely than just a suspension though! that's technically assault!!! i suppose in the term of legality, that would mean that the onlookers and the one posting the images on MySpace would be accomplices . . . meaning they should be punished by law as well for not doing the right thing and turning this kid in! I think by them (the law and school) being so lax on these kids, it is just leaving it open for them to think this kind of behavior is okay and won't get them punished . . . they are in essense making hardened criminals by not taking the proper actions! I'm sure that if that kid were older, he or she would be behind bars right now! UGH! Sorry to go off on a rant! I heard about these stories and it just makes me so mad!

Once again ... truth is stranger than fiction ... how low do we have to go?

YA know my mom would have Beat the fire out of me had I been the one watching and decided not to help.

She would of told the authorities to lock me up had I been the attacker.


Yes I think the on lookers should be punished, obviously not as bad as the attacker, but yeah they need to know that that kind of behavior will not be tolerated. No matter if they did anything but sit in a chair..It is ridiculous to me that kids are so disrespectful these days and think they are grown when they are still wet behind the ears.

Thanks for the link. Some children these days are out of control and its important for people to learn how to deal with these type of things PROPERLY.

how could criminal charges NOT be given to the offenders and the recorders/posters of the footage? It is a crime, straight forward. It sounds to me like this school district simply doesn't stand up to the public/parents and students. Amazing.

This is another example of how negative and brutal our nation is becoming. All we do is let our children play violent video games, watch violent movies, and allow Hollywood to promote these actions. It is a protected by the 1st amendment which would of never been wrote the way it was if our founders new the future of our great nation. Our schools are being pushed so far away from discipline it is almost impossible to discipline students these days. No corporal punishment, no long term suspensions, allowing people over the age of 19 to attend public schools, and so on and so on. We see simple things being blown out of proportion while severe incidents are ignored because school staff are afraid of retaliation. I think it is time we as a nation say enough is enough to all the ignorant stuff that can hide behind the 1st amendment and make people and corporations be held accountable for their actions. Allowing all these websites to publish and promote this garbage is taking our nation the opposite direction we need to be. Our media only promotes negative news while positive news is hardly ever seen. We have become a nation of angry, fast paced, bitter, self centered, and you name it negative people. When it is all said and done we wonder why our youth are so violent and angry these days, and it all comes down to is that is all they see. Sorry for the rant I just hate seeing things happen like this and our nation wants to know why and the answer is right in front of our face, but we are just to damn stubborn to give up a little freedom to better our nation. Mostly we need to make people accountable for their actions.

Wow...excellent comments! Thank you!
Incidents like these about attackers vs. onlookers do bring a whole new meaning to the saying: "The only thing required for evil to triumph is for good men [and women!] to do nothing."