by Joanna (JuJuBe)
James Jones is the father of a daughter with cerebral palsy. She had just started middle school, and reported to her father that she was being tormented on the bus by other students. They had hit her, pinched her, taunted her, and thrown condoms at her. So, her father decided that he was not going to allow the bullies to get away with torturing his daughter.
He boarded her school bus one morning, telling his daughter to show him which children were the perpetrators. He then cursed at the students on the bus, and threatened them with bodily harm if the bullying continued. Police were called, Mr. Jones was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing a school function. Originally, charges of assault and false imprisonment were considered, but not pursued. He has since been released on bond, but his daughter was reportedly hospitalized and was on suicide watch due to the bullying, which continued EVEN AFTER the confrontation.
And, in an interview, the boy who was bullying her was smirking. He claimed to have been traumatized by the incident, but he had a grin on his face. And his mother did not hold him the SLIGHTEST BIT responsible. He is a 13 year old boy. He is old enough to know this is NOT how you treat another human being. But, apparently, he never learned that. As in so many cases, the parent had NO PROBLEM with the fact that her child was a bully. She excused his actions and instead portrayed him as an innocent victim.
To me, this man is an example of the kind of man that every child deserves in their life. He was willing to stand up for his daughter and suffer the consequences of his actions. He saw his little girl was hurting, and knew he needed to intervene in any way he could.
This story actually had me in tears. People who have not experienced severe bullying cannot possibly understand what a traumatic experience it is. I am 36 years old, and my life is STILL seriously impacted by the things I went through at the hands of bullies as a child. And, for the most part, there is NO ONE willing to stand up for the victim in these cases. The teachers, administrators, staff, and yes, even the parents, expect children to just "suck it up". They think that kids should be resilient enough and psychologically mature enough to not allow it to impact them.
It is so unrealistic to expect a child to "handle" a situation in which they are being bullied without adult intervention. And for the most part, the faculty and staff at the schools ARE NOT willing to stand up for a bullied child. So, who can the child turn to? All too often, a child will turn all of that pain inward, and begin to develop low self esteem, or participate in self destructive behavior. So, I have to applaud this man who was willing to stand up for his child.
I wish someone had done it for me.
NOTE: You can join a Facebook page for supporters of James Jones. You can also call the DAs office to express your support for this man, and to request that the charges against him be dropped 407-665-4450
