A Hypothetical Question About The Proposed Bullying Law: Part I

The following is hypothetical.

Let’s say that a young lady in my neighborhood “came out” as a lesbian.

And that a key part of her “coming out” as a lesbian was, what the heck, the music of Lady Gaga.  Her Lady Gaga CD (I know, kids don’t buy CDs – let’s say it was a gift from her parents) was a key part of her figuring out her identity, and thus very important to her, personally.

Not judging [1].  Just positing.

Then – utterly hypothetically [2] – let’s say that I stole that CD from her.  Because I – again, very very hypothetically – want to mock and taunt gay people [3].  And I very explicitly carried out that mocking and taunting to shame, harass and ridicule her for being gay,because I just don’t like gay people, and want to make her life miserable.

Let’s say that the young lady went to the media – or bloggers, anyway – to try to get the CD back.  And I responded by arranging an elaborate ceremony to not only destroy the CD, but do so in a way that mocked the girl’s anguish and lampooned the stereotypes of gay, lesbian, and Gaga culture.

Under the various “bullying” laws being proposed in Minnesota and the federal level, would this be bullying?  And I mean the incident as a whole, without parsing out its individual components.

Would I be “bullying” the girl?

Please vote.

UPDATE:  And if you support the various bits of bullying legislation, please support the case that this is bullying in the comment section.

By the way, I voted “yes”.

Is the story above an example of bullying?
Yes
No
I Don’t Know
Free polls from Pollhost.com

 

Yes, there’s a follow-up.  Tomorrow.

[1] Really.  Truly not.  I will bet that I’ve put more on the line against the bullying of gays than most of you “progressives” out there.  Just saying.

[2] Still hypothetical.

[3] Yep, still utterly fictional.  I’m making sure I say this because some of my critics, many of whom are both deeply dim and utterly depraved, will take it very literally.

15 thoughts on “A Hypothetical Question About The Proposed Bullying Law: Part I

  1. Look, I know your poll presumes I live in Michelle Bachmann’s world, where every issue has easy answers 🙂 but the only part that’s bullying is the part that’s directed specifically at the girl. Taking the CD (without more) is just theft.

  2. Sure, it’s reprehensible to behave that way! So we HAVE TO legislate that behavior away. /sarc

    Come on! There’s this thing called free speech involved. If you view what the “bully” did as wrong, mock them, insult them, and make them realize what they did was wrong. Criminalizing boorishness is pretty damn dumb.

  3. The federal government getting involved in local school issues is really asking for trouble.

    If schools have to have pro-gay education to deal with anti-gay bullying, then I assume they will have pro-Republican education to deal with anti-Republican bullying.

  4. And in true SITD fashion, I would guess there is a Twilight Zone style twist to the story being revealed tomorrow. Perhaps the CD is titled “To Serve Man”.

  5. The mere suggestion that homosexuality is not normal is bullying. The mandatory sensitivity training will include a hands-on workshop.

  6. Let me be clear on a couple of things:

    1) The question is “Is the act I’m describing an act of bullying – as in, one individual bullying another?” Not “what are the broad parameters of bullying”, or “what do you think about the left criminalizing bullying”. Those are separate questions. Valid, but separate.

    2) I want feedback from everyone – but especially from liberals. And I specifically request their comments. In light of this I will make liberals a “protected class” for purposes of this thread. No heckling the lefties. (This blog is a private enterprise, so I can do that without fear of contradiction). I’ll enforce this gently but fairly insistently.

  7. 1) The question is “Is the act I’m describing an act of bullying – as in, one individual bullying another?” Not “what are the broad parameters of bullying”, or “what do you think about the left criminalizing bullying”. Those are separate questions. Valid, but separate.

    The questions seem to be inextricable to me, which makes it difficult to answer. As I understood the term, especially growing up, it would be bullying.

  8. Hmmm . I’m trying to choose between these two bumper stickers for the Terry-mobile:
    “Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold Were the Real Victims!”
    and
    “Happy Slapping is not a Crime!”.

  9. “Feeling pretty safe and self-confident on this site, are we K-Rod?”
    Well, Macbee, I’m a classical liberal so I should, well, at least on this thread.
    As Mitch said: “In light of this I will make liberals a “protected class” for purposes of this thread.”
    8)

  10. Feeling pretty safe and self-confident on this site, are we K-Rod?
    K-Rod, have you been using feminine hygiene spray again? You look so safe and self confident today.

  11. Pingback: A Hypothetical Question About The Proposed Bullying Law: Part II | Shot in the Dark

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.