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Original poster

to wonder about bystanders ( eg during assault on school girl in Ashford)

342 replies

whatchaos · 08/02/2023 13:24

to wonder about the ethics of being a bystander, and wonder what the bystanders were doing during the appalling assault in Ashford (Surrey) when a schoolgirl was beaten up, the awful video shows a grown woman encouraging primary aged kids to get involved...but there are any number of bystanders including a man in a car, the school principal (at the end) and any number of other school kids including much older looking boys. Wondering if anyone here would have tried to intervene to stop the fight or encouraged their children to intervene in cases like this?

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/girl-10-among-five-arrested-29158603

OP posts:
ShinyHappyTits · 10/02/2023 13:58

All those people blaming the head for not breaking it up have forgotten Phillip Lawrence.

CohenTree · 10/02/2023 14:02

As a passer by you wouldn't necessarily know what's going on. You might register it as kids messing around and think no more of it.

CohenTree · 10/02/2023 14:05

Are the police charging the adults who apparently instigated this?

NotTerfNorCis · 10/02/2023 14:15

Two adults and three minors have been arrested. One girl is on the run.

Greenshake · 10/02/2023 14:20

CohenTree · 10/02/2023 14:02

As a passer by you wouldn't necessarily know what's going on. You might register it as kids messing around and think no more of it.

You obviously haven’t seen the video.

cata09x · 10/02/2023 15:09

@WhatTrophy exactly what I've been thinking!

Floofyduffypuddy · 10/02/2023 15:43

The school has a duty of care to the pupils and this started in school.

Itchy I totally agree bullying of any kind needs to be made a red line and dealt with but how can you stop bullying when after that video shows you are tyring to teach morals to children raised in an entirely different way?

JanusTheFirst · 10/02/2023 16:36

ItchySnoof · 10/02/2023 12:43

The problem is that kids who bully in school aren't held accountable IN school, so act like this OUTSIDE of school and the police to bugger all about it meaning the nasty little shits get away with it. So if it is something that involves pupils from the school then the teachers do need to get their shit together and punish these violent idiots. If it were me and a group of colleagues kicking the shit out of someone from work (or ANYONE for that matter, work colleague or not) we decided to disliked we would be sacked and in front of a judge before you could blink.

I don't give a fuck if they are kids. "They're just kids" flies out the window if they are adult enough to kick the utter crap out of someone (or to steal or rape/assault deal drugs and whatever else happens in schools that the teachers and police seemingly can't be bothered to tackle). It's about time bullying, assault, EVERYTHING that's against the was taken as seriously in schools as it is in workplaces, in the street and in the rest of the fucking country. Schools and the kids in them shouldn't be immune to law.

Show quote history

If the police won't act what on earth do you think teachers can do?

The police have the law behind them - teachers don't. It's practically impossible to expel children these days. I'm sure they would be grateful for your solutions.

Floofyduffypuddy · 10/02/2023 17:20

I have said earlier that I think the head did the correct thing in being calm.
He was entering a dangerous mob.

The school wasn't that close either to where this happened.

However with the head he can be calm but firm.
What I think leads me to believe he didn't quite understand what went on was the fact the girl was allowed to walk off.

He didn't obviously see the road part so I'm. Wondering did they ask questions at the scene? Did he understand the gravity of what went on?

MacDoodleofredbrookcounty · 10/02/2023 17:40

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Rafferty10 · 10/02/2023 17:43

Christ, l have just watched this horrifying assault, and am even more disgusted by the adults who just stood and watched, and the Head wandering up like it was nothing to do with him.

WTF is WRONG with people, l would have intervened.

cata09x · 10/02/2023 17:46

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Floofyduffypuddy · 10/02/2023 17:58

The media is also completely ignoring the disgusting disablist language the woman was calling the black girl.

Floofyduffypuddy · 10/02/2023 17:59

Cata I think we had a clear spotlight on what some travelling families do from that video and why there could be trouble in school.

DeeCeeCherry · 10/02/2023 18:00

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PinkSparklyPussyCat · 10/02/2023 18:02

@cata09x, do you live in the area or the surrounding area? I'm presuming not as otherwise you'd know what the travelling community in those places are like.

cata09x · 10/02/2023 18:06

There's videos of the girl who was attacked doing the exact same thing to a different girl the week before?😂 so I don't quite see how she's all innocent in the whole thing. No one deserves to be beaten up like that and the fact people stood by and watched is disgraceful but that doesn't change the fact that this happens regularly and she clearly isn't completely innocent. The media is acting as if she was walking along minding her own business and got attacked by people she didn't even know.

as for the head teacher - he handled the situation, once he saw what we going on he came over and stopped it. The media tried to say he "watched" what was happening but that clearly wasn't the case.

MacDoodleofredbrookcounty · 10/02/2023 18:08

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You might be right about the trigger. But nothing excuses such savagery.

It did seem racially motivated though.

I don't know what else to say tbh.

That video where little girls, were encouraged to kick the victim in the face, turned my stomach. Their exposure to such violence made me want to cry.

cata09x · 10/02/2023 18:11

@PinkSparklyPussyCat i am aware of what travelling communities can be like, I haven't once said these particular people in the video were "good" people but these communities also go through racism and all I'm saying is that evidence has shown the girls clearly were provoked possibly even targeted by the girl who was attacked.

I don't think anyone is right here personally as 3+ people vs 1 is never fair and they deserved to be arrested but the other girl should be held accountable for her actions previously also if she has done things wrong herself.

cata09x · 10/02/2023 18:13

@MacDoodleofredbrookcounty I completely agree with you. I couldn't bare to watch the video myself as I personally hate violence especially fighting.

If it wasn't for the girl in the pink tracksuit jumping in by the looks of things the other girl would have actually won at the start anyway.

It probably is racially motivated but others had said the girl was racist towards the travellers so chances are it was both ways (it often is between the two communities as neither seem to get along particularly well with each other).

secular39 · 10/02/2023 18:13

I saw the article and the video.

The girl was black. Enough said.

I wouldn't have been a bystander. I would when whipped those stupid girls.

Flamingo92 · 10/02/2023 18:13

Completely agree with you @cata09x .
Media want this to be another George Floyd moment but it's not.
I think the people thinking this is a case of poor innocent black girl are going to feel very silly soon. Now please don't start flaming me, saying that I agree with what happened.. I certainly do not. But the story is not as clear cut as is being presented right now.

kirinm · 10/02/2023 18:15

IhearyouClemFandango · 08/02/2023 13:38

I like to think I would, my instinct would be to for sure.

Given some of the tensions between different groups in that area I can understand why some might feel nervous.

What tensions? Do you mean racists?

MacDoodleofredbrookcounty · 10/02/2023 18:15

Floofyduffypuddy · 10/02/2023 17:58

The media is also completely ignoring the disgusting disablist language the woman was calling the black girl.

I heard that disgusting savage.

What a disgusting POS.

How are these travellers ruling the roost as evidenced on this post?

Scum bags should be rounded up and not allowed to live as they do!!!

cata09x · 10/02/2023 18:19

@Flamingo92 !! Exactly this.