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Original poster

I hate the phrase 'political correctness gone mad' but this is plain daft

38 replies

edam · 07/04/2006 08:11

A ten year old boy is being prosecuted for calling another boy racist names; story \link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4886014.stm\here}

Anyone think this is an appropriate way to treat a ten year old? Or a good use of court time? Because I'd really like to know how it can be justified...

OP posts:
batters · 07/04/2006 13:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blandmum · 07/04/2006 14:11

A few tear ago we had a case in school where two boys, aged 13 and 14, deliberatly set upon another lad, beat him up and broke his nose. It was totaly unprovoked and was done 'for a laugh'. One boy was permanently excluded the other for 14 days.

If this had happened outside a school it would have been actual bodily harm.

While I feel this case may be heavy handed we are in danger of raising a generation of children who do not feel that the rules apply to them, and that they are effectivly 'above' punishment. I don't think this makes for a healthy society.

quanglewangle · 07/04/2006 14:23

Yes, but aren't schools undermining their authority by bringing the police in? They are seen to be incapable of dealing with the situation.
Physical violence is quite a different matter as there is danger to the staff, but verbal abuse, however nasty, poses no physical threat and ought to be dealt with in school.

Blandmum · 07/04/2006 14:29

I would have thought so too. That said, if they had repeatedly tried to sanction the child and got no-where, I suppose that they were running out of ideas.

You only have to read threads on MN to see how upsetting it can be to the child, and also to the reat of the family if this sort of thing isn't sorted.

Though one would assume that getting the local bobby to drop in to the kids house and point out the error of his ways in a very firm manner, might have been the way to go.

We have asked the firefighters to 'drop in' on kids who have set off firealarms in school to point out to them that they are risking other peoples lives, and basicaly to shame them into not doing it again. Works very well in general.

Sometimes kids do need and outside agency to brink them (and sometimes their parents too) up short.

Caligula · 07/04/2006 20:26

Blu, I don't believe racism is the issue here. Bullying and how schools deal with it is and whether the criminal justice system is the correct place to deal with a ten year old's name-calling.

In the case MB describes, i'd say that in that situation, court is where those boys should have been, irrespective of whether the attack is in school or out. But for name-calling at the age of 10? No-one's going to convince me the issue is racism.

Caligula · 07/04/2006 20:26

Unless of course, other facts come to light!!

monkeytrousers · 07/04/2006 22:35

Hurrah for Blu, I agree. PC gets a lot of bad press when all it is essentially is just thinking about what you say before you say it. No one has anything to worry about with that. Right-wingers don't like that because they don't care about upsetting people with what they say. Eggs an omelettes and all that. Mad rationalisations.

monkeytrousers · 07/04/2006 22:38

I also think however that the school should think very carefully before criminalising someone of such a young age. We don't know all the facts though. It isn't a light action and there must have been much hand wringing beforehand.

monkeytrousers · 07/04/2006 22:45

Sorry, doing my usual trick and catching up progressively. I think, for all the press jump on these 'PC madness' cases, we have to assume that the cases are extreme even if they do involve children..think of Venables and Thomson for instance..you can't legislate for such disturbed children and if action needs to be taken it needs to be taken. I'm also confused by the right wing/conservative take on PC'ness. While blasting all thing PC didn't Michael Howard actually invoke it with his complaint about the Labour pig posters? PC'ness is a fundamentally humanitarian action and as such I'm all for it.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 07/04/2006 22:57

I certainly agree that its unproductive. I also think that there is more to this than has been reported.

What i do wonder, is that since the CPS get final veto on what does and doesnt go to court, and their apparent 'tendency' to not progress certain types of cases due to conviction statistics, why they bothered to run with this one?

monkeytrousers · 07/04/2006 23:03

Hmm, good point VVV

UCM · 07/04/2006 23:04

Blu, I do not agree with you on this. These are 10 year old boys in a playground. They DO not know what they are saying, probably heard it around parents etc.

This case is an absolute rubbish. Is the Mum in question trying to claim compensation? We will possibly find out that this is the reason for this ever coming to court!!!

UCM · 07/04/2006 23:08

Am going to seriously point my DS towards being a solicitor as he will never be poor, even if he has to defend someone who is guilty!

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