An overweight 12-year-old boy from Sydney’s western suburbs became an international sensation this week, when a video of him lashing out at a school bully went ‘viral’ online.
The boy, known only as ‘Casey’, is the unwitting star of the clip that was filmed on a mobile phone in the grounds of Chifley College’s Dunheved campus, north of St Marys.
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Casey is seen backed up against a wall, while a smaller bully punches him and taunts him until Casey snaps, picking up his tormentor and throwing him on the ground.
Another boy filmed the attack and uploaded it onto the internet. It has since been viewed by millions of people and has appeared on chat shows and news broadcasts all over the world.
Related: A parent’s guide to bullying
Casey, who has reportedly been suffering at the hands of bullies for years, has been branded a hero, while the bully has become a laughing stock. Both boys have been suspended from school for four days.
While many people find this incident funny, it also highlights some alarming points:
That bullying is still happening in 2011;
That kids are videoing it;
That the video was uploaded onto the internet;
That millions of people are watching that video online;
That it went on to be shown in news broadcasts in the UK and US;
That the child who fought back, injuring his tormentor, has been hailed as a hero with Facebook tribute pages in his honour;
That the school did nothing to stop this child being bullied for years and;
That the school is powerless to stop students bringing mobile phones to school to film such incidents.
Your say: Which of these do you find most disturbing?
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