Bullied kid w/ Muscular dystrophy commits suicide

[Kaneman]

This story inspired me to talk to my son about standing up to bullies and I'm posting it to appeal to parents here who have kids that are capable of standing up to bullies. Teach your kids, or have someone else teach your kids, how to fight, how to have confidence and how to stand up for peers that are weaker and may need some sticking up for. Schools are overwhelmed, understaffed and can't be counted on to protect the kids.

You can't stop bullying, you can't stop abusive alcoholic scum from reproducing and creating little monsters. But you can certainly create a culture where bullies fear from immediate and painful consequences...

Now, onto the buzzkill...

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/PsychoMedic/470_bullied_boy2_1109282.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/PsychoMedic/470_bullied_boy_110928.jpg

The father of a young boy with muscular dystrophy who committed suicide after being bullied and robbed said his son was afraid to return to school after the attack.

Eleven-year-old Mitchell Wilson, who suffered from muscular dystrophy, was attacked in November while out on a walk through his Pickering, Ont. neighbourhood.

His face and teeth were smashed into the pavement and an iPhone he had borrowed from his father was stolen.

Wilson was found dead in his bedroom on Sept. 6 – on the morning he was to start a new school year and one day after he was subpoenaed to testify against his alleged attacker.

Craig Wilson said his son felt tormented by bullies at school who picked on him because of disability.

He said his son grew uncharacteristically moody and irritable after the attack and stopped going on walks that doctors had said would help stave off the effects of muscular dystrophy.

"Subsequent to the beating that he took, he just lost that spark you see in a kid's eye. He had huge anxiety attacks about going outside and going for his walks and going to school by himself," Craig Wilson told CTV Canada AM on Thursday.

"He was OK when he was with someone, but being alone was not a good thing for him. His vulnerability was really brought to the surface, and how easily he could be taken advantage of physically."

A court appearance by a 12-year-old boy accused of bullying Mitchell was delayed on Wednesday after the Crown said it wasn't ready to proceed so soon after the victim's suicide.

With no one to testify at the trial, it appeared the charge of assault would be dropped. The delay will now give the Crown consider other ways to enter Wilson's evidence onto the record.

A new trial date has been set for Monday, Nov. 21.

Wilson said his son was in shock for days after the attack. When he finally came to understand what had happened he was embarrassed, and told his father he was ashamed he hadn't been able to defend himself against his attacker.

"He came to me and said, ‘I couldn't do anything to stop him, dad. I wanted to but I couldn't do anything,'" Wilson said. "He was saying sorry to me."

Days before his son's death, Wilson spoke with him about the upcoming school year. Mitchell assured his father he was ready to "give it a go" and said he would have no trouble making new friends. But Wilson says he now believes his son had no intention to return to school.

"I think he had sort of already come to peace with it, days before or weeks before. I don't know. But it's hard to think of it," he said.

------------
The bullying that her grandson suffered at his school, Westcreek Public School in Pickering, led the boy to lose his will to live, his grandmother said, breaking her silence on the case on Wednesday.

"He said to me, 'Mimi, my biggest issue is that I can't protect myself, and if a man cannot protect himself, then he is not a man,'" recalled Ms. Wilson.

"At the cottage in July, he said, 'If I have to go back to that school, I'll kill myself.'"

The last time she saw her grandson was the Saturday of Labour Day Weekend.

"He called me up and asked me to come over for a barbecue," she recalls. "We feel he had a plan. It was the kind of thing you do when you are leaving this planet."

At her grandson's house, she said, she suggested taking the dog for a walk. "Craig, my son, said, 'We can't find the leash.' And then in the morning, he found the leash, wrapped around Mitch's neck, holding the plastic bag in place."




With the help of his stepmother, he made huge progress, his grandmother recalled.

"She knocked 80 pounds off him," Ms. Wilson said. "The kid started to get more active, he went to karate, he went for a walk six times a day, until he got jumped by those two boys."

Last November, Mitch walked a few blocks from his home one evening and noticed two boys following him. He called his stepmother, Tiffany Usher, who rushed to the scene in her car, and found her stepson lying down, where the boys had pushed him, smashing his face into the sidewalk.

"I chased down these youngsters and got back the phone," Ms. Usher said Wednesday, in a brief interview. She declined to say more, noting that, with Mitch gone, she is the key Crown witness in its case against the boy.

Ms. Wilson, the grandmother, recalled that after that assault, her grandson lost his self-confidence; once, when his stepmother drove him to school, he stood banging his head into the van, yelling, "Help me!"




Ms. Wilson said the Wilson family has asked the Crown to request that Mitch's assailant, who cannot be named because he is a youth, be removed from the care of his mother, and placed with a foster family.

"My family feel that he's also a victim," Ms. Wilson

said. "He's a lost kid. He hasn't been loved, hasn't been cared for. We don't want to be a lynch squad. We want him to do community work with disabled people.

All we are trying to do is help this kid understand that his life is going to be zip if he keeps on the road he is on."

[Apoc]

So sad :(

[Riceaholic]

That's awful beyond words...

[Particle Man]

:(

[jtemple]

My son is 4 and we just started taking him to Tae Kwon Do classes. It's not my martial art of choice, but it's about all you can get around here for kids his age.

We have tried all the regular sports on him. Basketball, tee ball, soccer, hockey, etc. None of them ever really got his attention. The only thing he looked forward to at those sports was the snacks after the game. He's just like me in that aspect; never really took to organized team sports.

He loves Tae Kwon Do. He's eating that shit up. He asks if he can go, even when it's not a scheduled class day, and he's so proud when he gets a stripe for his belt, or moves up to the next belt color.

It's making a huge difference in his attention span, and his ability to stay on task. The benefits are far greater than physical prowess and it shows everywhere; not just in Tae Kwon Do class.

Hopefully, he sticks to it. It'll come in handy when he gets older.

[Kaneman]

My son is 4 and we just started taking him to Tae Kwon Do classes. It's not my martial art of choice, but it's about all you can get around here for kids his age.

We have tried all the regular sports on him. Basketball, tee ball, soccer, hockey, etc. None of them ever really got his attention. The only thing he looked forward to at those sports was the snacks after the game. He's just like me in that aspect; never really took to organized team sports.

He loves Tae Kwon Do. He's eating that shit up. He asks if he can go, even when it's not a scheduled class day, and he's so proud when he gets a stripe for his belt, or moves up to the next belt color.

It's making a huge difference in his attention span, and his ability to stay on task. The benefits are far greater than physical prowess and it shows everywhere; not just in Tae Kwon Do class.

Hopefully, he sticks to it. It'll come in handy when he gets older.

Same with my son man, its awesome when they're passionate about martial arts!! Stick with the TKD for now and then when its available in your area you can move him up to a more effective art. TKD is a great base for lil' martial artists though. Also, if he gets a chance to compete do that too, it is MUCH better preparation for self defense than in-class training. Tournament competition has made my son want to do strength and conditioning to improve his performance, which is super cool to me.

Shameless video time, my son is in the red and black.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkiT2G2WxKA

[Particle Man]

Nothing wrong with a love Martial Arts :)

[tommymac]

I am def planning on getting the lil guy into martial arts as well, for several reasons including soem of the stuff listed above.

Did you guys see the other articles where the kid killed himsaelf for being gay? there was a school dance a week or 3 after and felt it was good for his sister to go and soem dipshits were chanting that theyre glad hes dead.

[jtemple]

Same with my son man, its awesome when they're passionate about martial arts!! Stick with the TKD for now and then when its available in your area you can move him up to a more effective art. TKD is a great base for lil' martial artists though. Also, if he gets a chance to compete do that too, it is MUCH better preparation for self defense than in-class training. Tournament competition has made my son want to do strength and conditioning to improve his performance, which is super cool to me.

Shameless video time, my son is in the red and black.My grandmother was a Judo instructor into her 70s. She was a 4th degree black belt (Yodan). One of my big regrets is not getting into it under her instruction when I was a kid.

BJJ is another one I'd like.

Now, I'm damn near 40, and I'm afraid that martial arts training would interfere with my weight training too much. Not to mention time, I'm spread thin enough as it is.

[VatorMan]

Really sad story.

[Kaneman]

I'm afraid that martial arts training would interfere with my weight training too much.

*snicker*

[101lifts2]

It's sad...

These kids need the teachings of the New Testament!

Or marital arts. lol

[VatorMan]

It's sad...

These kids need the teachings of the New Testament!

Or marital arts. lol

Marital arts ? I could use some of those. Leg sweep the wife right before a track day. :rockwoot:

[Particle Man]

*snicker*

Cut that out :lol:

[fatbuckRTO]

Smashed his face and teeth on the pavement, then stole his dad's iPhone?

Maybe someone could clarify for me, at what point does it stop being "bullying" and start being "assault and robbery?"

According to the article, the emotional distress didn't really start until after the attack that happened away from the school grounds. I'm sure the bullying didn't help (who the hell bullies a disabled kid?), but this sounds less like a problem of bullying and more like a problem of acts that are already well-established as criminal. An iPhone is not lunch money.

[azoomm]

Smashed his face and teeth on the pavement, then stole his dad's iPhone?

Maybe someone could clarify for me, at what point does it stop being "bullying" and start being "assault and robbery?"

According to the article, the emotional distress didn't really start until after the attack that happened away from the school grounds. I'm sure the bullying didn't help (who the hell bullies a disabled kid?), but this sounds less like a problem of bullying and more like a problem of acts that are already well-established as criminal. An iPhone is not lunch money.

This is what I was thinking.

It's a horrible situation. Something that no parent should EVER have to deal with.

[Homeslice]

Ugh............

Between the ages of 10 and 15, the majority of kids are ruthless (and dare say worthless).

[Flexin]

I found out that there is a kid in my sons class that likes to get on peoples nerves. He likes to pick at other kids and bugs them. I hear he is doing it to my son and now that my daughter is there he has been pulling her hair on the bus.

My wife told me this and said she talked to the kids. F that. I had a talk with them. First of all I'm surprised that my daughter hasn't done anything since she is a tough little girl and quick to swing. I told her that she doesn't let anyone pull her hair. I also told my son that he doesn't need to put up with anyone budding him and that he is to stick up for his sister.

We told both of them they are not allowed to pick on people or start fights, but they will NEVER get in trouble for sticking up for themselves.

My son started Tae Kwon Do and my daughter who is in Ballet wants to take it as well. We have to try to get her into it.

James

[Homeslice]

Same with my son man, its awesome when they're passionate about martial arts!! Stick with the TKD for now and then when its available in your area you can move him up to a more effective art.

Just curious what you mean by more effective?

Granted, TKD is rather "rigid" in its style, but its principles are sound.

For whatever martial art one person thinks is the best, someone's always going to trump it with something else. Personally, I say the quality of the teacher & the student body is more important than which martial art it is.

[Tmall]

Just curious what you mean by more effective?

Granted, TKD is rather "rigid" in its style, but its principles are sound.

For whatever martial art one person thinks is the best, someone's always going to trump it with something else. Personally, I say the quality of the teacher & the student body is more important than which martial art it is.

You ever see a TKD black belt get into a fight?

I have, it's quite funny to see them touching their foot gently to somebody's face to score a "point" as opposed to trying to take their head off, which is kind of the idea of a fight.

Then, after he actually got hit once he started with the "ENOUGH! I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT!"

I was very very disappointed. I thought for sure it would be a one sided fight, with the black belt trouncing the other guy. It just further reinforced to me that if you don't have "it" fighting/self defense just isn't for you.

[OneSickPsycho]

You ever see a TKD black belt get into a fight?

I have, it's quite funny to see them touching their foot gently to somebody's face to score a "point" as opposed to trying to take their head off, which is kind of the idea of a fight.

Then, after he actually got hit once he started with the "ENOUGH! I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT!"

I was very very disappointed. I thought for sure it would be a one sided fight, with the black belt trouncing the other guy. It just further reinforced to me that if you don't have "it" fighting/self defense just isn't for you.

Funny... the one time I saw it (not sure that the guy was a BB), the TKD guy bounced around and made the other guy look stupid for a couple of seconds, then dropped him with a roundhouse to the body... picked up his sunglasses off the ground, turned around, and walked away as the guy on the ground continued to talk shit...

[jtemple]

I always viewed TKD as more of a showmanship art. There's value to it, no doubt. My son is learning discipline, focus, balance and flexibility. Plus, he just plain loves doing it.

Most street fights end up on the ground, not dancing around each other throwing punches and kicks. Grappling arts get my vote.

As stated in the above two TKD examples, there's still something inside you that makes you willing to rip the other guy's head off. If you don't have that, no martial art is going to give you the advantage over someone that does.

[azoomm]

I always viewed TKD as more of a showmanship art. There's value to it, no doubt. My son is learning discipline, focus, balance and flexibility. Plus, he just plain loves doing it.

Most street fights end up on the ground, not dancing around each other throwing punches and kicks. Grappling arts get my vote.

As stated in the above two TKD examples, there's still something inside you that makes you willing to rip the other guy's head off. If you don't have that, no martial art is going to give you the advantage over someone that does.

The "public" believes a black belt makes you a fighting bad-ass.

Yet another reason why I don't like the "public."

[Sixxxxer]

Horrible to read...Tragic and saddened that the world has turned into such a ruthless place.

Kids are WAY Worse than when I was little, and I got my fair share of flak (for your south park fans who can go fuck yourselves)

I hope the children who bullied him and beat and stole from him think about it everyday there alive.

[azoomm]

Side note - It really bothers me when people say "kids are cruel." Bullshit, humans are cruel. Adults are more cruel than any kid could be - we just usually have the mechanisms in place to know how to deal with them.

Kids now have drama that flares up as fast as technology allows. Though, that means the shit-storms don't usually last as long as they did when we were kids.

[Homeslice]

I always viewed TKD as more of a showmanship art.
If so, then so would all the varieties of kung fu and karate........They all came from the same origins.

Doing "forms" isn't really for show, it's for practicing strong blocks and strikes so that they become second-nature. As far as acquiring actual fighting "wits", that is what sparring sessions & tournaments are for. Someone who doesn't participate in those is obviously going to come up short.

[fatbuckRTO]

If so, then so would all the varieties of kung fu and karate........They all came from the same origins.

Doing "forms" isn't really for show, it's for practicing strong blocks and strikes so that they become second-nature. As far as acquiring actual fighting "wits", that is what sparring sessions & tournaments are for. Someone who doesn't participate in those is obviously going to come up short.Showmanship is not exactly the word I would use, although you will see karate, kung-fu, or TKD demonstrations that have more to do with gymnastics than actual fighting.

I say this as a loyal shotokan karateka: all other things being equal, a ground-trained fighter will win. Karate, kung-fu, and TKD all have some devastating techniques, absolutely. But I think you really only have to watch some of the early UFC matches, back when they really did include all styles and disciplines. Everyone lost to ground fighters. And it makes sense; for instance, there are very few people in the world who can punch someone into unconsciousness more easily than they can choke someone into unconsciousness.

Now if you start pitting grand masters and 10th dans against only moderately trained grapplers, then yeah, you'll probably see an advantage for the stand-up fighters. But I've never seen jiu jutsu matches for points. They train full speed, full power because they can. Most competitions won't do that with the strike/kick style martial arts, because a full power kick to the head could cause real permanent damage. So, like Tmall pointed out, you have people practicing over and over to score points, and that becomes your muscle memory.

By no means do I think that makes stand-up martial arts worthless. And you're definitely better off on your feet if you're fighting more than one person, as is often the case in a schoolyard.

[OneSickPsycho]

Speaking of head kicks... Most awesomest head kick I've ever seen!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzgwZBn66dA/TbzwnyBJUJI/AAAAAAAABQc/3SAJf049Naw/s1600/Randy+Couture+vs.+Lyoto+Machida+99.gif

[Rider]

Sad story.

My son is 14 years old, 6' 2" 225lbs, knows tae kwon do (blue belt)and has wrestled for years. I'm not worried about anyone picking on him. He is pretty mild mannered now and I dont worry about him being a bully either though.

I do see bullies in his class however and it angers me that the parents of these kids turn a blind eye. Not so much physical bullies, but verbal abuse is very common. The schools in our area have a no bully pocilcy but it doesnt help at all. It has to be taught by the parents and they dont do that. :(

[Adeptus_Minor]

I do see bullies in his class however and it angers me that the parents of these kids turn a blind eye. Not so much physical bullies, but verbal abuse is very common. The schools in our area have a no bully pocilcy but it doesnt help at all. It has to be taught by the parents and they dont do that. :(


Generally, if they're the kind of parent that produces a bully, they're not paying enough (or the right kind of) attention to the kid to begin with.

[jtemple]

Generally, if they're the kind of parent that produces a bully, they're not paying enough (or the right kind of) attention to the kid to begin with.Yep. If I ever get wind of my son doing the bullying, he's going to get his ass handed to him quick-like. The thing is, he knows that, even at not-quite-five-years-old. So, it'll probably never be an issue.

[Homeslice]

Showmanship is not exactly the word I would use, although you will see karate, kung-fu, or TKD demonstrations that have more to do with gymnastics than actual fighting.

I say this as a loyal shotokan karateka: all other things being equal, a ground-trained fighter will win. Karate, kung-fu, and TKD all have some devastating techniques, absolutely. But I think you really only have to watch some of the early UFC matches, back when they really did include all styles and disciplines. Everyone lost to ground fighters. And it makes sense; for instance, there are very few people in the world who can punch someone into unconsciousness more easily than they can choke someone into unconsciousness.

Now if you start pitting grand masters and 10th dans against only moderately trained grapplers, then yeah, you'll probably see an advantage for the stand-up fighters. But I've never seen jiu jutsu matches for points. They train full speed, full power because they can. Most competitions won't do that with the strike/kick style martial arts, because a full power kick to the head could cause real permanent damage. So, like Tmall pointed out, you have people practicing over and over to score points, and that becomes your muscle memory.

By no means do I think that makes stand-up martial arts worthless. And you're definitely better off on your feet if you're fighting more than one person, as is often the case in a schoolyard.

I see your point about muscle memory. But as far as "who will win", I'm not talking about MMA or any type of competition..... I'm talking about street fights and self-defense situations, where the opponent is just some regular schmuck without much if any training. In those circumstances I don't think a decently-trained TKD person would end up on the ground unless they were taken by surprise or were in extremely close quarters. The average opponent is just some idiot who tries to swing a punch that was telegraphed from from a mile away.

[Kaneman]

Just curious what you mean by more effective?

Granted, TKD is rather "rigid" in its style, but its principles are sound.

For whatever martial art one person thinks is the best, someone's always going to trump it with something else. Personally, I say the quality of the teacher & the student body is more important than which martial art it is.

I meant that no standing martial artist can hope to survive a one on one fight with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist who trains regularly. I say that as someone who trained TKD, Karate, Muay Thai and Krav Maga and is now a BJJ believer. We all learned this years ago at the inception of the UFC.

[Trip]

Sad story.

My son is 14 years old, 6' 2" 225lbs, knows tae kwon do (blue belt)and has wrestled for years. I'm not worried about anyone picking on him. He is pretty mild mannered now and I dont worry about him being a bully either though.

I do see bullies in his class however and it angers me that the parents of these kids turn a blind eye. Not so much physical bullies, but verbal abuse is very common. The schools in our area have a no bully pocilcy but it doesnt help at all. It has to be taught by the parents and they dont do that. :(

I have seen more stories about this than anything. Verbal abuse can be 1000x worse than physical and if your kid throws the first punch, then they are the ones booted from school.

[azoomm]

I have seen more stories about this than anything. Verbal abuse can be 1000x worse than physical and if your kid throws the first punch, then they are the ones booted from school.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/10/us/ac-360-bullying-study/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Special study.