Some states are now working on legislation to address the ominous "threat" of cyberbullying. The bill from Washington State doesn't even make it a crime, just "another issue" for schools to be responsible for. I just don't get what the problem is, really. Every behavior that falls under "cyberbullying" is already illegal. Most of it falls under harassment laws, and a quick call to the local police would put an end to those malicious text messages. If they create a website that is full of derogatory statements, and as is often the case, most of them are false, just contact the hosting service and inform them or file a lawsuit for libel.
It's cruel, but it can be handled. I have no sympathy for the teens who get lot's of abusive messages on AOL Instant Messenger in particular. How hard is it to just block a bully on AIM? It's just two clicks separating you and complete silence from them on AIM. If you have to block several usernames, you now have a legal case for going after them for harassment.
It's the schools' fault that this is even an issue because victims of bullying cannot fight back. Bullying was much less of an issue before the schools became so pussified that self-defense was equated with aggression. The fastest way to stop a bully is not to simply ignore them, but to stand up to them, and sometimes that involves violence.
The problem exists because school bureaucrats are slow to actually punish anyone, unless they stand out. The whole system operates on the Japanese principle that, "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down." The bullying victim that stands up for himself and knocks around a bully gets in deep trouble. The advice that they give victims of bullying is simply rubbish for most students. Ignoring them makes the problem worse most of the time, and trying to outwit them rarely works either, especially in environments that are favorable to the bully.
I'm reminded of Heinlein's derision of the social bureaucrats as pseudo-scientific individual who couldn't not accept the proper solution, the threat of corporal punishment, because it was too simple. The schools have taken away the threat of violence against bullies, which is why they are more and more fearless. The threat of violence is the most potent way to convince someone to not engage in anti-social behavior. Funny that when that fact of life was recognized by the legal system, schools and society at large, there were much, much fewer problems with bullying and school shootings like Columbine were unheard of.
Well put, and true. I earned a reputation by the time I got to highschool for not backing down to anyone. A bloody nose convinces most bully's to find easier, less painful pickings. Liberal thinking, as well as Dr. Spock, have turned generations of boys into girlie men, otherwise known as, Sissies.
Cops are generally unresponsive to harassment complaints as it is. I don't see more laws changing that.
Force can be an effective solution to certain problems, and it's certainly the best (and as you say, quickest) way to deal with bullies.