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ASPartOfMe
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09 Aug 2017, 11:56 pm

Autistic boy needs hospital treatment after ‘bullies’ leave plank of wood impaled in his head

Quote:
An autistic boy was left with a one inch nail embedded in the back of his head after he was attacked by a group of “bullies” on his way home from school.

Nine-year-old Romeo Smith required hospital treatment after a block of wood was left hanging from his head.

His mother Natasha, 30, said she had been walking with Romeo towards their home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, when the attack happened.

More than 50 bikers rally to escort bullied 11-year old boy to school
“Romeo had lagged slightly behind,” she said.

“It's usual for him to trail behind me a bit, he does it a lot because of his autism and it's something I'm used to him doing.

“He likes to stop and look at things. So I was ahead of him slightly.”

After returning home she realised Romeo was not close behind her and sent out his father, Craig, to look for him.

Romeo was found up a tree while three boys holding sticks taunted him, his mother said.

Romeo and Mr Smith then began to walk home when the one of the boys threw a plank of wood.


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Chronos
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10 Aug 2017, 12:43 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Autistic boy needs hospital treatment after ‘bullies’ leave plank of wood impaled in his head

Quote:
An autistic boy was left with a one inch nail embedded in the back of his head after he was attacked by a group of “bullies” on his way home from school.

Nine-year-old Romeo Smith required hospital treatment after a block of wood was left hanging from his head.

His mother Natasha, 30, said she had been walking with Romeo towards their home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, when the attack happened.

More than 50 bikers rally to escort bullied 11-year old boy to school
“Romeo had lagged slightly behind,” she said.

“It's usual for him to trail behind me a bit, he does it a lot because of his autism and it's something I'm used to him doing.

“He likes to stop and look at things. So I was ahead of him slightly.”

After returning home she realised Romeo was not close behind her and sent out his father, Craig, to look for him.

Romeo was found up a tree while three boys holding sticks taunted him, his mother said.

Romeo and Mr Smith then began to walk home when the one of the boys threw a plank of wood.


It doesn't surprise me that this was in the UK. Not that the US doesn't have violence and bullying. It does of course, but it's usually between people who know each other or gangs over drug dealing turf. In the UK it seems that a person is far more likely to be seriously assaulted by some random person on the street, even a middle aged working man, just for being different.



EzraS
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10 Aug 2017, 1:44 am

My parents would never let me fall behind them. When I stop to look at something, which happens a lot, they stop with me and then coax me to get going again.



Lintar
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10 Aug 2017, 8:43 pm

Why did the word "bullies" appear in inverted commas? Were they not really bullies, but people who just behaved in a manner indistinguishable from them? Is this an example of, once again, the writer of a story trying to minimise the harm that these monsters cause?



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13 Aug 2017, 2:24 pm

Quote:
Why did the word "bullies" appear in inverted commas?


I'd like to believe it's because their behavior goes waaaaaay beyond what would normally be referred to as bullying. They weren't just calling him names, or hiding his backpack, or shoving him being all of them in line so that he's last in line for cake and ice cream or something. They lodged a nail in his skull. They could have caused permanent damage or death. That's the kind of thing that should be handled in court. Not in a Principal's office.

Of course, maybe I'm just being optimistic here.



ASPartOfMe
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13 Aug 2017, 6:40 pm

BetwixtBetween wrote:
Quote:
Why did the word "bullies" appear in inverted commas?


I'd like to believe it's because their behavior goes waaaaaay beyond what would normally be referred to as bullying. They weren't just calling him names, or hiding his backpack, or shoving him being all of them in line so that he's last in line for cake and ice cream or something. They lodged a nail in his skull. They could have caused permanent damage or death. That's the kind of thing that should be handled in court. Not in a Principal's office.

Of course, maybe I'm just being optimistic here.


That is what I thought when I saw the quotes.


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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


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14 Aug 2017, 4:27 am

Chronos wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
Autistic boy needs hospital treatment after ‘bullies’ leave plank of wood impaled in his head

Quote:
An autistic boy was left with a one inch nail embedded in the back of his head after he was attacked by a group of “bullies” on his way home from school.

Nine-year-old Romeo Smith required hospital treatment after a block of wood was left hanging from his head.

His mother Natasha, 30, said she had been walking with Romeo towards their home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, when the attack happened.

More than 50 bikers rally to escort bullied 11-year old boy to school
“Romeo had lagged slightly behind,” she said.

“It's usual for him to trail behind me a bit, he does it a lot because of his autism and it's something I'm used to him doing.

“He likes to stop and look at things. So I was ahead of him slightly.”

After returning home she realised Romeo was not close behind her and sent out his father, Craig, to look for him.

Romeo was found up a tree while three boys holding sticks taunted him, his mother said.

Romeo and Mr Smith then began to walk home when the one of the boys threw a plank of wood.


It doesn't surprise me that this was in the UK. Not that the US doesn't have violence and bullying. It does of course, but it's usually between people who know each other or gangs over drug dealing turf. In the UK it seems that a person is far more likely to be seriously assaulted by some random person on the street, even a middle aged working man, just for being different.


Thats not at all my experience, we are tolerant to the point of the ridiculous..there are dicks everywhere


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14 Aug 2017, 1:30 pm

How are those kids not in juvenile detention(borderline prison)!? They were assaulting that boy and then basically attempted murder! I find it sad that things like this can happen and you have to question what to do.

I mean seriously that was almost murder, those kids should be on trial right now!(Maybe a little extreme but they almost killed someone!)


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14 Aug 2017, 1:39 pm

The only surprising thing about this story is that it got media attention. Extreme violence happens all the time against youth living with anything that makes them stand out. Most of the time, the adults in the situation end up just blaming the victim.



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14 Aug 2017, 10:22 pm

AquaineBay wrote:
How are those kids not in juvenile detention(borderline prison)!? They were assaulting that boy and then basically attempted murder! I find it sad that things like this can happen and you have to question what to do.

I mean seriously that was almost murder, those kids should be on trial right now!(Maybe a little extreme but they almost killed someone!)


No, what you're suggesting isn't extreme at all. They should be in prison for what they did, so I have to wonder why they apparently got off without being charged with anything (according to the article as I read it a number of days ago now). I guess it must be okay if the victim is one of those "weird" ones for whom a bit of assault and harassment is "character-building". The excuses people make for patently immoral behaviour is just nothing short of astonishing, and I would be willing to bet that this was a factor in their lenient treatment.



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14 Aug 2017, 10:29 pm

KagamineLen wrote:
The only surprising thing about this story is that it got media attention. Extreme violence happens all the time against youth living with anything that makes them stand out. Most of the time, the adults in the situation end up just blaming the victim.


Yes, why is that? Why do those who DEFEND THEMSELVES against assault the ones who end up in trouble all the time?!?! What the hell are we supposed to do?! Just stand there and let the psychopaths murder us?! Screw that! If anyone attempted to do something like this to me I would bloody chop their heads off, like in those ISIS videos, and I wouldn't regret a second of it either! :evil: :evil: :evil: