June 22, 2012
Recently, a 10-minute viral video that now has over 1.8 million views on YouTube, shows four seventh-graders bullying a New York 68-year-old bus monitor and career school employee. They shouted demeaning things, made fun of her appearance, made physical threats and joked about how her family all killed themselves. The Greece,New York school officials promised that the students involved would be punished and the police were informed of the situation, although she has declined to press any criminal charges. The public has shown support, raising more than $270,000 so she could retire. She plans to return to her job, but wants a different bus and an apology from the kids.
Yesterday, on American Family Radios Todays Issues, Tony Perkins addressed this, speaking to the importance of parents teaching their children respect for others and disciplining the children when they fail to do so. The police have become involved, but Tony thinks this reveals a problem:
What ever happened to talking to the parents? . . . Thats the problem in America . . . if a parent does correct a child in public; somebody turns him in for child abuse. Look, the problem is in the breakdown of the family.
Our studies here at the Family Research Council makes this very clear: kids who grow up with a mom and a dad and go to religious services on a regular basis . . . it shows the children are much less likely, or more than likely not at all than would be involved in behavior such as this. It goes back to the family. . . Thats why our policies should encourage family formation and encourage, not discourage, religious participation in our society.