Bullying

I must say the pro-bullying comments are baffling. They seem either confused or unlibertarian to me.

Kantor is quite correct here: “Marcus wrote, “Obviously fights can get out of hand, just as bullying can…” From a libertarian perspective, bullying is inherently out of hand”. Sure, there is minor bullying and more severe bullying; just as there is minor and major aggression. But giving someone a “wedgie” is not some trivial, minor event. A large kid grabbing, roughing up, manhandling a small kid in this way is a clear-cut, significant act of aggression and cause severe emotional torment in the victim. A bunch of beer-swilling, frat-boy, jock types who watch pro football and throw their empty beer cans at the mom’s chihauhau sitting by the TV might yuck it up about this and guffaw about little puny kids getting wedgies–but this is not the stuff of libertarian discourse.

Kirkwood writes: “The sense I get from some posts is that some bloggers believe those of us who don’t think bullying is a big problem also believe we excuse it. Not true. We just don’t think the acts or their consequences rise to the level of serious philosphical discussion. In other words, all this is a little silly.”

This reply does not counter the assertion that bullying is immoral and aggressive, and a crime. What is clear is that libertarianism opposes aggression–whether minor or major–and that clearly, bullying is a type of aggression. What is strange about bullying is that it is one sub-class of aggression that is overlooked by most people and blown off as if it is “no big deal”–including some of the posters here. Now libertarianism can distinguish between minor and more severe acts of aggression by having the proportionality requirement for punishment; but it is not clear that bullying is per se trivial or minor aggression. In fact it is typically significant aggression.

Kirkwood continues, “You can have all the theoretical and ideological debate you want about aggression and how its violates libertarian principles, but your average bully isn’t really concerned about this or that libertarian axiom, and the kid who loses his lunch money can’t whip out a copy of “For A New Liberty” and explain to the bully why he’s wrong.”

But this is completely irrelevant. The same could be said to a rape victim or murder victim–that their little theories about why rape or murder is “wrong” won’t be listened to by the perpetrator. Of course they won’t; perpetrators are animals, which is why we should deal with them as such–e.g., locking them up, shooting them, etc. But that does not mean we who are purportedly on the civilized side of the fence should dismiss the rightful claim of a victim that aggression against them is wrong. This is what being a libertarian is all about: being willing to stand up with the victim and proclaim that aggression, while sometimes unavoidable, IS WRONG!

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8:33 am on March 3, 2004