LETTER: The ACLU of Nevada and school violence
Recent events — including the beating client of Nevada ACLU director Athar Haseebullah — seem to indicate there is a growing substratum of individuals in the Clark County public schools who prefer violence to“‘talking about it” and would, in all likelihood, eschew the services of any social worker, psychologist or counselor even if one were available to them 24/7. If this is the case and school police and harsh punishments are the wrong answers, then what is the right answer for such individuals?
In his March 13 Review-Journal commentary, Mr. Haseebullah suggests that school staff — in addition to being teachers or administrators — become “de-escalators” and “restorers” when these instances arise.
But if we view the school system as a microcosm of society, we’d have to concede there will be instances of individuals who will feel societal rules don’t apply to them and will act accordingly. What now? Will we continue to mollycoddle in “perpetrator as victim” mode? Or should we maybe consider that the “harsh punishments” — obviously a bane of the Nevada ACLU — aren’t, in reality, harsh enough?
It would be interesting to ascertain in the beating victim’s case if the victim — and indeed Mr. Haseebullah himself — think a “stern talking to and counseling” would realistically suffice as punishment for a brutal beatdown. Feel free to let us know.