And I don't think anyone is trying to protect all bullying.
I am saying that manipulation of behavior is part of our world. One way in which we do this is through teasing and bullying. If we accept that not all bullying is bad or wrong, that is to remove the blanket speech and to truly define the problem, we can have a discussion.
So, when does bullying cross the line to that which we do not want? When is bullying more harmful than helpful?
Yes, manipulation is part of our world. But we obviously have a line drawn where manipulation is unacceptable. Like for instance a female or male manipulating their partner into something they don't want to do, like abandon their friends or have sex. Most people consider this conniving at best and abusive at worst. So there are instances where manipulation is something inherently bad and can even lead to domestic violence. Which itself is a form of bullying.
Now someone proudly declaring that they are racist or sexist is free speech. I will not silence those opinions. But modern society has rules and etiquette, correct? It is considered impolite at best to go up to a Jewish person and declare them a "Kike" whatever that means. Is this not accurate in our society? You also cannot go around teasing or otherwise humiliating random people. This is against the law and you could be charged with harassment. This is especially inappropriate in professional settings as most work places have codified ethical standards.
Do you consider people who disobey codified law only to be arrested and put into jail or other punitive measures to be bullying? If so, why? We punish children when they misbehave, is that bullying? I would argue, no. That is cause and effect and even when adults and children are punished they have to be treated with dignity. You can't just treat them like a piece of ****. As that is actually against what we consider to be ethical standards.
So if we, as adults, do not tolerate harassment, teasing (except among friends) physical violence, emotional bullying to the point where those acts are actually against the law, why then do we expect not to teach children that these acts are wrong? Sure, a little leeway might be given, we might even investigate the home lives of bullies in order to try to help them, but for the most part bullying and teasing are literally against the law in our society. At least at an adult level. Where I live it's against the law at all levels of schooling as well.
So are you saying that we allow children to willfully break the law without any warnings from the adults who should know better only to throw them in jail once they leave the safety of school? How is that good parenting? How is that being a responsible adult? How is that fair to the bullies even who have gone through school without punishment, thinking that such behavior is therefore acceptable, only to be told later that such acts warrant fines or even jail time when they do such acts as an adult?
Hate speech is not against the law because it's speech, it can cause social disruption. It can even incite illegal acts like physical violence. That is not limiting free speech, that is holding people to account for their actions and manipulative acts.
Now, if someone is targeted specifically, that's teasing, harassment or bullying. This has nothing to do with free speech, this has to do with a school living up to it's ethical duty of care. It simply should not allow such a hate filled environment as that is against ethical standards (disagreeing with someone is not hate filled, felt the need to say that.)
