commentary by Patrick H. Moore
There are few things more heartbreaking to a parent than discovering that your son or daughter is the target of that most despicable group of young humans — the schoolyard bully boys and girls. What makes it especially tough is the fact that there are seldom any easy answers to what may seem like (and, in actuality, may be) an unsolvable problem. Sometimes, if your targeted child is still of elementary school age, where alliances often shift rather quickly, the problem may work itself out. If your child, however, is in high school, there may literally be no way to cut out this malignancy other than changing schools and even then the harassment may continue on social media.
Teri and Meredith Pallet, a same-sex couple living in Council Bluffs, Iowa, have a 15-year-old son who suffers from epilepsy and attends Lewis Central High School. He has been the target of concerted verbal and physical harassment for the last 18 months. According to Meredith, the bullying had gotten so bad that it had resulted in “lasting physical injuries.” The family had reported the bullying both to the school and to police but, sadly (and perhaps predictably), the authorities just “sat on their hands.” Furthermore, perhaps for per diem reasons, the school would not agree to release the boy so that he could transfer to another location within the district.
‘He has been bullied for about a year and a half now… He’s been hazed… beaten. The school refuses to discuss this matter at all,’ said Meredith Pallat. ‘We’ve been just trying to get the bullying to stop. All we want to do is get our child a safe education. No one will do anything.’
On Monday, Dec 16, Teri, who is 39 years old and describes herself as “an everyday person”, decided she wasn’t going to take it anymore and posted a message on her Facebook page that read:
‘And they asked why do people shoot up schools, well this is exactly why and when our son does it cause I know he will have nobody to blame but the administration and I promise everyone he will only get the ones that caused this. He is an excellent marks men [sic].’
Teri’s timing was not fortuitous, occurring as it did only days after a student armed with a shotgun wounded at least two classmates at a suburban Denver, Colorado, high school Friday before taking his own life.
According to the police, someone at the school spotted Teri’s threatening message on Facebook Monday afternoon and contacted law enforcement. Teri was then arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat. She posted a $10,000 bond and was released from custody on Tuesday pending charges.
When contacted by Reuters, Teri said that she could not discuss the matter in detail but thought the response to the message was overblown:
‘I can’t believe this. I am just an everyday person. Facebook is what this is all about,’ said Pallat.
Naturally, Lewis Central High School expelled Teri and Meredith’s 15-year-old son almost immediately after discovering the Facebook threat. Keep in mind that this is the same child they reportedly chose not to help during his 18 months of bullying.
Council Bluffs Police Sergeant Chad Meyers chimed in stating that in light of the rash of school shootings around the country, threats like this one are ‘investigated to the fullest extent possible.’
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Although Teri Pallat obviously made a serious mistake by posting the threatening message on Facebook, it’s hardly as if she and her partner Meredith have not tried other channels in seeking redress. Last month, Meredith Pallat ranted on her Facebook page that no one at her son’s school ‘will do a damn thing’ about his bullying.
‘SHame [sic] on every single one of you for failing him,’ she wrote. ‘He has epilepsy it was not his choice and it has changed his life profoundly but you will not win just like the epilepsy will not win.’
Pallat then added,’ I am one pissed off Momma.’
At some point, the 15-year-old did admit to police officers that ‘he would in fact like to “hurt” the bullies of which he listed ten names,’ according to The Smoking Gun.
The boy noted, however, that he had no intention of carrying out the threat. On Monday, his mothers agreed to have him undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Following Teri Pallat’s arrest, Meredith again resorted to Facebook, writing that school administrators have failed their son. She added: ‘Karma will kick them all in the a**.’
Teri is now facing a charge of making terrorist threats, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of harassment, which is punishable by up to two years. It’s very hard to gauge what sort of sentence she might actually receive, but my feeling is she might serve at least a year or two in prison for trying to help her son, albeit in a clearly inappropriate fashion.
So far this year, there have been 28 shootings on U.S. school grounds during school hours, according to a tally kept by the gun control advocacy groups, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense.
And, of course, everyone remembers that it was one year ago this month, when Adam Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six adults before killing himself at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
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There is a bizarre irony at work here. The 15-year-old who was bullied unmercifully, both physically and verbally, for 18 months, has now been expelled from school and is required to undergo psychiatric evaluation. His mother, Teri Pallat, who became exasperated after putting up with both the bullying and the high school’s inability or refusal to do anything about it, now faces state prison time.
As for the bullies themselves, this cowardly group of sub-standard humans, they may face no reprisals whatsoever. I would be curious to know if they are members of the “In Crowd”, or mere misfits, or if they may fall into both categories. As for the bullies’ parents, they too should be required to shoulder some of the responsibility, but it’s not yet clear if they will even be contacted by the authorities.