Each popular culture bully has the identical calling card: a smug grin, a cigarette, and a cool automobile they undoubtedly did not pay for — or did by questionable means. However beneath Tennessee’s new legislation, that final half’s in jeopardy. Beginning July 1, Tennessee youngsters discovered responsible of bullying may lose their capability to legally drive for a full yr. This is not a scene from a dystopian episode of “Black Mirror: DMV Version.” It is an actual legislation designed to deal with bullying not simply as a schoolyard drawback, however as an offense with real-world repercussions.
As Rep. Lowell Russell put it, “I merely acquired uninterested in nothing being accomplished to cease bullying.” Underneath this legislation, if a teen is discovered responsible in juvenile court docket for harassment by the use of bullying or cyberbullying, the court docket should droop their drivers license or delay their eligibility to get one for a full yr. That features college students who have not even gotten their learner’s allow but. The message is obvious — repeat bullies now take the bus, however not the enjoyable celebration buses Nashville is thought for.
Supporters like Rep. Russell say it is about hitting bullies the place it hurts most. A driver’s license to a teen is a passport to the world. At the least, it was once. Simply 60% of 18-year-olds had a driver’s license per a current Division of Transportation reportin comparison with over 80% in 1983. That lack of ‘freedom’ may not sting as laborious because it used to.
Critics say the legislation punishes trauma with extra trauma and may violate teenagers’ rights
The issue? There is a huge distinction between punitive and preventive. Whereas Tennessee’s legislation is a primary of its variety for bullying, it echoes an extended checklist of leverage legal guidelines in different states — like Florida suspending licenses for youths skipping college or tobacco possession. Deterrence is one factor. It additionally raises questions on whether or not the juvenile justice system is the very best place to handle adolescent battle — particularly when that battle stems from deeper trauma, not malice.
Which brings us to the irony: the legislation responds to a psychological well being disaster by enacting a penalty that may worsen psychological well being outcomes. StopBullying argues that many teenagers who bully are scuffling with trauma themselves. Take away their mobility and also you additionally take away their entry to help methods like remedy. In attempting to guard victims, Tennessee could also be digging deeper holes for the perpetrators — usually troubled and in want of help themselves. Even the restricted restricted license solely particularly calls out the flexibility to go to highschool, work, or church. Leaving off remedy or counseling looks like an enormous oversight.
On the finish of the day, bullying is a critical subject that calls for motion. Lawmakers are clearly dropping endurance with how lengthy this has been a nationwide drawback with too few options. Bullying must cease — full cease. However stopping it means extra than simply suspending somebody’s capability to drive. Tennessee’s legislation could possibly be a wake-up name — or simply one other blunt device in a system that not often digs deeper than self-discipline.
When you or somebody you realize is experiencing bullying, StopBullying.gov presents assets, help, and methods for intervention.
