Bullying incident - need advice

[David CO]

11 hours ago, sst3rd said:

He is "impowered" and he knows it. 

There it is.  Empowered.  Along with "bullying", the words "empowered" and "empowerment" are perhaps the most overused and annoying words used by social activist types over the past decade.

Edited July 30, 2019 by David CO

[sst3rd]

DavidCO,

The word "empowered" may be over used elsewhere, but it's the word I wanted to use in this response. The SPL knows that his circumstances currently makes him the boss. He likes it and isn't going to change. Sure, he will grow up and be able (hopefully) to control his "empowerment",  but in this situation, he knows he's in the "catbird's seat." 

Unless adult leaders figure it out and present a unified answer and solution to this conflict, the ASPL needs to find another troop.

EMPOWERED, EMPOWERED, EMPOWERED. Just what I wanted to say. Take a chill pill. They still make those don't they?

sst3rd

 

[David CO]

24 minutes ago, sst3rd said:

Take a chill pill. They still make those don't they?

I am a Health teacher.  I don't use mood altering drugs.

 

[MattR]

Thank you for ending this discussion.

[qwazse]

@MarkBrownsky

[qwazse]

In an attempt to redeem this discussion, @MarkBrownsky, I would suggest that your SM has two courses of action.

First, the bully could be asked to correct whatever he has been doing wrongly. It is often the case that SPLs don't get everything right from the start. They come in with blind spots to their un-scoutlike behavior. Training might help them see what they are missing, but the fact is that most scouts' flaws don't become apparent until they are put into a demanding position of responsibility. The SPL might be asked to apologize for whatever clique he's created that makes another scout feel excluded, and given a chance to work on being more of a friend to all.

Second, the bully could be suspended from the troop for a while. This recourse is necessary when the SM has tried to point out how the scout must change, but the scout has not responded positively. The suspension helps give the scout a chance to think if he really wants to live up to the Oath and Law. Also, it helps the troop determine if the problem is one scout, or if some character flaw in the other scouts (including the victim) is also at play.

None of this is official policy. It's just what I find to be intuitively the corrective actions available.

It's not entirely clear which course of action is appropriate in your context. Needless to say, we'd all like the first strategy to work all of the time, but we would not be having this discussion if that were the case.