Wow, shades of a young Bruce Lee!
This was how I initially appreciated the video of a teenage taekwondo artist who manhandled a bigger co-student that has been making the rounds of the main stream and social media.
Both the bully and the bullied are students of the Ateneo de Manila High School and the video was taken in the secluded comfort of the boys’ CR where the victim was caught peeing and zipping back his pants.
The confrontation was quick and snappy.
It was brutal, putting to shame the martial arts flicks of Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li combined (I’m saying this with a bit of exaggeration) because the bigger boy – his face bloodied from a right straight – cowered more than defended himself from the hand blows and the kicks delivered by the martial artist.
Now, now, don’t get me wrong, please.
I am not condemning the bully but his actions.
For brevity, let’s call the bully Billy.
Billy appears to be a misguided youth as previous videos of his encounters with bigger foes surfaced with the former employing his taekwondo knowledge to the hilt, making his victims raise their hands in defeat and surrender.
In principle and in practice, those who have trained in the martial arts can only use this expertise in defending themselves in a tight, inescapable situation.
As much as possible, a martial arts expert (or trainee) is taught to shy away from violent confrontations and is considered a winner when he walks away from what is determined to be a physical encounter.
But Ateneo authorities cannot escape administrative fault here. According to the media reports, there have been previous cases of bullying that were kept under wraps or swept under the rug to prevent the matter from spilling out unfavorably.
Be that as it may, the bullying video has become viral and efforts to calm it down by asking people not to re-upload it is not the right thing to do.
Ateneo should take the bull by its horns, regardless of whether the bully who – unfiltered reports say – has powerful connections or not.
It is incumbent upon school authorities to mete out the penalty so prescribed by law if Ateneo wants to redeem the good name it has long established.
For Dep-Ed, this is as good time as any to prove that the law on bullying has teeth because the victim and his family are crying out for justice.
What about the CHR? Isn’t this also a case of human rights’ violation? The victim was defenseless, was he not? Or am I just magnifying the issue?
Billy is not a lost cause, though. His bad attitude, violent mindset and unruly behavior are reparable. He is young and seemingly restless. He can be reformed.
As equally as Ateneo is responsible for the demeanor (and misdemeanor) of its students are the parents who should be keeping a watchful eye on their growing kids.
Exposed to the various forms of media and technology that export un-filtered, oftentimes, crude culture and raw materials, children today – if not properly supervised – are likely to pick up wrong signals and messages.
Of course, foremost of all is that Ateneo must recognize it has a BIG problem in its hands. Transparency calls for school authorities to avoid doing a Pontius Pilate lest it be branded an institution that washes its hands off a responsibility.
This is not the time to merely seek an apology and be given one.
The parents of the bully, I can only counsel, should initiate amicable reconciliation with the aggrieved party.
Billy has not committed murder nor homicide. But he cannot escape the penalty – and consequences – for his uncivil and uncouth actions.
Billy, I may add, needs Christian counseling. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE HILIPPINES!
