Nov 9, 2010
Extreme Bullying on the Rise
WMTV NBC 15
It is bullying in the most extreme sense. Violent attacks to the genitals are on the rise. Many view it as funny and kids are bold enough to post it all over the internet without realizing the devastating effects it can cause.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extreme Bullying on the Rise
It is bullying in the most extreme sense. Violent attacks to the genitals are on the rise.
Many view it as funny and kids are bold enough to post it all over the internet without realizing the devastating effects it can cause.
The preparation is casual and the attacks vicious. All of it is usually met with laughter and smiling faces. Bold enough to post hundreds of videos to YouTube, kids have turned violent shots to the groin into a sick and twisted game.
Bill Rogers says, "I stumbled upon it completely by accident."
When Rogers began seeing the videos he couldn't believe his eyes.
He says, "It had a lot to do with abuse and bullying."
A nurse and member of the Army Reserves, Rogers is a father of two young girls from Portage and he suddenly has a new mission.
He says, "I just can't live with myself if I know something is wrong like that and just let it go I have to try to do something."
Rogers goal is to put these attacks in the spotlight and make kids and parents realize there is nothing funny about it. Studies show there are long term emotional effects similar to rape and kids are losing testicles.
The traumatic effects don't need to be explained to 14-year-old David Gibbons.
He says, "I don't know how to stop it."
Earlier this year doctors were forced to remove Gibbons right testicle after he was punched in the groin by anther student while changing classes at Crosby Ironton High School in Minnesota.
It's game known to students as "sack tapping".
David's mom Christy Gibbons says, "I seen the pain he was in. I seen what he went through every day, and it just breaks my heart and I don't want any other child to have to go through this."
At American Family Children's Hospital here in Madison word of this game is nothing new but they're dealing with more and more genital injuries to kids.
Director of Pediatric Urology Dr. John Kryger says, "Bullying is ultimately a game of control and domination of one person over another and that's the part of it that really is frustrating as a public health concern and safety in our schools."
Kryger says the popularity of movies like Jackass add to the problem.
They paint genital trauma or shots to the groin as something funny, ignoring the long term physical and sometimes more damaging emotional effects.
Kryger says, "It's not a funny issue at all. There is no humor in this. A lot of psychological trauma happens whenever bullying occurs and that's really some of the most dangerous and sad aspect we see."
Kryger says the hospital treats a case of testicle pain or injury about once every week but says it's impossible to know how many are from bullying because victims are often to scared to tell the truth.
He says, "I can think of one event where there is legal issues involved in a case like this here in Madison."
They are the kind of life changing effects Rogers is trying to stop. He's written several letters to the editor that have been printed in papers across the state. He's also done a formal literature review, learning all he can about the consequences of this game and called school districts to make them aware, offering to speak at any school that will have him.
Rogers says, "My life has been devoted to relieving pain and suffering of people"
Normally he does that as a nurse but stomach turning videos he's seen have given him a new mission.
He wants to make kids understand there is no humor in this bold and blatant bullying and wants to stop these vicious attacks before they hurt a kid and change his life forever.
http://www.wsaw.com/news/headlines/Extreme_Bullying_on_the_Rise_106956443.html?ref=443