Over the past few weeks I’ve written about Jacob, the New York student who, after being bullied for being gay, finally filed a lawsuit against the Mohawk Central School District. The district finally agreed to protect Jacob, but now Tamara Hendrick, the mother of the bully who allegedly threatened Jacob with a knife and pushed him down a flight of stairs, is claiming that its her son who is the real victim:
This boy has told my son that he loves him, that they should go out and that he wished my son’s family dead,” she said. “They had a few verbal altercations last year, and my son was punched in the face by this other student. The only one who has been physical has been this other student.”
“The district is throwing my son under the bus because they’re facing a lawsuit,” Hendrick said. “My son hasn’t been perfect, but what 14-year-old has . . . My son has been embarrassed and harassed by this student and his friends. … When he has spoken up about it, he has been told to be quiet because of the student’s sexual orientation.”
In a statement released Tuesday morning, Superintendent Joyce Caputo said district officials were prohibited from talking about student discipline.
You know, when I first hear about this new information, I thought, “Hey, maybe there is more to the story here.” But after reading Hendrick’s words it sounded a whole lot like other stories of bullying, where one boy professing his to another is reason for violence. It reminded me of the tragedy of Brandon McInerney and Lawrence King. Only, this one ended as the other should have — with the adults stepping in.
The school year has started again, and “Jacob had a very good, safe first day of school today.”
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