Name calling is what it has always been, hateful to those that are on the receiving end. Usually these people are bullies or cowards that wouldn't say it one on one to their face. I can remember a time years back when I was called to a small town here in PA by a black mother that said her son (about 14 years old) was being called the "N" word by a group of boys down at the local playground while playing basketball. The small town was predominately white.
I told the mother that there was no law against what they were doing, unless the boys added a threat or physically assaulted him while name calling. The young boy was standing beside his mom and listening to our conversation when I told her that I would drive to the playground and if the boys were still there, I would stop and speak with them. I told her that maybe if a state policeman spoke to them, perhaps they would be intimidated enough to stop it. The young boy asked me not to do that fearing that it would only make matters worse.
I agreed to abide by his request, but I asked him if he would like a ride back down to the playground in the cruiser and I would not say a word to anyone. He liked that idea, so off we went. I stopped at the playground and before he got out of the car, I asked him to call me if things got out of hand and I handed him my business card. He said he would. I never heard from him or his mother again. I often wondered if my presence made a difference or if he was able to resolve the conflict on his own. Sometimes, if the abused person is lucky, the name calling stops as quickly as it started, especially among children.
I told the mother that there was no law against what they were doing, unless the boys added a threat or physically assaulted him while name calling. The young boy was standing beside his mom and listening to our conversation when I told her that I would drive to the playground and if the boys were still there, I would stop and speak with them. I told her that maybe if a state policeman spoke to them, perhaps they would be intimidated enough to stop it. The young boy asked me not to do that fearing that it would only make matters worse.
I agreed to abide by his request, but I asked him if he would like a ride back down to the playground in the cruiser and I would not say a word to anyone. He liked that idea, so off we went. I stopped at the playground and before he got out of the car, I asked him to call me if things got out of hand and I handed him my business card. He said he would. I never heard from him or his mother again. I often wondered if my presence made a difference or if he was able to resolve the conflict on his own. Sometimes, if the abused person is lucky, the name calling stops as quickly as it started, especially among children.
