Each popular culture bully has the identical calling card: a smug grin, a cigarette, and a cool automotive they undoubtedly did not pay for — or did by questionable means. However below Tennessee’s new regulation, that final half’s in jeopardy. Beginning July 1, Tennessee youngsters discovered responsible of bullying may lose their capability to legally drive for a full yr. This is not a scene from a dystopian episode of “Black Mirror: DMV Version.” It is an actual regulation designed to deal with bullying not simply as a schoolyard downside, however as an offense with real-world repercussions.
As Rep. Lowell Russell put it, “I merely received uninterested in nothing being finished to cease bullying.” Beneath this regulation, if a teen is discovered responsible in juvenile courtroom for harassment by the use of bullying or cyberbullying, the courtroom should droop their drivers license or delay their eligibility to get one for a full yr. That features college students who have not even gotten their learner’s allow but. The message is obvious — repeat bullies now take the bus, however not the enjoyable social gathering buses Nashville is understood for.
Supporters like Rep. Russell say it is about hitting bullies the place it hurts most. A driver’s license to a teen is a passport to the world. Not less than, it was once. Simply 60% of 18-year-olds had a driver’s license per a current Division of Transportation report, in comparison with over 80% in 1983. That lack of ‘freedom’ won’t sting as exhausting because it used to.
Critics say the regulation punishes trauma with extra trauma and may violate teenagers’ rights
The issue? There is a huge distinction between punitive and preventive. Whereas Tennessee’s regulation is a primary of its sort for bullying, it echoes a protracted checklist of leverage legal guidelines in different states — like Florida suspending licenses for youths skipping college or tobacco possession. Deterrence is one factor. It additionally raises questions on whether or not the juvenile justice system is one of the best place to handle adolescent battle — particularly when that battle stems from deeper trauma, not malice.
Which brings us to the irony: the regulation responds to a psychological well being disaster by enacting a penalty that may worsen psychological well being outcomes. StopBullying argues that many teenagers who bully are fighting trauma themselves. Take away their mobility and also you additionally take away their entry to help methods like remedy. In making an attempt to guard victims, Tennessee could also be digging deeper holes for the perpetrators — typically troubled and in want of help themselves. Even the restricted restricted license solely particularly calls out the power to go to highschool, work, or church. Leaving off remedy or counseling looks like a large oversight.
On the finish of the day, bullying is a severe challenge that calls for motion. Lawmakers are clearly shedding endurance with how lengthy this has been a nationwide downside with too few options. Bullying must cease — full cease. However stopping it means extra than simply suspending somebody’s capability to drive. Tennessee’s regulation may very well be a wake-up name — or simply one other blunt instrument in a system that not often digs deeper than self-discipline.
In the event you or somebody you recognize is experiencing bullying, StopBullying.gov gives sources, help, and techniques for intervention.