Casey Heynes Gave Your Kid What He Deserved

If you ever needed evidence of how insane people can be (and I'm always on the look out for that) check out the latest installment of the "Casey The Punisher" story - the bully's mother is looking for an apology - from Casey:

IT'S a tale of David and Goliath at an outer western Sydney school - with Goliath fighting back against his much smaller schoolyard bully.

But now the bully's mother has retaliated against her son's victim and the video footage of the fight which has gone viral.

The emotional mother of Ritchard Gale, Tina, told the Seven Network last night that she and her family have been victimised by the footage, which has spread worldwide. She also demanded an apology from the victim.

"We don't need this posted everywhere," she said. "I would like him to apologise."

She said she was "shocked" at her son's behaviour, but did not think he deserved to be bodyslammed by Year 10 student Casey Heynes at Chifley College's Dunheved Campus, St Marys.

"I was actually shocked because I always brought my three children up to walk away from fights," she said.

What's so incredible about this - beyond the fact it was obviously Tina Gale's son who started the fight for no good reason - is the other fact that it was Ritchard Gale's friends who recorded her son being body slammed - and recording it in hopes of embarrassing Casey Heynes!

Under what logic does Casey Heynes owe Tina Gale, Ritchard Gale, or anyone else an apology? I find Tina Heynes' demand as silly as the common admonition that children should "walk away from fights." Casey Heynes has been walking away from them "every single day" since he stepped on campus, and what did it get him? A reputation so tarnished that even a little runt like Ritchard Gale thought he could use Casey as a punching bag. It's nonsense.

TMR has always advocated that we should be teaching kids to do exactly what Casey did when attacked - fight back hard. Why? Because we bet, after word got out what he'll do, there will be no more attacks on Casey Heynes by the likes of Ritchard Gale.

But there's also another point to be made:

The kid who was told by his mother (!) to walk away became a bully.

I don't think a better argument for the role of a father in a boy's life can be made. I'm sure, beyond a bit of pride, Casey Heynes' father is just as torn up about all this as Ritchard Gale's mother, but this didn't start with Casey Heynes acting like an ass, did it? Does Ritchard Gale have a father in the home? And, if not, why not?

I'd also bet good money it's because of the unreasonableness, sense of entitlement, and skewed logic, Tina Gale is exhibiting here - and clearly passing on to her son.

UPDATE: The Daily Telegraph got the story wrong:

IN an article published in The Daily Telegraph yesterday headlined "Bully's angry mum wants victim to apologise", it was written that bully Ritchard Gale's mother Tina wanted her son's victim to apologise for slamming her son to the ground.

But she had, in fact, said she wanted her son to apologise to his victim.

The Daily Telegraph apologises for the error. 

Glad to hear it.