1 month ago

2013 - RENO, NV - A kid had to leave his school because he said the bullying was so severe.
"I've been hit by a fishing pole, I've been kicked, I've been punched, I've been thrown into a bush," James Wilson said.

It's not the first time the 11-year-old has been the subject of ridicule. He said it started in kindergarten.

"I was smarter than everybody in there, and I didn't brag about it or anything, but they figured it out and they hated me for it," he said.

Now it's more of a hate crime. Most recently, a group of kids allegedly beat him outside school grounds at the bus stop on Robinhood and Lakeside.

"They're saying they're doing it because I'm white, because they think I'm gay," he said.

The Washoe County School District won't comment on this specific case, but says there's zero tolerance for bullying, with a matrix of disciplinary actions before law enforcement can get involved.

"There can be suspension days that are involved, there can be assignments, a variety of different things that all fit in that consistent matrix," Katherine Loudon, counseling, equity and diversity director, said.

After filing a report with the school and Reno police, his parents pulled him out of the school system, saying it's not enough.

"They get a slap on the wrist and get told don't do it again, and that's it, so why does that stop them? It just seems like it's being brushed off for someone else to handle," Richard Wilson, James' father, said.

Louden encourages bystanders to intervene when they see bullying.

"You can make them feel so much better by standing by them, by telling them, 'It's OK, you don't have to listen to them,'" she said. "Reporting is the only way to help to ensure that the behavior will stop, and it is the only way to ensure that it won't happen to someone else."

For James, the only place he feels safe now is at home. "I don't know what I could say to them without them getting mad and trying to beat me up," he said.

Those who suspect their children are being bullied should look for a change in behavior.

If the children complain of bullying, validate them and make sure they feel like they are being heard and supported, then take action.

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