Bully victim is murdered and his dad is roughed up in court

[proud2BlibKansan]

Classmate charged in death of teen said to be bullying victim

By BENITA Y. WILLIAMS and LAURA BAUER
The Kansas City Star

At Gardner Edgerton High School, Dakota DeRemus was the kid some students liked to pick on.

And Wednesday, authorities charged another sophomore, Dustin Howard, with involuntary manslaughter after a fight led to DeRemus’ death.

DeRemus, who authorities said had a heart ailment, was hit in the chest, ribs and back while at least four youths watched after school Monday. He collapsed during the fight in the backyard of his Gardner home, and an hour later, neighbors found his body, police said.

The two boys, both 16, agreed to fight, the suspect’s attorney said at a hearing Wednesday in the juvenile division of Johnson County District Court. Authorities confiscated a cell-phone video of the fight.

DeRemus’ father, Frank DeRemus, lashed out Wednesday at the suspect’s family during the hearing, saying his son had been bullied for two years.

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After DeRemus’ father lashed out at Howard’s family in court, deputies grabbed him, slammed him against a wall, leaving a hole, then led him away in handcuffs over protests from relatives.

Johnson County Sheriff’s spokesman Tom Erickson said the man was released without being booked into jail. A disorderly conduct report will be sent to the district attorney to review for possible charges.

more . . .
http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/479068-p2.html

[ursi]

1. what a sad mess

[angrycarpenter]

2. Stories about bullies hit me hard.

I was bullied in school. I was a skinny, short, funny looking kid with glasses. Good in school bad at sports. I had a target on me until I finally filled out about 16.

I read stories like that and once again I am crawling in the dirt or getting my head dunked in the toilet.

The sheer damage that bullying does to children is massive. It makes them withdraw and have revenge fantasies rather than learning how to function in society.

I hope they punish the boys who did this in the harshest way possible.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. The one thing bullies did for me...

Was push me into martial arts training. I got pretty good at it, too. Once stopped 5 guys from working over one guy and got the biggest to back off with just a look. Oh yeah, I got some broken ribs from the deal, but they healed. Didn't feel a thing at the time. I was deep in "Wu Mind".

Sure, I still have issues from what I went through in high school. They ultimately festered long enough to where they resulted in clinical depression. But that's treatable and that treatment is ongoing. But being a small, percieved smart guy in high school is a ticket to torment.

As for bullies, I still have a simple philosophy: They exist for me to pummel with scant mercy. I have yet to see one that understands anything else. I have stopped their actions before and if presented with the necessity, I will do so again. With relish and delight, because it is a guilty but pure pleasure of mine to do so. Nothing is quite as satisfying as stopping them. Nothing.

[angrycarpenter]

4. I know what you mean.

I got really good with nunchuks. I never hit anyone with them but the perception of danger was enough to keep them off me. I used to carry them everywhere I went. Plus I told one guy I would burn his house while he slept if he touched me. He never spoke to me again.

I was an angry young man.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. I am no longer particularly angry.

Taking a few of them out tends to mitigate that. But they do make me righteously indignant, perhaps the best attitude to have when going into personal combat. When I see someone else being physically victimized, some switch in me trips and I just wade in and make them stop, as painfully and damagingly as possible.

That time I confronted the 5 guys, I was bouncing in a bar. When I walked back in, both the boss and a woman I knew said that they could not believe it was me out there, that it was so different from what I am. My boss said he never, ever thought I could do something like that. Frankly, neither did I.

I did something like that in Richmond VA, in the club district. A pretty big guy was beating up a woman who turned out to be a stripper at one of the joints. Without thinking I walked up behind him, grabbed him and bent him backwards and hit him with a right karate punch in the temple. He dropped, got up, looked at me and ran away crying. I then started to think that I must be insane for doing that, but I had not thought, just acted purely from training.

The good news is we went back to the club she was dancing in, she told them about this and one of her collegues later...ahem...rewarded me, so to speak. Insanity does have it's occasional rewards. ;-)