Last Tuesday, September 2, at the Wenceslao Rivero basic high school in the city of Las Tunas, an altercation occurred between two students who jumped into the networks through a video filmed inside the classroom and became the subject of debate.
According to the General Directorate of Education of the Municipality, one of the students used a pencil to hurt his partner. The aggression did not cause serious injuries, but “scratches”, As published by newspaper 26 of Las Tunas.
Although the video is quite shocking and the fact itself is disturbing, to reduce this event to a specific moment, would be to ignore the complexity and root of what happened.
What we saw in the video that circulates and what is described in official reports is only the tip of the iceberg of a much deeper problem: bullying, systematic mockery and silent complicity of those around children and adolescents.
What happened at the Wenceslao Rivero de las Tunas Basic School It is not an isolated fact: It is a reflection of a phenomenon that crosses many educational institutions in the country.
A student assaulted another with a pencil, yes, and everyone speaks only of the final moment, the visible gesture and the immediate reaction. But almost nobody stops to look at what was before: probably repeated teasing, humiliations, emotional blackmail, social pressure and a mistreatment that becomes part of the daily routine.
In any case, every small aggression, every cruel comment, every look of disapproval that ignores the victim’s pain, accumulates as drops that fill a glass until they place.
In the video, the passivity or complicity that is observed in the rest of the adolescents is striking. The vast majority of students do not intervene: some laugh, others make fun and many simply turn their face thinking: “It is not with me.”
It is a classroom without teachers present, with cell phones ready to record the incident as if it were a show; A classroom that becomes a scenario where indifference is as harmful as aggression itself.
I do not justify the student’s action, but I do understand that no child or adolescent explodes out of nowhere. And I presume that this time it happened again. Violence does not arise in a vacuum: it is the culmination of constant pressure, of sustained harassment that erodes self -esteem and security.
When the abuse becomes part of the routine, the rage finds its exit and the limits of patience break. Silence, indifference and complicity of the environment are as destructive as physical aggression.
When a child finally reacts, social conviction is usually immediate. A child who defends his integrity against repeated abuse is not a simple aggressor; He is someone who has been brought to the limit by a system that fails to protect it.
Punish only the effect and not address the cause is to perpetuate injustice and send a wrong message to students.
Some voices of society have contributed necessary nuances to this debate. A journalist assured That, although I had not seen the video directly, the reports indicate abuse and repeated teasing: “I also just justify the aggression, but if they first attacked with teasing and emotional blackmail, before he threatens his life, I prefer that he defends himself. That group needs collective psychological therapy and specialized monitoring. It seems that many groups need it, if something similar happens in them.”
An educator with more than 50 years of experience considered that relatives and teachers should pay attention to children and young people, observe their behavior in both groups and when they are alone, and not allow occupation and indifference to make us spectators of situations that can climb in emotional or physical damage.
Many of the reactions that caused these facts reflect how school violence not only marks the victim, but also evidences the way in which control and discipline systems can fail, leaving a feeling of injustice and frustration that endures.
This inevitably sends us to parallels with the film Trucker (Sebastián Miló, 2012), media that portrays the crudeness of bullying in rural schools in Cuba.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1yritxha2e
The story of Raidel and Randy shows how the humiliation, violence and passivity of most students generate a climate of fear and despair.
The film reminds us that the Bullying It is not a new problem and that education cannot be limited to imparting knowledge: it must teach values, empathy and solidarity.
Complices, indifference, recorded aggressions and absent teachers are scenes that are repeated and we must face urgently.
None of this is resolved with exemplary punishment or cold communiqués, but educating in respect, teaching empathy from home, observing the behavior of our children and looking at where it has to be: in protecting the victims before it is too late.
He Bullying It is a complex phenomenon that requires comprehensive responses, which include education in values, psychological accompaniment, institutional monitoring and an active commitment of the entire community.
School violence, every time it becomes public, demands a deep reflection on how we build safe and respectful environments for all students.
