NEST Management sent me notice of a BBC Panorama program on the phenemona that is called Happy Slapping (video recorded assault). With being in Majorca I didn't see the program when it aired, however, I watched it on their website today. If you get a chance I recommend that you watch the program, it raises extremely serious questions about sites such as YouTube and others allowing such violent clips to be shown on their servers!
I've been aware of Happy Slapping for a while but didn't know of it happening to anyone I knew until one of my Sensei recently informed me that one of our teen students was severely Happy Slapped. He had been minding his own business when an older lad punched him to the ground and repeatedly kicked him whilst another recorded the serious assault on a mobile phone which was then uploaded to a video website for others to have a laugh at!
The boy's mum was very upset over the incident, she told me that the Police were pressing charges and added that her son's confidence had been shattered; I assured her that we would do our best to restore that through Kempo. That's all we can do, it'd be nice to Happy Slap the bruts that do this to others but that would see us charged, in the end we rightly have to leave such matters in the hands of the law. However, going by the BBC program it doesn't look promising that websites like YouTube will ban such sick video clips so it looks like Happy Slapping will remain as part of the UK culture for now. There's a lot to be said for bringing back public flogging over such offences but that would humiliate the offender and breach their human rights, we can't have that now... can we?
As always, your comments are welcome.
I've been aware of Happy Slapping for a while but didn't know of it happening to anyone I knew until one of my Sensei recently informed me that one of our teen students was severely Happy Slapped. He had been minding his own business when an older lad punched him to the ground and repeatedly kicked him whilst another recorded the serious assault on a mobile phone which was then uploaded to a video website for others to have a laugh at!
The boy's mum was very upset over the incident, she told me that the Police were pressing charges and added that her son's confidence had been shattered; I assured her that we would do our best to restore that through Kempo. That's all we can do, it'd be nice to Happy Slap the bruts that do this to others but that would see us charged, in the end we rightly have to leave such matters in the hands of the law. However, going by the BBC program it doesn't look promising that websites like YouTube will ban such sick video clips so it looks like Happy Slapping will remain as part of the UK culture for now. There's a lot to be said for bringing back public flogging over such offences but that would humiliate the offender and breach their human rights, we can't have that now... can we?
As always, your comments are welcome.