Get Bill O’Reilly On The Phone is a new feature where we take an occurrence in the news or pop culture and speculate how and if it might be eventually tied in some twisted way to video games. Plus it gives us a convenient excuse to get on our soapbox about something of interest to parents that isn’t directly tied to gaming (yet).
I am absolutely SHOCKED that Fox News (or some other form of “media”) haven’t found a way to turn the story of Casey Haynes, aka Zangief Kid, into a way to demonize video gaming yet again. A frequent target of bullies, young Casey finally snapped on one of them and delivered an Inverted Power Bomb that would make even Ron Simmons say “Damn!” Luckily (I guess), the bully in question wasn’t hurt too seriously, because it was a pretty brutal slam, actually. Given how quickly the Intertubes were able to pin the moniker of Zangief Kid, in honour of the rather large Russian wrestler from the Street Fighter series and his powerful grappling moves, on young Casey, I’m just waiting for the inevitable “How Video Games Created a Monster” stories.
Bullying is a very serious problem, and something that all parents have to be concerned about. Most children will be exposed to it over the course of their lives. What we should be doing is talking to our children (and each other) about bullying and its consequences. Like it or not, an inch here or there, and that bully is either dead or in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and Casey’s life changes for the worse based upon a few moments where pent up rage came to the surface. And believe me, I’m totally in the “bully had it coming” corner on this (seriously, mess with the bull, eventually you get the horn, pretty Darwin-esque to torment somebody who could throw you around with ease). But you know that Casey could have been in for a lifetime of misery (beyond the B.S. school suspension he already got) because he was essentially defending himself in a situation that he never asked to be in in the first place.
It’s not cool to bully. And one kid happily found that out the hard way without being permanently damaged for life. It also underscores how important it is for the victims of bullying to try and take proper action so that they don’t have to take matters into their own hands. That also involves parents and school administrators taking a more active role in finding and addressing cases of bullying. Because next time, the bully might not be so
