Polish girls being bullied in British schools

by JAY - school Sat Apr 07, 2007 09:52

I think there shouldn't be bullying in school, especailly to those polish girls. i really don't get why those people doing this. there are bullying in my school, and i think those people who bully other people makes me disgusting, especailly girls. those polish girls are well behaved, well mannered and very pretty. so i will always against bullying and aways will stick up for those polish girls.

by Oppose Racism Sun Apr 08, 2007 17:45

To suggest that Irish people should ignore racist activity in Britain smacks of burying your head in the sand.

This article however, to me, appears to trivialise the whole issue and teachers, parents and students should take a firm stand against what are clearly racist attitudes.

by Question Fri Apr 13, 2007 14:25

Damien,
I feel sympathy for those kids who are bullied, but I have to pull you up on a few points in your article on journalistic standards.
Your opening paragraph is simply terrible.

(Attention all Polish girls, I have a very serious question for you. Are you too pretty to exist in Irish schools? You may want to look hard in the mirror and be honest with yourself, as it seems that being female, pretty and Polish are not a good mix; well, that is, if you go to certain districts of London and Nottingham at least.)

That's a nice lead in for a tabloid, but what does it imply? Polish girls are all prettier than Irish girls... is that not racism? There's 200,000 poles in Ireland, and while a lot of Polish women are quite pretty, I don't think it holds up that they are a nation of unparalled beauty. They have their share of plainer looking women, not to mention women who drink too much, smoke too much and eat too much, just like Irish girls, British girls, German girls etc. Secondly, what are you trying to inspire? If a pretty Polish schoolgirl was asked that question, she might develop fear and anxiety about how she looks, and how people might treat her for it. And does it not put down the non-Polish as racially inferior. Where does racism spring from, if not from fear and uninformed comment mascarading as fact - well meaning or otherwise.
Thirdly, you contradict yourself. ("female, pretty and Polish are not a good mix; well, that is, if you go to certain districts of London and Nottingham at least.)
Being pretty and female, can arouse jealousy without being Polish, and as you later state, a girl in Gdansk was much more seriously bullied by her compatriots, so why single out London or Nottingham. It really does read like tired old phrases from the Star, News of the World.
Fourthly, you entirely omit those girls who are bullied who are considered less pretty, or are bullied for something other than their looks. Are you only asking Polish beauties your 'serious question'?

(Polish newspaper Zycie Warszawy reported on Friday that a pretty blonde Polish teenage girl in London's Acton district suffered so much bullying from her female classmates for distracting the boys' attention from them, that her family decided to move back to Poland. What's more, Polish boys and British boys are having fisty-cuffs in their attempts to win over the hearts of the most beautiful Poles in their schools.)

Is this not a bit naive? A Polish newspaper does a story that is a tear jerker as well as a comliment to Polish patriotism (i.e. their target market).
Damien, c'mon. There's a bit of spin there now, a lot of the Polish papers get good column inches from the regular sob stories about how hard it is to be Polish abroad, and this is pushing buttons. Have you considered that they embellished it a bit, especially as the facts seem hard to verify e.g. Polish boys and british boys are having fisticuffs over Polish girls, cos Polish girls are prettier? Or plain and simple because Polish boys, having more in common, language and culture wise with Polish girls prefer them and are more protective of them. Do you really thing a newspaper did in depth analysis of a school bullying incident?
Now, the girl might well be very pretty, and she might well be getting picked on for the obvious reason of being foreign, and easy to single out, or perhaps it is simply jealousy of her looks, but your take on it seems to be racistly pro Polish, more than defending this girl in this incident.

(Magda Kwiatkowska turned the heads of local boys the moment she began to attend her new school in Acton. )
says the newspaper cliche. Perhaps it's true. But if so, it's cos she's pretty, not cos she's Polish. If a pretty local girl walked in I think the same heads would turn no?

(But the poor girl soon developed anaemia, depression, ulcers and Crone's Disease - an illness of the digestive system, after the threats and bullying became more severe. Her dad said, "my daughter was terrorised by other girls who the boys no longer paid attention to. She begged me to pick her up on time after school and was afraid to walk around town alone.")

that's awful. and she has my sympathy, which doesn't extend to the author when he writes the following.

(After changing school from the problems only continued and eventually the family decided to pack up their bags and head back home. Magda is now receiving assistance to overcome the trauma of being bullied for, well, just being herself.
But the problem hasn't departed Britain since Magda left, as Zycie Warszawy also report that gangs of Polish and British boys have been involved in scuffles in Lincoln, near Nottingham, to win over the hearts of their local Polish godesses.)

Polish godesses? I'm sorry, are we poor non-Polish too ugly to have them around then? Damien, Polish women are not "godesses". You are re-inforcing what you implied in your opening paragraph.

(I hope the girls have more sense than to fall for any of them but ahve the courage to report any bullying and taunting they receive.)

Now, that last sentence is one I'd fully back, I can understand that you feel great solidarity for these kids, but be a bit smarter in how you write up your articles in future

In case you missed it, stuff like that happens here as well to Irish kids. It's not because immigrants are prettier, it's because of racism, and lack of compassion amongst people, for - pick your reason, busier lifestyles have taken away the quality time where parents teach their kids to be tolerant and compassionate, , earlier sexualisation of kids, more violence or acceptance of violence as being acceptable in society.. whatever...
There has always been rivarly and jealous among kids about who is prettier. Parents need to be mindful of the attitudes that their children adopt in a more materialistic and media saturated world. Normal jealousy or self consiousness can be handled by good parenting, but more and more often in recent years it has escalated to include more violence, use of mobile phone cameras to blackmail, name calling and intimidation beyond the usual kids stuff, fuelled by more competition, more pressure, and less time to feel valued and loved for being who you are - Just like the adult world which filters down to our children.
And I think our society was heading that way regardless of immigration. Your article could in fact be used as (weak) argument for segregation in the class room.
It's not as simple as implying that the polish girls will get bullied because they're so much prettier than other girls. If that wasn't what you meant to imply, then have a good second read of your article and see how carelessly you wrote it, and who easy it would be to take that meaning, especially with hyped up terms "Polish godesses"

by Hard working Irishman Sat Jun 09, 2007 23:24

TRUE STORY! I doubt it.

I didn't realise that surveys into the reasons why children are bullied were carried out.
Maybe the bullies said, "you're so pretty while kicking the heads of these girls". Such an unusual thing for a bully to do, but hey believe what you like.
I would imagine that the children are being bullied because their foreigners and idiot children who know no better make stupid infantile comments or whatever else is done.

Now you f**king loser D4, cappuccino drinking students should stop winding the rest of us up with such pathetic manufactured stories that were created to be sensational.

In fact send your children to Poland in the years to come and see how nicely fellow adolescents treat your children and if by the looks of certain west brit, fake environmentalists I see these days, it certainly won't because your children are gifted in the looks (or brains) department.

by Justin Morahan Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:54

Sometimes I miss out on very important articles and this one escaped me until now.

Damien has highlighted something that has happened to a Polish girl in an English school. For me, his main point was that bullying in schools is an ongoing problem. He knows of this case because he is in Poland and if he has treated the story in a colourful or challenging way, I for one did not feel that he was saying any one nation's people are more beautiful that any other nation's. Nor did I feel that his approach took away from the central message. What he is making us ask ourselves is this: Is bullying happening in Irish schools to the children of our new immigrants? This is an important question in its own right.

School bullying appears to be a worldwide phenomenon of the most sinister and powerful kind. Strong forces are at work to prevent its exposure. Anyone who highlights a bullying incident is contributing to putting an end to a sinister culture that is strangling the childhood of countless victims. I applaud Damien for highlighting this particular case.

Adrian Mitchell, contemporary English poet and dramatist, in his powerful anti-bullying poem "Back in the Playground Blues" writes:

"You get it for being Jewish
Get it for being black
Get it for being chicken
Get it for fighting back
You get it for being big and fat
Get it for being small
Oh those who get it get it and get it
For any damn thing at all".

Damien has added that among the "any damn things at all" you can get it for being presumed beautiful, for being an immigrant, for being perceived competition, for being Polish - the list is endless.

Please don't throw out his important central message because you don't like the presentation of it.

by mikey84 from finland Tue Aug 26, 2008 20:52

It seems that the "reasons" for becoming a victim are global. This crap happens a lot in my country too. Good-looking foreign girls are "perfect" targets for bitter and jealous natives here.

Well, it has been said that jealousy is one of the "native" diseases here, so...

And sorry for my bad English.