To the editor:

Bullying is defined as “a person who deliberately intimidates or is cruel to weaker people … an uncultured, aggressive, rude, noisy troublemaker.” In the case of Mitt Romney, a gang of bigger kids at a prep school assault a smaller, weaker student, surrounding him, taunting him, roughing him up then slamming him to the ground, holding him down while Mitt whacked off his hair to the jeers of the cowardly crowd.

Lawrence High School, in a similar act of “haircut” bullying, gave their bullies a few of days suspension! In its May 14 editorial, “Overreacting'” the Journal-World redefined bullying as “Harmless acts, easily repaired,” concluding we should “let the kids have a little fun.” I surmise in Lawrence, this type of bullying behavior is condoned. This, in itself, sends a cowardly message to the bullies it has been teaching, condoning their acts as almost inconsequential. Is bullying really just “good fun,” a matter of “youthful indiscretion” and “a harmless prank”? I doubt it was to any kid who ever has been a victim of bullies! Had this happened to a little girl, what would we call it then?

If Lawrence High wanted to send a message, it should hold a mandatory assembly, call the “bullies” up on the stage and publicly expel them from school in front of the student body, march them out onto the street and ban them from ever returning as consequences for unacceptable behavior. Is turnabout fair play? In this case, I would think yes.