Procedurals Are Finally Addressing Bullying, and I’m So Relieved

Bullying is a sore subject for me. I think so much of it could have been prevented before people snap and seek revenge on their toxic bully.

Lately, procedurals, such as Murder in a Small Town and Law & Order, have highlighted bullying in their weekly cases.

I’m so relieved to see these series examine that teenagers and adults crack under toxic environments.

These cases weren’t as black and white because vicious harassment, cyberbullying, or a toxic environment were all crimes too.

However, that never gives someone the right to bring a weapon to school or kill someone.

These cases are worth talking about.

Being Bullied Can Trigger People To Want Vengeance

Being bullied constantly makes someone snap and do things they’ll later regret. My husband was bullied in school, and I hate that years later, it’s still depicted that no one stopped the torture.

Brett Holman bullied Elliot Gifford daily on Murder in a Small Town Season 2 Episode 5.

It was apparent that Elliot wanted to shoot him, by the gun symbols, and that he stole a missing gun from a crime scene.

The teen felt isolated, thought no one cared, and he’d have to handle the issue himself. He only walked away when he saw his younger foster brother, Greg, trying to fight his battles.

He didn’t want Greg to become like him, but it was too late: Greg had already stolen the gun to confront Elliot’s bully. While it showed misplaced loyalty, someone could have gotten seriously hurt.

I hated that Brett Holman only got a warning while Elliot and Greg were processed. They were kids, so hopefully, their sentence will be light and they’ll be returned to their foster mom soon.

You could tell those cases took a toll on Karl and Sid, both of whom have kids.

Is Self-Defense a Valid Claim, or Should They Be Held Accountable?

While murder is always wrong, sometimes, it’s not black and white. When there were almost two victims, the murder victim, and the person the murder victim bullied.

Law & Order Season 25 has improved this season, going back to cases that tug at your heartstrings.

I really rooted for Cassie Moore to get a lighter sentence when a classmate adopted her photo with AI into nude photos, and that set her off, and she killed him.

Was it right? Absolutely not! However, she was a troubled teenage girl who had recently lost her mother and had her reputation ruined by a guy she once considered a friend.

I’m unsure if self-defense worked as a claim, but I believe she had mental health issues, and trying her as an adult was harsh. She needed help more than those many years in prison.

While “Battered Bankers Syndrome” wasn’t an exact legal definition, I appreciated that the judge let the defense use it.

Typically, that’s a defense used with battered women, but the defense countered that it applied since John Geller belittled Nick Rossi so brutally, and other workers witnessed it.

Nick Rossi’s mental health was affected, and he felt he had to preserve his life by killing John Geller’s.

It’s a grey line, since I felt empathy for him, especially during the flashbacks and when Nolan got him to confess on the stand.

Should he be held accountable? Probably, but I wished Sam had fought harder for a lighter sentence. She often uses her compassion to balance Nolan.

Society Needs to Take a Deeper Look at the Bullies

To better understand these issues, we need to dig deep and examine why teenagers bully.

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 4 attempted this, but the series missed the mark since it never explained why Haley created those AI images of Haley and their teacher.

She seemed to think it was an innocent teen prank, but we needed to learn more about her and her motivations.

While it’s possible she was a good kid who made a terrible mistake, it’s just as likely that she had been hurt by cyberbullying or was a sexual assault survivor. 

That episode would have been more emotionally layered if it had spent more time on her case.

Both Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU explored AI in the context of cyberbullying, so it’s a new trend that must be examined and stopped.

I felt the same way about Murder in a Small Town Season 2 Episode 5. While Jacob Shoemay (When Calls the Heart) portrayed a vicious bully well, they never explained why Brett Holman tortured his classmates.

I wondered if he thought he was superior since he was the Mayor’s son, so he chose to harass the foster kids.

However, acting out might have been the only way to get his mother’s attention, and we learned in psychology that negative attention was better than no attention at all.

They need to deal with his attitude before someone who knows how to handle a gun goes after him, and the situation could have played out differently.

Hopefully, he doesn’t disappear off-screen, and we’ll see him get help.

Over to you, Fanatics. Are you relieved that bullying is getting more attention?

Do you think these cases should be treated with compassion, or still get a full sentence?

I have strong opinions about these topics, and would love to hear yours. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

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