During yesterday's House Education Subcommittee discussion of HB927, a great anti-bullying bill that was sent to the State Department of Education for study, Rep. Roger Kane made some of the most tone deaf comments about bullying imaginable. In the discussion of bullied students, he said, "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger."
Well, Representative Kane, I guess you haven't heard that bullying does kill, specifically in Tennessee. The cases of Jacob Rogers and Phillip Parker are well known throughout the country. "Rep. Kane's cavalier comments are deeply disturbing coming from a public official responsible for shaping school safety policies in Tennessee," said Jonathan Cole with the Tennessee Equality Project. "He's essentially saying that bullying is good for you because it toughens you up. Rep. Kane sends a terrible message to those Tennesseans who have forever lost a friend, a student, a son, or a daughter."
A person with Rep. Kane's lack of awareness and empathy has no place in the Legislature and certainly not on the House Education Subcommittee and full Committee.
Please, call Speaker of the House Beth Harwell at (615) 741-0709 or email her at speaker.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov and urge her to remove Rep. Kane from the House Education Committee.
