Do not tolerate attacks on disabled

Angeliz Marrero has a mission. And it is one we should pay close attention to because it speaks to what kind of society we have and what kind of children we are raising.

Ms. Marrero is 17. Her mission is to toughen laws against bullying or mistreating people with disabilities. She saw that vicious video of several teens attacking a mentally challenged man near Newark. It reminded her of attacks on her brother, who is disabled. Her family reported it, but nothing was done.

"Everyone is here for a purpose," she told a reporter. "If I know I can make a difference just by using my voice, why wouldn't I do that? Everyone needs someone."

She is right. She wants people, especially teenagers, to stop bullying people who have disabilities. A report last year on bullying showed that of the cases that had a known cause, 10 percent were because of the victim's disability. This is an outrage.

Ms. Marrero wants to turn bullying a person with a disability into a felony. The sentiment is understandable. However, as Widener University law professor Jules Epstein points out, the most common sort of bully, a 14- or 15-year-old, is not likely to be deterred by the threat of a felony. He said do not underestimate the power of a misdemeanor conviction. It gives the sentencing judge some leeway in finding an appropriate punishment.

There is a difference, of course, between verbal bullying and what happened to the man in the Newark beating. Cruel words exchanged in a school hallway or mean tricks on an unsuspecting victim should be handled appropriately. But a savage beating clearly is criminal. In that case, the teenagers are not callous adolescents. They are criminals and should be punished as criminals.

The Attorney General's office increased the charges against the teenagers in the beating to include a hate-crime count. That is an unusual charge. The FBI has no record of a hate crime motivated by someone's disability. To the extent the charge shows the Attorney General's belief in the seriousness of the case, that is good. However, the legal matter, including proving it, may not be as strong. The video evidence of repeated, unprovoked assaults on an innocent victim should elicit enough punishment from the legal system.

Of course, outrages like that one provoke an angry response from the community. However, few attacks are caught on video. The cowards who do the hitting and the bullying usually want no witnesses. In addition, it is the smaller act of bullying, the daily shove or insult or cruel trick that goes unnoticed. Those acts do mount up. They make daily life a horror and leave a lasting mark on the victim. The public will respond to a beating viewed on the Internet. It is the smaller, the sneaky attack that has to be stopped.

There are no quick or easy solutions. We should, however, as a society refuse to accept such bullying. It should be condemned and punished publicly. It will not be easy, but we must find a way to change the culture.