Here is the dramatic photo of the boy’s face who took a beating at an Oklahoma junior high school. Preston Hodge, age 14, was left with broken bones, contusions, and police were originally concerned he might have injuries to internal organs.
Photo: Preston Hodge
School bullying at middle schools is a problem receiving a lot of attention in the media this year. We all know the stories of boys or girls who have been tormented into suicide from public ridicule on the internet or by bullies at school. Preston Hodge is the latest such case that is raising public awareness of bullying, although there may be more to this story than meets the eye as I will soon explain.
Preston attends Longfellow Middle School in Enid, Oklahoma. School officials say there was an altercation between the two boys that initially began as trash talking and shoving. Then they got into a fight. Who threw the first punch is an open question but the school administrators say that the beating was a “hate incident” whatever that means.
When the perpetrator (who is unnamed) was interviewed by police, he claimed that all he did was bump Preston accidentally and Preston responded by shoving him and yelling a slur. Read more here. Preston underwent surgery at a local hospital in Enid which was apparently successful, because he tweeted on Thursday from the hospital bed that he wants to go home.
The photo of Preston laying beaten on the pavement is heart wrenching to say the least. Every mom and dad viewing that picture sees in their mind’s eye an innocent boy who looks about 8-years old. It was posted by his mom and dad on Facebook through a friend of the family, a local attorney named Jeff Rust, who reportedly started a fundraiser on Facebook to help pay his medical bills. Information on how to make a donation can be found here.
And yet a review of Preston’s Twitter page which you can find here reveals a long-haired teenager obsessed with NFL football who likes to talk a lot of smack. The header of his Twitter page contains two profanities (out of six words) which you can blow up below and read for yourself.
The day before he got beat up he retweeted a message from someone else that read “Teenagers are either drunk, stoned, texting, having sex, or asleep.” Whether or not he agrees with these sentiments about teenage life in Oklahoma is anyone’s guess, but there may be more to Preston Hodge than the sweetheart in one still photograph suggests to our heartstrings.
Preston’s Facebook page is here. It contains a photo with another crass reference to what your mother might like to do with your winky. You can blow that one up too below.
Now a lot of kids act this way of course. It is the stuff of coolness (for some) as they find ways to act independently and work their way into adult life. He may very well be an outstanding teenager who is an innocent victim of a hate crime.
But jumping to conclusions in this case would be a mistake until all the facts are out. Who was the aggressor is still an open question, although it is obvious that the other boy went much, much too far. Still, the Preston Hodge beating case in Oklahoma may not in the final analysis be a textbook example of school bullying.
Your thoughts?
(click twice to enlarge)
April 27th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Finally! Someone is making sense! We don’t have all the facts. We don’t know which kid was being bullied. Looking at his twitter feed, the alleged victim isn’t as innocent as he has been portrayed by local media. Does he deserve to be beaten unconcious because he is douchey? No, not at all… But it wasn’t like he was polishing his halo and reading his bible when the other kid came at him unprovoked.
I’m very interested to see how everyone feels about this when more information is brought forward.
Either way, both kids have issues and need some anger management counseling.
April 27th, 2012 at 7:30 am
The same could be said of Trayvon Martain.
Looking like a gangsta is not a crime. Trash talking on Facebook is something lots of kids do. Hey, maybe Preston was wearing a hoodie, huh?
No, we don’t know who started it, but one boy was beaten almost beyond recognition. He was beaten well after he stopped fighting. He was beaten savagely, to the point of serious injury.
Winning a fight is one thing, but battering a beaten opponent is another. The offender needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
April 27th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Why does it have to do with race Sodapop, or clothing or anything that has to do with the look of that kid? Clearly breaking bones is a little extreme in any fight but there is nothing wrong with making sure he remembers to bite his tongue before he talks to the wrong person like that IF he was calling someone a racial slurr like it was implied. A bully 99% of the time is all talk and is only a bully until they get punched in the face then they dont bully people anymore. whatever happened to the golden rule treat others like you would like to be treated?
April 28th, 2012 at 5:45 am
Big Country:
Breaking bones is a LITTLE extreme???
I don’t care what that kid said, or what he’s done in the past. He was almost beat to death. He was beat on well after he stopped fighting back. He was beat WHILE he was unconscious.
I’m not making it about race, maybe you are, I’m stating that no one deserves a beating, like that, under any circumstance.
If you can’t understand that, the maybe you’re a racist. Maybe you’re just happy that the white boy got what YOU THOUGHT was coming to him.
April 28th, 2012 at 9:26 pm
@Sodapop.
A. We don’t know all the details yet. What if the alleged victim has been abusing the alleged attacker. You don’t know whether or not that’s true. There hasn’t even been an arrest yet. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
B. you are exaggerating. He didn’t almost die. Getting your face broken and leaving the hospital the next day isn’t the same as almost dying. As much as everyone wants it to be, it’s not.
C. Like I said, he didn’t deserve to be beaten unconcious. I don’t see where anyone here has stated that the alleged attacker doesn’t deserved to be punished. Your argument is invalid. Trayvon’s case isn’t even relevant.
What you are trying to do is called a “straw man argument.” google that.