Games.

Fun, entertaining, a way to blow off steam.

When I was young, games included anything outside on a nice day, playing kickball or hide-and-seek with neighborhood friends. We would be out from early morning until our moms called us in for dinner, always close to our homes.

On a rainy day, we would end up in someone's basement, playing board games, with permission from our parents.

Apparently, in Philadelphia, some kids have a different idea of games.

Four months ago, my cousin's daughter, a Temple University student, was walking back to her apartment with her boyfriend when she was taunted by a group of eight to 15 year old girls.

I'll call my cousin's daughter Mary and her boyfriend Jack.

Mary and Jack have chosen to remain anonymous throughout this ordeal.

Mary and Jack tried to ignore the group of girls and continue on their way, but apparently it wasn't providing the entertainment the girls needed.

Some of the girls began by attempting to steal Jack's backpack.

Others began punching Mary in the face, attempting to steal her earrings. The oldest girl decided to smash her mouth with a brick.

After having their fun they took off.

The attack made the evening news and continued to make headlines as the search for the girls intensified.

Three girls were found and charged shortly thereafter.

Mary and Jack were very lucky.

Although Mary suffered severe damage to her mouth and teeth, she will recover and was anxious to return to classes despite my cousin's objections.

Jack took Mary to the hospital immediately and the doctors began working on her. Jack was not injured.

Two other girls were attacked the same afternoon, identified as the same group of girls.

The second victim turned out to be my niece's sister-in-law.

Knowing two of the victims is too close to home for me.

Are these games a new form of bullying?

Bullying has gone on for many years, however I believe the level of bullying has become more intense.

Bullying happens everywhere such as in 2011 in Sydney, Australia where a camera phone video caught a skinny 12-year-old Richard Gale punch a defenseless bigger 16-year old Casey Heynes because he was encouraged to do so by his friends. Heynes finally snapped and slammed the tormenter into the concrete.

Heynes said he had been called names about his weight for months by Gale.

Po Bronson, co-author of "NUTURESHOCK: New Thinking About Children" questions if it would be called bullying if Heynes was black or gay?

Bronson says "according to Dr. Stephen Russell at the University of Arizona, fully 75 percent of all incidents we call 'bullying' employ hate speech and bias– racial bias, sexual orientation bias, gender bias, body type bias and religious bias."

What were those girls thinking? Did they really think this would be fun and they wouldn't be caught?

Was this a fun game for them? Entertaining?

Were they tormeting these three young ladies because of a bias?

And most importantly, where were the young girls' parents and what kind of upbringing did these children have?

Growing up, I knew right from wrong. I knew if I did something wrong, one of the neighbors would call my mother. That was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Now, everyone keeps to themselves and police must rely on video from neighboring businesses to help solve crimes such as this.

Bronson said "the truth is, calling it 'bullying' gives kids cover. Bullying, bad as the connotation might be, is something kids do. Hate crimes and assault are something grownups do. No anti-bulling program can succeed unless it confronts these underlying prejudices. Only when such intolerances are reduced will bullying go down."

I worry for future generations as the level of "games" and "entertainment" takes a serious turn for the worse.

I hope, as a community, we can offer solutions to this dangerous problem and help these young people realize the ramifications of such actions, both literally and morally.

Debbie Galbraith

editor

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press