I was upset by Julia Steiny’s July 27 column, “Pyschologist warns against turning bullies into criminals.” Psychologist “Izzy” Kalman does have a valid point about punishment creating criminals out of children; if it is indeed punishment for simply fighting with or insulting another child, we risk doing our own bullying.

A true child bully, however, already seeks enjoyment through continually hurting certain others. Such a child is already on a path to crime, and proper punishment could change that path. Kalman simply minimizes the problem. Observe his telling, facile example of “Johnny called me an idiot,” where he claims that if the insulted child doesn’t believe it, there is no problem; if he or she does believe it, it is his or her own problem.

What if the insulting word were “ugly” or “poor”? Would he still just have the child decide if that is true, and consider it dealt with? If such an incident were a part of actual bullying, it would be endlessly repeated, and by his own logic, the victims of such cruelty are put at risk of becoming criminals themselves. Whom are we trying to protect?

THOMAS HAWKE

Wakefield