You’ve been in a goddamn coma the last 36 hours if you haven’t seen the bullying video from Huntington Beach High School. Pretty sure everyone in the world with access to the internet has formed an opinion on it now, if our Facebook comments serve as any kind of measuring stick.

UPDATE 6:00pm EST:

Despite reports of the contrary by the Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, and The Blaze, to name a few publications, the Huntington Beach School District is now stating that Cody Pines was never suspended from school or the football program for his role in breaking up the altercation in question. Whether this is the HBHS faculty back-peddling in response to the initial public outcry, or simply a result of journalism based on misinformation, I am not certain. What I am confident of is that our readers’ response was refreshing and adequate had Cody Pines been met with reprimands for his actions, and I stand by my assertions of “bullshit” had the school’s faculty thought of levying punishment on him for even one second. Thank you for reading.

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Of course, I have an opinion on it, too: it’s bullshit the student shown coming to the blind kid’s aid and knocking the bully out cold was kicked off the football team and suspended from school. It’s bullshit that “policy” requires Cody Pines to be reprimanded for defending his friend Austin (actually only partially blind, because that matters) from an onslaught of punches against which he was struggling to defend himself. It’s utter bullshit and it reinforces counter-intuitive policies that operate on absolutes when nothing in life is simply black & white.

“Hey, Cody Pines, it was a great thing you did coming to Austin’s aid; oh yeah, you’re suspended from school and no longer a member of the football team. Zero-tolerance, I’m sure you understand.”

Am I missing something, or what the fuck?

That honestly has to be the single WORST enforcement of a so-called “zero-tolerance” policy that you’ll ever hear of, and it totally constitutes credence for that policy to be reexamined ASAP.

That is unless it’s the Huntington Beach School District’s aim to teach kids that if you witness someone getting assaulted – I use “assaulted” because all of the recorded evidence and testimony indicates that Austin was attempting to defend himself from what the law defines as “battery” – that it’s okay to stand bye idly and let it happen!?

Because effectively, that’s what the Huntington Beach High School faculty’s decision says when it reprimands Cody Pines for his heroism by not only dismissing him from educational pursuits, but also from the football team.

I mean, the school’s zero-tolerance punishment literally superseded local law enforcement’s judgement and assessment of the situation! How backwards is that!? Police evaluated everything that was on the table and made the call to arrest the assailant in question and nobody else. Shouldn’t that tell us all we need to know, or are we going to call into question our law enforcement now too?

The point of school is to best prepare and enable kids to live a successful life. If we’re stripping them of their educational endeavors and social involvement because we’re enforcing asinine zero-tolerance policies in the face of commendable action, then we’re doing a great disservice to the youth of today.

Thankfully, it seems I am not the only one who believes Huntington Beach High School’s decision to suspend Cody Pines and remove him from the football team is bullshit. Since Friday morning, more than 35,000 signatures have supported a petition that states:

Cody stepped in when he saw his friend and fellow classmate who is visually diabled being physically bullied. (Punched multiple times in face/head) Cody comes and steps in, punches the bully one time to get him away, guides his friend to a safe location and talks to the bully about how he was beating up a blind kid and how it was wrong. There is Youtube video of the main part of the confrontation.

We believe Cody should stay in school where he belongs. While violence is never the best option what Cody did to defend his friend and classmate was justified. And schools “zero-tolerance” policies out even the person saving disabled friends.

We Signed: Don’t Suspend Cody Pines after defending a blind classmate against a bully!

Yeah, it’s bullshit if this kid isn’t in the classroom on Monday morning and at football practice come Monday afternoon.