I was someone who was tortured horrendously pretty much from the time I was in kindergarten till the time I graduated high school. Yeah, I survived it, but I often wish that someone (anyone, really) had stepped in and made things a little easier. I don't know the kid's situation or what led up to this, but I know that if I had been in sixth grade and was put up for ridicule in front of the school with teacher approval, I'd have been more than mortified myself.
And while it's true you'll never get the true story in the articles, having been on the receiving end of all sorts of humiliation it wouldn't surprised me if this was motivated by cruelty under the guise of humor. I'm willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt until I hear otherwise.
"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey