Comments of the Week: Tattooing and Bullying

Hermosa Beach residents are continuing to discuss possible restrictions to be placed on tattoo parlors in town. And parents respond to the question, "what do we do about bullying?"

Here are some of the comments we received from Hermosa Beach Patch readers this week:

Tattoo Restrictions

The to consider recommending that the Hermosa Beach City Council adopt a resolution that will require tattoo businesses to not be within a 100-foot buffer zone around residential property; not be within a 200-foot buffer zone around parks, schools and religious facilities; operate between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that tattoos and the business of tattooing are forms of expression protected by the First Amendment.

Patch readers weighed in on the decision:

• It is time to recognize the ruling of the court. This isn't porn. — wrote .
• This is just like bars. We now whine, whine, whine about having them. If you don't want these, relegate them to Aviation and be done with it. But don't whine in 20 years when you let them be everywhere. — wrote .

What Do We Do About Bullying?

The Hermosa Beach City School District and Parent-Teacher Organization to help parents learn how to communicate with their children about bullying and intolerance.

Some Patch readers had their own tips to share:

• 'Don't let them push you around. You are better then them if they want to prove something then prove them wrong.' — wrote .
• Standing up to a bully or defending a friend against a bully or noticing bullying tendencies in ourselves may require two or more types of courage. If we focus on courage, we believe, we can activate our other virtues—compassion, loyalty, empathy, honesty, and so on. Without the courage to enact those virtues they remain abstract. Bullying is a complex problem and may require different courage responses from different children, so we try to develop all six with stories, practical techniques, and 'courage challenges,' helping our children recognize their own capacity for courage, whatever problem they have to confront. Waiting until bullying is a problem for our child to take on this parenting challenge is akin to using the emergency room for primary care. Courage development can be part of our parenting practice from the time our kids are toddlers, so that when they arrive in a context where bullying is possible, they have the courage skills to manage the situation. — wrote .

Coming up: Check Patch on Sundays for our weekly roundup of the latest Hermosa Beach headlines in the Week in Review.