Dear Mr O'Reilly,

Have you ever heard of mental injuries? Do you believe they don't happen to children? They do and are a result of actions as severe as Romney's were in prep school - and also less severe actions than Romney's.

Children are more impressionable and prone to permanent emotional scaring and trauma. After all, we are talking about human beings, who regardless of age - anywhere between birth and death - who can suffer mental injuries, resulting in a life of emotional hurt and pain.

And until an individual reaches an age someone near the age of 24, his brain has not fully developed and injuries from bullying will likely be far more severe. (Injuries as a result of being pinned down in prep school and unwillingly having his hair cut.)

A prep school prank is putting a fart cushion in the chair of another, not bullying them - by holding them down against their will and cutting their hair when it wasn't requested by the victim. And this incident even goes outside the realm of bullying. If these facts are correct, Mr. Romney engaged in criminal behavior.

Children can be cruel and with actions of bullying, whether verbal or physical can leave other children scared for life. Your implication that it didn't matter because it involves kids and hence it was a harmless prank is wrong. Putting one's hands on another or verbal abuse is not a prank. It at a minimum is bullying and as is the case with Mr. Romney some form of a crime. (Mr. Romney's actions could be considered an assault.)

Mr. O'Reilly what if this was your child? Please educate yourself on childhood bullying and it's resultant, sometimes lifetime trauma. Afterall we have children in our time

killing themselves because they can't stand people mistreating and bullying them.

And since I know you to be a fair person, ask your attorney if Mitt Romney's actions in this pinning down/haircut wrongdoing was actionable in a criminal court of law. If not, was it bullying.

(If you want first knowledge from a victim of relentless bullying and the ensuing lifelong emotional scaring, please contact me.)

Roberta M. Helming