Seriousness aside, our favorite part of this YouTube video is when the straight-laced newscaster gives viewers an overview understanding of My Little Pony and leads into the story.
“It’s a decades old kids show where pony characters emphasize the bonds of friendship. It’s become anything but friendship for 9-year-old Grayson Bruce.”
Channelling Ron Burgundy aside, the story is all sorts of ughh.
Grayson’s into My Little Pony, and his MLP backpack is getting him bullied at school. Understandable enough, given the ruthless demeanor children can take towards one another when something is in any way out of the norm.
How about we take this to the next level?
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But it’s his Buncombe County, North Carolina school’s response that leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouth. Their solution to the bullying problem?
Telling Grayson he can’t bring the backpack to school anymore, citing it as a “distraction.”
We know kids can be cruel, and if Grayson wanted to voluntarily trade in his awesome ponified backpack for a Jansport that looks like the rest of the herd, we’d entirely understand.
But a school should help kids learn how to think, and to do that they need to challenge their young’ns with things outside their comfort zones. A boy with a MLP backpack seems like a perfectly harmless opportunity to teach a lesson in diversity.
Or, you know, in homophobia. It’s not hard to guess which taunts are being slung Grason’s way.
Watch the full story here:
sweetbrandigirl2004
This is ridiculous punishing the victim of bullying. The school should be setting the example for this child and punish the boys who bullied him. They all should be identified and suspended. Lets support this kid and let him known he’s not alone please sign the petition.
http://www.change.org/petitions/tony-baldwin-allow-grayson-to-bring-his-backpack-to-school-and-crack-down-on-the-bullying
Mdterp01
Awww…leave that brony alone. Further example of how society driven gender roles create this kind of intolerance. Boys wear blue, girls wear pink; boys play with GI Joe, girls play with Barbie; boys can’t cry or show vulnerability, girls can; etc etc etc.
stranded
I wasn’t that sympathetic at first, but when the mom said, saying the lunchbox is a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape. She made a good point and it opened my eyes a bit.
Tommy
The backpack you choose to wear shouldn’t be a cause for bullying, but in this case it is. Honestly, I think the mother should of stopped him from wearing it. I know she was probably trying to say “express yourself”, but you should protect your child. Maybe once he was older, and able to tolerate the abuse and harassment he’d face for expressing himself, she would allow him to express himself.
Bullying is a hard problem to fix, and the school’s solution might sound negligent and irresponsible but the best they can do is say “Don’t allow your child to bring the book bag to school, it makes him a target to bullying.” A parent might be outraged, but the school can’t punish everyone who laughs, talks, and comments. “oh why does he have a girl book bag?”
Mother, protect your child.