Bullied boy's heartbreaking video sparks support - and suspicion
Hearts have been breaking across the internet over a viral Facebook Live video of Quaden Bayles, a nine-year-old Australian boy with dwarfism who tells his mother he'd rather die than endure the bullying he faces at school. "I want someone to kill me," Quaden says in the video, as he sits and cries out of an open car door.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
This Is Heartbreaking
... and believe me, I am not one easily moved. It is must-viewing for anyone who has ever bullied or been bullied, but it is very, very hard to watch:
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I heard about this child this morning on BBC. It reminds me of pit bulls. Normally they're quite placid. The violent exception is trained to be aggressive. How many of these bullies are the product of lousy parenting? I knew better than to bully anyone. My parents would not have tolerated that. My father would have taken me to the wood shed. My mother would have given me worse. Some parents can make their kids into monsters.
ReplyDeleteI think the roots of bullying are likely complex but largely familial in origin, Mound, but I can't help but also wonder whether there isn't also something innate in our species that takes pleasure in victimizing and ostracizing those perceived as different. I wonder if that is a factor in racism.
DeleteWilliam Golding's view of humanity -- child or adult -- wasn't far wrong, Lorne.
ReplyDeleteAs we know, literature has always offered keen insights into the human condition, Owen.
DeleteI agree, bullying is a complex issue. I relate the following because I think there is a link between this child being forced to carry more than he is capable of, his mother - Yacca, I believe her first name is - and her courage and how to confront a first hand encounter with bullying and . . . my father.
ReplyDeleteHe'd been retired a while, the most exercise he was getting was golf and beers after. Why the signifcant other and I were in line with him at some big store during some busy period does not matter. Everyone was stressed out. - laugh - And some guy was berating a woman and her kid behind us in line. Loudly and ... he was also gesturing a bit. - laugh again - My father turned around, assessed the situation and walked up to this guy, not twice his size but definitely bigger, and steps between him and the lady and her and child and says, very quietly and staring him right in the eye, "You raise your hand now and I am going to knock you right on your ass . . . "
... the hanging implication being, "And I am not telling you twice." I have heard that voice before and looked in those eyes.
When you see bullying, put an end to it. When you notice you are doing it yourself, stop it even sooner.
When you see Karma like this ... the sun's over the yardarm early today. B-]
j a m e s
Thanks for the personal story here, James, and the advice. Both are well-taken.
DeleteMy father was only the first to step in, I was busy paying the bill and Bok was about to step in too. She's not a fighter but, you do not want to be slapped by her. laugh ... I know from experience. laugh .. The main thing was ... raise your hand to a woman or child and ... you do not know the can of Whoop-ass you just opened there. smile
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