If You Don't Want To Be Bullied, Leave Your MLP Bag At Home

[Formaldehyde]

North Carolina school bans boy’s “My Little Pony” lunch bag rather than confront its bullying problem

A 9-year-old North Carolina boy who was physically and verbally attacked by classmates after he brought a “My Little Pony” lunch bag to school has been instructed to start bringing his lunch in something else because school officials believe the bag — not the bullying — is the real problem.

Grayson Bruce says that he knows that his favorite cartoon may be marketed toward girls, but doesn’t see a problem with boys watching and liking it, too. He says he likes the show’s message of friendship, and, when the time came to choose a lunch bag for the school year, he picked one featuring his favorite character from the show. As for the classmates who have attacked him over his lunch bag, Grayson is heartbreakingly measured in his response. “They’re taking it a little too far with, you know, punching me, pushing me down, calling me horrible names,” he told WLOS ABC News 13. “Stuff that really shouldn’t happen.”[

Grayson’s mom, Noreen, is also defending her son, calling the school out for excusing bullying rather than taking action against it. “Saying a lunchbox is a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape. It’s flawed logic; it doesn’t make any sense,” she said.

Buncombe County Schools defended its actions regarding Grayson’s lunch bag in a statement, saying, “An initial step was taken to immediately address a situation that had created a disruption in the classroom. Buncombe County Schools takes bullying very seriously, and we will continue to take steps to resolve this issue.”

Here is a local news article with video.

What do you think? Should schools ban such objects which cause ridicule and bullying? Is this comparable to blaming the attire for a rape? Are some schools more interested in keeping the peace than addressing the bullying that they punish the victim instead of those who did the bullying?

 

[gay_Aleks]

how to prevent husbands cheating at their wives? easy: close down all motels.

north carolina logic.

 

[Borachio]

Ridiculous. This will just drive MLP activists underground. Better to keep them out in the open, where we can see them

 

[gay_Aleks]

Ridiculous. This will just drive MLP activists underground. Better to keep them out in the open, where we can see them

...so that we can ridicule them in the open?

 

[Borachio]

No. Just so we know who they are. Imagine stumbling on one unawares. *shudder*

 

[gay_Aleks]

oh land of freedom, how much I love you.

 

[warpus]

The school doesn't want to deal with the bullies directly.. it's far easier dealing with the kid who is getting bullied, right? Lazy lazy school administrators here as far as I'm concerned. It seems like they have just thrown up their hands, said "You can't stop bullies, are you crazy?" and went on with their lives, without even trying.

So there's that. But there's also the I think sensible one on one conversation with the student. Yeah, you can wear whatever you want, but kids can be relentless when it comes to picking on those who are different or "weird". Some kids just don't get that they will get picked on if they come to school wearing something's that just not accepted by their classmates.

So it seems to me like it was sensible when a teacher (or whoever) talked to the kid and said: "Listen kid, I'll give you some advice. You're new around these parts - if you continue bringing in that backpack, people will make fun of you and you won't make any friends. Just so you know."

Cause you know.. a lot of kids don't know. A lot of kids are oblivious.

So I don't mind that conversation, but what I do mind is the school shifting the blame over from the bullies to the bullied. That's just garbage.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Maybe Immigration Services at the borders should do the same - "Hey, mister Chavez; this country is more prejudiced to you than a fervorous Spanish conquistador; just don't bother coming here. Try Cuba; heard its weather is good at this time of the year".

Perhaps, in fact, we shouldn't let anyone different.

 

[civver_764]

I think that kid should bring the lunchbox to school everyday as an act of protest.

So it seems to me like it was sensible when a teacher (or whoever) talked to the kid and said: "Listen kid, I'll give you some advice. You're new around these parts - if you continue bringing in that backpack, people will make fun of you and you won't make any friends. Just so you know."

I don't think that we really need more submissive people in the world.

 

[dusters]

that kid should get karate lessons from one of Chuck Norris karate schools in NC.

 

[GenMarshall]

Well now I'm torn on this issue....and I'm a former anti-brony!

On one coin the anti-brony side of me says "Good! He deserved it for liking a girl's show and rubbing into other kid's faces!". While another, being a victim of bullying while I was younger want to side with the kid.

Gah! My brain hurts. So. Many. Conflicting. Feelings!

 

[Mango Elephant]

north carolina logic.

We were once one of the most progressive states in the South, if you can believe it.

On one coin the anti-brony side of me says "Good! He deserved it for liking a girl's show and rubbing into other kid's faces!".

That's awful.

 

[useless]

Ridiculous. This will just drive MLP activists underground. Better to keep them out in the open, where we can see them

This is actually quite important. If they go underground the fedora industry would go bankrupt and out of business

 

[Perfection]

Being antibrony is uncool.

 

[warpus]

Being a bronie is alright, but I think people have to understand that there are going to be a lot of blatantly anti-bronies out there. Do you remember what most of us thought when we first heard that boys.. and men, were following this show? Now multiply that by whatever and you get what your regular high school jackarse thinks of it. And schools are PACKED with jackarses like that.

Kids should be taught that it's desirable to be yourself and act yourself and do whatever it is that you're into as long as you don't hurt anyone else. But they should also somehow learn that a part of life is balancing your own personal uniqueness with the needs of social conformity. I hate social conformity, but by "going with it" to an extent in certain situations can help you a LOT. For example, coming in to work (or to wherever) dressed nice and smelling nice can open a lot of doors. It makes everything go smoother. You don't need to sacrifice your personal code of "being yourself" or whatever to do that, just be mindful of what's going on around you, what sort of social groups exist, and which group you are a part of.

Every social group has its unspoken rules of conduct, a dresscode, and all sorts of stupid stuff that people follow for whatever reason. If you're the only kid with a backpack with a goddamn pony on it, and no other guys do that, then you are going to be singled out. That's just what happens at school and in a way in other aspects of life as well. Bullying is definitely NOT okay, but if you're that kid you are going to have to worry about a lot more than just bullying.. Congratulations, you've created your own social group, and you're the only one in it. Bullying is just the icing on the cake.

It's not desirable to compromise your own personal identity in any way shape or form, but kids should be definitely learning in some capacity that the world is full of jerks and that we're pretty much just monkeys running around making fun of eachother, trying to climb the social & other ladders at whatever cost, and just generally not caring about being nice to eachother. We're mean social animals, we form cliques, and then we make fun of people who are not in our clique. This really comes out in school, probably because by the time we're older we "learn" that it's just not cool and that we should be more civilized. What ends up happening is that everyone puts on a mask and the monkey business continues behind the scenes, but that's a bit of a tangent.

So you know.. it sucks for this kid, but there were things I liked when I was in school that I didn't proudly display for everyone to see. I've been bullied, I know what it's like, I know what would fly and what wouldn't. A backpack with a pony on it would definitely be out up to until at least grade 10.

 

[JollyRoger]

Did they get the idea from this forum that moved the MLP crowd to a safe haven for their own protection?

 

[Borachio]

Relevant. (-ish)

Link to video.

 

[Quackers]

'Murica guna 'Murica.

Still, you probably shouldn't bring up your gay ponies at school. It is like waving a red flag infront of bulls.

 

[useless]

Sure being anti-brony is uncool, but being a brony isn't the height of coolness either tbh.

Same with anime tho

 

[Mango Elephant]

This is actually quite important. If they go underground the fedora industry would go bankrupt and out of business

Really? The boy is 9-years-old.