My Little Pony and a young Flammer

[mildcigar_2001]

Recently saw this article relating how a young boy brought a "My Little Pony" backpack to school with entirely predictable results:

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/0...-for-bullying/

Granted the kid shouldn't be bullied, but more than the other kids, I blame the kid's Mom for letting him go to school like this (in a way it reminded me of a movie from a few years ago "About a Boy").

I was wondering from the boards TS members if they were smart enough to avoid this bullying and stay on the down low. I say smart enough because even at the age of nine I would have known better than to bring "My Little Pony" paraphernalia to school. Not that I was a fan, but even at nine you could understand what was going to happen if you ventured too far out on the gender frontier.

That being said I guess some kids are clueless, I remember a kid who wore suits to junior high every day and carried his pocket watch collection around in his briefcase (I think the pocket watches were welded together for him in shop class by someone who was not a fan). Other kids are real SOBs at times, but some kids appear to ask for trouble (as unfair as it may be).

[trish]

Sorry the link didn't work for me. But here are a few thoughts->

Yeah it’s the victim’s mother’s fault. WTF! No. It’s the fault of the bullies and their lax upbringing. We should have armed guards in schools so they can shoot asshole jerks who pick on other kids.

Okay, that's the over reaction of someone who's been bullied. But seriously. You should not raise a child to be ashamed of who they are and teach them to hide the proclivities that are characteristic of their fundamental identities. It’s not as if schools can’t be nurturing and that children can’t be taught to be understanding of their peers even when they're are different.

When I was growing up in white, rural Pennsylvania as an African-Korean American, geeky girl in a boy’s body, I defiantly dressed the part. Perhaps I was inspired by a Rocky and Bullwinkle DVD my Aunt gave me. In every show Mr. Wizard intoned in his heavy German accent,

“Tooter, Tooter. Always I tell you. Be just what you is, not what you is not. Folks that do this is the happiest lot.”

Yes, I had to contend with bullies. I got a few bruises and black eyes. But I also had family, friends, teachers and counselors who understood me. I knew who I was and I was determined in public to be just that.

Bullying is an attempt to gain social acceptance at the expense of another. Kids who bully do it out of a need to win the approval of their peers. If you can’t make friends with the bully, try engaging his peers.

[Chaos]

Really? His mom's fault? All she did was let him have something he likes.....End of the world shit right there....
No,it's the asshole bullies and their asshole parents that are to blame.
These shitheads need to realize that making fun of people different than you is futile....EVERYONE is different. But since it's something out of the ordinary,this school decides to help the bullies by telling this kid what he can/can't bring to school...
GUARANTEED if it was say, a kid getting bullied for wearing a football backpack One,they wouldn't be telling him to leave it at home. Two,anyone that bullied him would be punished..... but NO...They take the easy way out and punish the kid being bullied....Worst part is this kid is going to get it a lot worse now that this story made the news.....

[Tapatio]

Let's back up and appreciate the irony of OPs post.

[mildcigar_2001]

Perhaps at such a young age kids should not be so flamboyant.

To put it bluntly the kid's self preservation skills (and his mother's nurturing skills) are very poor. Sadly enough evidence of Darwinism in action. If you are stupid enough to paint a target on your back don't be surprised when people shoot arrows at you.

It may be unfair, but life often is. This whole episode seemed like a good occasion for the Mom to have a talk about public and private and what is appropriate and what is not. Most of the time you shouldn't be waving red flags at the bull.

To put this in a more adult example, perhaps Fred Phelps and his ilk should not be surprised if they demonstrate at a military funeral or in S.F. and then get roughed up a bit, tires slashed, etc. (the price of admission for some things).

While it is politically correct to say the kid shouldn't be bullied, a school administrator can't follow the kid around till he graduates high school.

[thombergeron]

You're an idiot. A nine-year-old liking a toy is flamboyant?

When I was a pre-adolescent, I got beat up and called a faggot because I was skinny and wore glasses. Why don't you go ahead and tell me I was asking for it for growing quickly and having bad eyesight?

Cretin. I hope to god your line dies out with you.

[AshlynCreamher]

I was raised in a household where the word "faggot" was used regularly by my stepfather who had zero tolerance for little sissy boi's. I still don't know if he thought he was trying to help me or just enjoyed breaking my spirit. some of my earliest childhood memories were of me and my two sisters play; house, barbie, even dress up - it was fun!

needless to say that when you prance into the living room wearing a dress and holding your sisters hand at the same time - I learned the hard way that you will get your little fanny whipped and be grounded to your room forced to be naked the who time waiting for mom to come home. in my mind, I can still hear her laughing in the living room when my step dad told he why I was being punished.

so you learn early on in life what is and what isn't acceptable and how to hide your girly stash so that no one finds them. and how to hide your emotions, secrets and desires.

I truly hope society will one day wake up. odds are people will keep acting like Nazi's and trans people will keep becoming drug addicts to numb there emotions and conform to society.

it's fucked up, I know!

[mildcigar_2001]

You're an idiot. A nine-year-old liking a toy is flamboyant?

When I was a pre-adolescent, I got beat up and called a faggot because I was skinny and wore glasses. Why don't you go ahead and tell me I was asking for it for growing quickly and having bad eyesight?

Cretin. I hope to god your line dies out with you.

Sorry you got beat up and called a faggot as a kid, but I had nothing to do with that. Just imagine what would have happened to you if were prancing about with My Little Pony toys in tow.

Your heartbreaking childhood aside, my point was that this Mother and son were merely setting themselves up for even more problems. There are times and places for making stands, but 4th grade probably is not one of them.

I thought I made clear in the original post that the bullying was unfortunate but entirely predictable, and both Mother and offspring should have known better.

[AshlynCreamher]

I was sharing my experience!

Here's an Idea how about I just keep my fucking mouth shut, will that work for you???

[trish]

Only in the wrong social climate will bullying predictable happen. Fourth graders are only as mean and shallow as their influences. Regardless of your age or your circumstances, standing up for who you are is the only healthy choice available. The only choice that leads to self-respect.