Keaton Jones, viral for being bullied, needs free self-defense classes

The latest viral movement involves young Keaton Jones, a boy in Tennessee who has experienced brutal bullying for everything from his nose to how he talks. His mother recorded him crying in the car when she had to come pick him up from school, after again not wanting to face the cafeteria. In that moment, a shaking Keaton details his own experiences, as well as pleading for tolerance for other bullied children.

This past weekend, Keaton and his mother received well-wishes from plenty of celebrities and ordinary people. Sean Hannity raised money and has offered to reach out to school board members and principals. Keaton met a few of the Tennessee Titans, and has received invitations to UFC headquarters and ESPN, among other esteemed destinations.

Ask yourselves this, however: What happens when all the gifts and attention fade away? What happens when Keaton’s viral video is just one among the masses, and he goes back to school … and grows up? Will his mother be able to pick him up from high school when he wants?

In the massive response to Keaton, I haven’t seen anything in the way of teaching this boy how to stand up for himself.

From K-12, I was generally well-liked, and by some miracle didn’t need to do much to achieve that status. I was shy, didn’t mingle with any single group, didn’t play sports, and was about 130 pounds in my senior year of high school. I still, like every child, received my fair share of annoyances and taunting; two instances stand out.

My freshman year of high school, one guy insisted on passing me notes with weird pictures of me, in all honesty sometimes sexual in nature, and would even trap me (when I was naive) into answering gross, inappropriate questions. My dad had eventually told me, “Grab this kid by the collar, get right up to his face, and tell him to knock it off.” This was in a Catholic school a decade ago, so we’re not in a call-the-cops territory yet. I did what my Dad told me, and my tormentor looked beyond shocked. He never bothered me again.

The other instance in high school was a girl that just loved poking everyone’s ribs, figuratively. She was very sarcastic and silly. Looking back, her taunts didn’t even make much sense. Once we watched the Jim Carrey “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” classic, and she called out from the back, “Neil looks like the Grinch baby!” Yes, because I’m so green and hairy.

Once in gym, while we were playing dodgeball, she called out from the bench, “Everyone watch out for Neil’s throws because he has AIDS!” I’m not kidding. I dropped my ball, go to the bench, leap up from the floor, and got in her face. “NOT funny. AIDS is a disease people die from!”

I was woke before it was cool. Her smile went from silly to “What’s going on?” in 2 seconds. My gym teacher told my parents at one event that it was the first time she ever witnessed anyone stand up to this girl.

Keaton should get more offers for free self-defense classes, or tweets from parents teaching him to stand up, get in these kids’ faces, and be intimidating. Most of the time, fists aren’t even necessary — just the threat of being pushed back is enough.

In the end, after all of this love from total strangers is gone, kids will still be kids, and bullies will still bully. If I — skinny, shy, and not yet outspoken — can take on a bully, so can this boy. The most valuable prize Keaton Jones can take away from this experience is not meeting the Tennessee Titans, but to learn to be a Titan in his own skin.

Neil Dwyer is a graduate of the University of Miami, a political and sports broadcaster, and a freelance writer.

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