Keaton Jones, a young Tennessee boy, fought back tears in a now-viral video that was posted by his mother describing how his bullies treated him at school.
If you haven’t seen the video that posted over the weekend, do yourself a favor and watch it here:
This is Keaton Jones, he lives in Knoxville and he has a little something to say about bullying.pic.twitter.com/coyQxFp33V— Everything TN (@Everything_TN) December 9, 2017
It’s tough to watch without getting at least a little bit misty-eyed. I can relate to Keaton because I was bullied quite a bit growing up in Connecticut and Pakistan.
Coming from a biracial background, I could never really fit in with my peers in either country. There was always an aspect of me that was foreign to them: To my schoolmates in West Hartford, Conn., it was being Muslim and half-Pakistani, and to my schoolmates in Lahore, it was being American. I’m not entirely sure if my identities alone were enough to make me a target, but I was a pushover and therefore great fodder for bullies.
When I started wearing contact lenses in the 7th grade, I’d put my glasses in a bin in the boys’ locker room during gym class along with my clothes. After gym class one afternoon, I found my clothes strewn about in the showers and my glasses broken, stuffed into a toilet, and urinated on. That was the beginning of it.
The entirety of 7th and 8th grade was a living nightmare for me in Pakistan. I’ve never had the crap kicked out of me or have been verbally abused more than those two years. It was awful. And when I saw the pain and anguish that Keaton had on his face, all those haunting memories came rushing back to me.
What I wish for Keaton is for him to feel like he belongs and that he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some of my faith in humanity has been restored after seeing that his story has gained nationwide attention from celebrities, athletes, and politicians. Virtually all of them have extended some invitation to Keaton to hang out with them. It’s certainly heartening.
At the same time, I hope we don’t stop there. There are millions of children who are bullied every day. Some find a way to handle the abuse, but there are many others who take to hurting themselves. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to kill myself after I had a run-in with a bully. There are too many children who have gone through with those suicidal thoughts.
In many ways, Keaton’s story runs parallel to the massive reckoning we’re having with men being exposed for sexual harassment, assault, and rape. He’s just one victim of this type of abuse. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see many more children (and adults, for that matter) come forward detailing the type of abuse they experienced.
Many have even argued that President Trump himself is a bully for how he’s treated his political peers and those who have worked for him over the years, whether it be with his mocking of a disabled reporter, harassing every political foe on the 2016 campaign trail (with particular emphasis on “Crooked Hillary,” “Lyin’ Ted,” or “Little Marco“), or belittling members of Congress (i.e. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.) while in office.
I bring up the president because bullying doesn’t stay on the playground or in the classroom. Some people never really outgrow it. What we need to do as adults and parents is to call out bullies when we see them and put an end to their malicious ways whether they’re sitting next to your child in class or occupy the Oval Office.
