The heartbreaking video of Keaton Jones describing how he has been treated at school has gone viral. However, not even a video like this can stop people from tearing apart those involved. Accusations of racism and discussions of his father being abusive have dominated the narrative. Bullying is a serious problem within our school system in America. By digging up dirt and finding every single reason to discredit Keaton’s story, we have proof that social media should be blamed for a lot of it.
Yes, I am calling those who dug up every horrible thing they could on this family to use it to discredit his story bullies.
When I watched the video his mother took, I was heartbroken. However, I wasn’t surprised. We live in a world with newsfeeds filled with the best parts of people’s lives. It’s easy to make someone feel left out and excluded or like their life isn’t as good as someone else’s. It has become easier to tarnish someone’s reputation and self-esteem. Kids don’t have to look someone in the eye anymore. You can just send out a mean tweet or post pictures on Snapchat and Instagram making fun of someone else.
When I was in grade school, I was bullied. It leaves you with these voices in the back of your head telling you how stupid and ugly you are. I went on a school trip overseas to Italy my eighth grade year with a local high school. One of the girls my age would say “OMG Bailey, shut up, you are so stupid” so often, it was normal. Finally, one of the high school students turned around and told her to shut up and that I wasn’t stupid. I remember being shocked someone had even stood up for me. Years of being referred to as “it” or “that thing” and constantly being told I’m stupid lead to me dropping out of high school my freshman year due to the toll it eventually took on me. So, I was homeschooled the rest of that school year and went to a different high school. Still, after the years of therapy, I sometimes find myself believing what those kids said to me years ago.
Thankfully, this was around the time social media was taking off and I was only old enough to have a Facebook. Kids today can become surrounded by ridicule and hate every time they open their phone. What Keaton and his mother did was brave. It took me years to tell anyone just how bad it had gotten for me in school, let alone post it publicly.
Instead of being apart of the problem and finding ways to discredit this child’s story, how about we prioritize addressing this issue? We are taught the golden rule our first day of kindergarten: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” We soon forget the reason we were taught that so young is because it is a fundamental rule used to develop relationships with those around us.
To Keaton and everyone else who is being bullied, you are not alone. Furthermore, you have done nothing wrong. Being “different” isn’t some horrific crime. Who has the right to tell you what is normal? Bullying someone because they are not like you is absurd, and bullying someone out of your own insecurities is horrendous. We are all individuals and should be treated as such. There is no right or wrong personality or way to look, we are only made to be ourselves.
I promise you it will get better. Staying strong and being yourself is the best way to react.