Don’t blame the victim, right?
Grayson Bruce, 9, was instructed by his Buncombe County School in North Carolina to leave his colorful My Little Pony bag at home because it was a distraction and a trigger for bullying.
Bruce’s mom, Noreen, rightfully disagreed. “Saying a lunchbox is a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape,” she said. “It’s flawed logic; it doesn’t make any sense.”
When Bruce took his My Little Pony Rainbow Dash bag to school, he was pushed, punched, and verbally assaulted by classmates. Some of his classmates thought the bag was only for girls, and showed their disapproval through the means of bullying. “My Little Pony” is Bruce’s favorite cartoon.
The “Bronies,” an adult My Little Pony community, has rallied behind Bruce by creating a Facebook fan page to raise awareness against bullying and to “empower kids to be who they really are.” Despite support, Bruce is still not allowed to carry the bag to school and the bullies have not been publicly disciplined.
The school district released a statement to WLOS reading: “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.”