Wait a minute: What happened to zero tolerance for offenses like bullying? ABC News affiliate WLOS reports that a Buncombe County, N.C., mother and her 9-year-old son were told by school officials to leave his My Little Pony bag at home.
The child, Grayson Bruce, said he was being shoved around by other students who found his taste in toys “girlish.” Grayson told reporters:
They’re taking it a little too far, with punching me, pushing me down, calling me horrible names, stuff that really shouldn’t happen.
He’s right. Why an entire squadron of Thought Police from the Gender Stereotype-bashing Unit hasn’t descended on Candler Elementary School yet is an enigma.
“My Little Pony,” for non-initiates, is the name of a TV cartoon program and line of toys and other show-themed paraphernalia popular through the 1990s. The main emphasis of the show, ironically, is the importance of friendship.
“Most of the characters in the show are girls,” Grayson acknowledges, “and most of the people put it toward girls, most of the toys are girly, and surprisingly I found stuff like this.”
He picked out a Rainbow Dash bag this year, which he says intensified the attacks against him. Last week, administrators finally took action. They called Grayson and his mother, Noreen, in to inform them that the bag had become a distraction and a “trigger for bullying.” They asked that the offending merchandise not be brought back onto school grounds.
Noreen Grayson is incredulous. Why, she asks, isn’t the school disciplining the bullies instead of punishing the victim? The school won’t say. The district declined an interview but provided the station with a statement advising that:
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.
Grayson, meanwhile, is using a different bag to carry his lunch to school, but he and his mom maintain that it’s wrong to force him to leave the My Little Pony bag at home. Amen.
A pox on the school!
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