The Anti-Bullying Movement Died Today

[Initech]

Cause Of Death: A racist mother with a hidden agenda to extort the internet.

As someone who was a victim of bullying, this hurts. This story hurt. It hurt to watch the video. And then it hurt even more to learn that the mother behind it was a frothing at the mouth hardcore racist. And the kid who was at the helm of the video was being used by the mother as a tool to gain the internet's sympathy for money.

And this sucks. This sucks because thanks to these assholes, it ruined people who are legitimate victims of actual bullying. You see at least one headline a week about someone who commits suicide because the bullies are out of control. You don't see them getting invited to see UFC fights ringside, or to Avengers premieres, or NFL walk ons, or video game tournament invites. These people are the real victims, and they are the ones whose stories need to be heard.

The even more insane thing about this story? The video was recorded TWO FUCKING MONTHS ago. And the school dealt with the situation at hand at the time and those involved were punished as the school saw fit. So why did this mom choose to release this video? The answer is simple: money and internet fame. Well that fame was short lived and deservedly so.

But this story ruins it for the real victims. This story will make celebrities, talk shows, and just about anyone who has a sympathetic heart think twice before they express sympathy - be it monetary contributions, or red carpet premiere invites, or football game walk ons, or anything else. Within 24 hours, we saw the best of humanity - people willing to pour their hearts out, and then within not even 24 hours later, we saw the worst of it.

We saw people willing to give this poor kid the world, and then we saw the mom with confederate flags and saying fuck Black Lives Matter. What we really saw was a kid who had shitty parents revealing he was just repeating what they said, and then exploiting humanity. This story sucks, and everyone in it sucks. How do you deal with someone who is a victim of bullying when the parents are liars and bullies themeselves? They officially ruined the anti-bullying movement forever, and I hope they sleep easier at night knowing what they did.

[rainin]

1. All is not lost.

This story shows that the internet audience has a way of weeding out the disingenuous. That's a good thing.

[Initech]

3. I hope so.

In time they will get theirs. Karma always finds a way to work itself out.

[roamer65]

2. I feel sorry for Keaton.

Shitty classmates AND shitty parents. I hope he overcomes it.

[madaboutharry]

4. I don't think they ruined the anti-bullying movement.

What they did was reveal themselves as bad parents and racists. One family doesn't have that kind of power. People take bullying very seriously and they will continue to do so.

[Initech]

7. It does show how quickly someone can rise and fall.

I mean I was really angry when I saw the news coming out this morning. Maybe they didn't completely ruin it, but they did do significant damage to the cause.

[uppityperson]

5. I think saying they ruined anti-bullying movement forever is a bit is an overstatement

Yes, it's a messed up story, but the anti-bullying will go on.

[Initech]

8. Well maybe they didn't completely ruin it.

But they did do significant damage to the cause. It will take a while to recover from this one.

[LuckyCharms]

6. Can someone please explain to me what happened?

I'm aware of the video, but I don't know about his mother.

Thank you.

[highplainsdem]

10. Here -- LBN post:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141936634

[LuckyCharms]

11. I'll check it out. Thanks a lot. n/t

[BigmanPigman]

14. The mother is racist and got a Go Fund Me Page

and then a ton of celebrities got caught up in a viral video. A Facebook search showed that the mom used her son's video as a scam to get money while she has evidence that she is a racist from her own Facebook page history.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141936634

[jberryhill]

9. I have been traveling for work....

...and whatever this story is - and no don’t tell me - I’m glad I missed it. Ignorance can be bliss.

[virgogal]

12. I have absolutely no idea what this is about.

[Initech]

13. Just do a Google search for "bullied kid".

There's already several hundred articles about it. I don't even want to name these people's names or give them any attention.

[virgogal]

15. Thank you-----will do.

[EL34x4]

16. The whole "GoFundMe" phenomenon is strange to me.

Of course, people are free to spend their money how they wish and there's nothing wrong with crowdfunding for a good cause but some of these campaigns, and the obscene amount of money they raise, just seems weird.

This kid allegedly was bullied and someone felt he needed $20,000 for his future. At $57,000, the fund was cut off. Others have received over $100,000 after getting stiffed on tips. Meanwhile, some truly worthy campaigns raise barely a pittance due to a lack of publicity.

It seems to me that GoFundMe is ripe for scams and that might've been what this woman was angling for.

[Initech]

20. Oh for sure.

I think there was someone here who tried to scam users by Go Fund Me a while back. I hardly ever donate to campaigns. If I do I always tread with extreme caution. You just never know who's legit and who is a scammer. I've been duped before so that is why I'm always leery.

[melman]

17. No it didn't

This is just the internet being the internet. First it has to make this one kid the focus of the whole thing. Then, there has to be a reason to hate the kid/kid's family. If wasn't Instagram posts and gofundme's it would have been something else. Internet gotta internet.

[marble falls]

18. The mother is a racist and on tape being racist, but Kenton is still the victim of bullies....

the issue of bullying is still a whole lot bigger and more important as an issue than his mother being a jerk. And the bullied Keaton is more important than his wrong-minded mother.

[msongs]

19. sounds like the kid's primary bully lives in the house with him nt

[Initech]

21. Yeah true!

[Algernon Moncrieff]

22. Trump is and has been a reaction to the anti-bullying movement

To them , anti-bullying, participation trophies, multiculturalism -- all of it is part of what they think of as "snowflake culture." Their view is that Americans should conform to a Christian, Eurocentrist, English-speaking culture; and they believe that is is perfectly OK to have contempt for non-conformists (in fact they thrive on it). They love the border wall and the war on terror because the sense of having a villain gets them off. They despise (not nearly a strong enough word) Black Lives Matter because it embodies everything they hate; not only is it anti-police, but it's perceived as part of the whole pants-sagging/rap music culture they can't stand.

[secondwind]

23. Poor kid has a bully for a mom. This makes me sick to my stomach.