Left thinking mentality turns tragic for "My Little Pony" boy

03/25/2014

Agenda First: While parents and media busy with anti-bullying agenda, 11 year old Grayson struggles alone with sexuality issues he is not yet ready to share with the national media.   Congratulations!

                                                                                                  Grayson Bruce

The battle faced by Grayson Bruce hits close to home for Tiffany Morones-Suttle, the mother of an 11-year-old Wake County boy thought to have attempted suicide by hanging himself after what his parents say was bullying because he liked My Little Pony.

Michael has been in a medically induced coma since he was found unconscious in his home Jan. 23 and is still being treated for potentially lifelong neurological injuries caused by a lack of oxygen. Morones-Suttle said they don’t know how much he will recover or when, if ever.

“What happened with Grayson, what happened with Michael really boils down to simple discrimination,” Morones-Suttle said. “I’m so grateful his parents stepped in and that Grayson was brave about sharing what was going on.”

Many of Grayson’s supporters drew parallels between the cases, saying they should both be used as teaching tools for bullying prevention.

“The world has developed stereotypes for our children, and when our children don’t fit these gender and sexist stereotypes they’re ostracized, ridiculed and bullied,” Morones-Suttle said. “Our society is no longer building up our children and setting them up for success, only tearing them down.”

Many of Michael and Grayson’s supporters took issue with the “bullying triggers” concept first, saying the idea of hiding an item that elicits bullying is comparable to blaming the victim.

Noreen Bruce, Grayson’s mother, has said administrators recommended Grayson hide the bag that he used as a lunchbox so other kids wouldn’t make fun of it.

“A backpack as a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape or a spouse drinking excessively is a trigger for them being abusive,” Morones-Suttle said. “They’re not triggers. They are excuses for people to use to justify them being jerks, essentially. And that is not OK.

“I sincerely hope that the change has started with Michael, continues with Grayson and on to the next kid that doesn’t fit into what society expects,” she said. “As long as people are decent and positive, kind and caring, there’s only up.”

Visit www.michaelmorones.org for more on bullying prevention and how to help the Morones-Suttle family.

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