Many of you have probably seen or heard about the Michigan boy whose mother created a Facebook page for him which went viral. His mother created it for him because his 11th birthday is coming up and he told her not to have a party because he doesn't have any friends due to his being on the spectrum. Apparently he even takes lunch in the principal's office because nobody will sit with him and he doesn't want to force himself on them.
It was that last part that really got to me. Eating lunch alone in the principal's office because nobody wants to sit with him? If that had been an African-American child in an all-white school, you'd better believe there'd be a lot stronger response than creating a Facebook page! That is just pure BS. Somebody better get their butt down to that school and start demanding answers. Why is this sort of discrimination even allowed? If it were a matter of race, there is no way that school would get a free pass.
Yes, it's a nice gesture on Mom's part, but it is ultimately meaningless and I suspect that her son knows it. I certainly did at that age. No, they didn't have Facebook or social media then, but there were plenty of people who knew what I was going through at school and did absolutely nothing about it except to tell me how they were really on my side and how sorry they were to see how meanly I was treated. That is a bunch of crap. Anyone can click "like." The REAL test is when he goes back in that school. Will he be invited--really invited--to sit with these kids? Or, will they use his Facebook page against him, pretending to "like" him but making fun behind his back?
There needs to be someone in that school with the guts to confront what is going on in that cafeteria and put a stop to it. As I said, if it were a matter of race, they wouldn't get off so easily. They'd have the whole African-American community up in arms and rightly so. If a kid is eating lunch alone in the principal's office because no one wants him around, there is something very wrong with this picture and something very wrong with those that passively allow it. It sounds like they need some education down at that school.
It was that last part that really got to me. Eating lunch alone in the principal's office because nobody wants to sit with him? If that had been an African-American child in an all-white school, you'd better believe there'd be a lot stronger response than creating a Facebook page! That is just pure BS. Somebody better get their butt down to that school and start demanding answers. Why is this sort of discrimination even allowed? If it were a matter of race, there is no way that school would get a free pass.
Yes, it's a nice gesture on Mom's part, but it is ultimately meaningless and I suspect that her son knows it. I certainly did at that age. No, they didn't have Facebook or social media then, but there were plenty of people who knew what I was going through at school and did absolutely nothing about it except to tell me how they were really on my side and how sorry they were to see how meanly I was treated. That is a bunch of crap. Anyone can click "like." The REAL test is when he goes back in that school. Will he be invited--really invited--to sit with these kids? Or, will they use his Facebook page against him, pretending to "like" him but making fun behind his back?
There needs to be someone in that school with the guts to confront what is going on in that cafeteria and put a stop to it. As I said, if it were a matter of race, they wouldn't get off so easily. They'd have the whole African-American community up in arms and rightly so. If a kid is eating lunch alone in the principal's office because no one wants him around, there is something very wrong with this picture and something very wrong with those that passively allow it. It sounds like they need some education down at that school.
