On the bus, a 3-year-old boy is called "a disgusting redhead" and his mother responds by recalling the importance of inclusion
Childhood is a magical time, a season of life in which only happiness, playing games, and new discoveries should find a place.
However, it is also a particularly delicate and fragile phase in which the most sensitive children can remain, victims of their peers or older children, to whom empathy and the value of respecting others have not been taught.
This is what happened to Lauren Russell's little son, bullied because of his ginger hair.
Lauren Russell - Facebook
Lauren's child is only 3 years old but he already knows what it means to be discriminated against just for aesthetic details. At school and on the bus every day, the child has to deal with those who call him offensive names such ugly and "disgusting ginger", making him feel negatively different, strange or some sort of aberration.
Lauren thought then to share her story on Facebook, with the intention of using such a powerful means of communication to receive support by reporting this absurd story and raising the awareness of as many people as possible on the issue of bullying. Here is the text of her post:
"Today my heart broke in two.
Whilst traveling on a public bus number 12 I witnessed such cruel behavior towards my 3-year-old son from a very narrow-minded boy who couldn’t be much older than 13. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the first time and I know it won’t be the last.
He’s been targeted by people of all ages.
And what for? Because he has ginger hair. My beautiful boy was told social services should have taken him away because his hair color is disgusting.
The boy then turned to his friend and said if he ever had a ginger child he would kill it.
Now my little boy is only 3 and was left very confused. I feel devastated as I too have ginger hair and [know] all too well what it’s like to grow up being singled out/ the target of such bullies. He hasn’t stopped asking me why people don’t like his hair.
Lauren Russell - Facebook
He asked me if I could change it for him so people will like it. He asked me if he could be like his brother who doesn’t have ginger hair.
I can feel my heart breaking every time he asks me.
My little boy looks so sad and I want to make it better. The reason I am trying to go public with this is because I know these cruel bullies are in the minority.
I want to show my little boy that there is more good in this world than bad.
There are kind and caring non-judgmental people who won’t ever single him out. I ask you all to please share this and show my boy how beautiful he is.
I want to show him the good in this world with the power of Facebook.
It isn’t okay to bully somebody for their hair color, not now. Not ever. Thank you.”
Every child is beautiful in their own unique way and no one should ever make them feel less than that!
Please share this story with all your friends to put an end to bullying once and for all!"
Lauren's touching words now echo through social media and hopefully reach the hearts of as many people as possible, to make people understand the importance of protecting the uniqueness of each individual.
All the children in the world are beautiful and special, no one should ever dare to say otherwise.
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