Recently, we have all heard the name, “Keaton Jones.” His mother posted a viral video that tugged at the heart strings of a world-wide audience, including a plethora of celebrities. Well, as the story continued to develop, several media outlets reported that Jones’ mother Kimberly had racist ties and pictures of Keaton surfaced where he and his family members were posing with a confederate flag.
Amid the outcry of deception and anger, one name surfaced to bring attention to “bullycide” a bit closer to home. Ten-year-old Colorado-native Ashawnty Davis recently hung herself as a result of being bullied in a video that was posted on social media. The beautiful fifth-grader from Sunrise Elementary School, succumbed to her injuries on December 6th after spending almost two weeks on life support.
In an attempt to confront her bully, a fight broke out at Davis’ school and it was uploaded to the Musical.ly app. Devastating the young student, two weeks later, she hung herself in her closet. “My daughter came home two weeks later and hanged herself in the closet,” her mother said in an interview.
In a statement released by the school, officials stated, “we do not tolerate bullying of any kind in our schools and we have a comprehensive bullying prevention program in place at all of our schools. The safety and well-being of students is our highest priority and we strive every today to ensure schools are safe, welcoming and supportive places that support learning.”
Bullying has become one of the top killers of children under 18, resulting in and estimated 4,400 deaths each year. Bullying is not just a “rite of passage”. It is an epidemic that changes lives forever. Speak up and help those in need. Together, let’s help victims of bullying suffer in silence no more. Have you experienced bullying? What advice do you have to help? Sound off, we want to hear from you.
