Boy Bullied for Being a Brony Attempts to Take Own Life

[Castle Bleck 19,337]

@TorqueEffect,

 

Only if no one posted a thread about him.

[Mars Caramel 319]

Wait, so it turns out he's still alive? Awesome!

 

Hopefully, that means I can still donate for his treatment.

 

Edit: I need to be 18 to make a PayPal account? Nooo, there has to be another way...

Edited February 3, 2014 by Mars Brownie

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

But would we be here if he wasn't a brony? I don't think we would.

 

You completely ignored most of my post, didn't you?

[Simon 4,557]

 

 

But would we be here if he wasn't a brony? I don't think we would.

 

 

*sigh*

 

Why do people have to dwell on the bad in everything.  I'm tired of people acting like we shouldn't help Michael or criticizing those who do help Michael because they didn't help every non-brony out there.  I can't donate to every cause in the world... that doesn't mean that I'm a terrible selfish person for donating to a little boy who I can relate to.  Sure there are tons of great causes out there, but why wouldn't a brony community choose those causes that are uniquely connected to them?  We can all relate to Michael so we all want to help... let's just leave it at that and be happy that the community is doing good.

 

On a related note, but something that you didn't particularly address, I'm sick of reading on sites that we should donate to a general suicide or bullying charity instead of directly to Michael.  Why would I donate to an organization that takes out a huge chunk of my money for paychecks and overhead and sends it off to unknown causes I may or may not directly agree with, instead of putting it in the hands of a family I know will put it to good use. 

 

Bottom line, just be proud of bronies for five minutes for doing something freaking amazing to help a little boy, and quit spitting in the faces of those of us trying to lend a hoof to a little boy.

[Castle Bleck 19,337]

Wait, so it turns out he's still alive? Awesome!

 

Hopefully, that means I can still donate for his treatment.

 

Edit: I need to be 18 to make a PayPal account? Nooo, there has to be another way...

 

Um... why not just lie about your age?

[Crystal Peppermint 1,108]

First i saw this on Equestria daily i instantly spend some money. Its sad to read a eleven young boy to suicide.

I will pray for his recovery.

[GameytheGeemer 147]

I have never understood the phenomena of people wanting to kill themselves just because everyone they know hates them, every passing encounter is insult, being half sure that 80% of everyone would kill them, and so on and so forth. So could someone explain that to me.

 

Granted, that might be because that was how I lived from kindergarten to around 5th grade.

[ShadowRose2k 271]

 

 

"Oh I am getting kicked out for not paying my rent..."

 

I'm gonna take a guess and say you are refering to soundspeed.  You should know that his fans basicly forced him to accept their help to get him back on his feet.   He never asked for anything, just gave a statment that he needed to work things out.

 

WE live in tough times.  I could loose my job tomarow just because my company feels they don't need my silks anymore.  Then I'm forced to fall back on unemployment to support my wife and kids, with no guarante that I will soon find a job that pays enough to support my family.   Even if that did happen to me, I'd probably be too ashamed to ask even my own family for help.

 

 We can be generous with whom ever we please,  If the person needs the help or not.  Its our choice.

[Dzastur 1,719]

The outpouring of support from the Bronies community has astonished the family.  Suttle left a message for Andrea Libman, who does the voice of Pinkie Pie, asking if she might send a message of support to Michael.  Libman was in South Australia on vacation, and she found a way to record a personal message for Suttle to play for Michael.  In addition, she got every member of the cast to record individual messages for the boy.

 

“When we play the My Little Pony messages for him, there is increased activity on the EEG,” Suttle said.

 

Well, this sufficiently fulfills my lump-in-the-throat quota for today...

 

BTW: I understand and appreciate the back and forth re: suicide, but I'd add that this kid is only 11. It's usually pretty difficult to make decisions involving life and death at that age. Feelings of hopelessness often seem insurmountable.

[Lyrafinish 72]

Sadly I'm too young to donate for this kind of stuff, but my love and support goes out to him

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Um... why not just lie about your age?

 

Because that can you into deep shit due it being a service that handles money. It would be considered the same as lying to a bank. 

 

 

*sigh*

 

Why do people have to dwell on the bad in everything.  I'm tired of people acting like we shouldn't help Michael or criticizing those who do help Michael because they didn't help every non-brony out there.  I can't donate to every cause in the world... that doesn't mean that I'm a terrible selfish person for donating to a little boy who I can relate to.  Sure there are tons of great causes out there, but why wouldn't a brony community choose those causes that are uniquely connected to them?  We can all relate to Michael so we all want to help... let's just leave it at that and be happy that the community is doing good.

 

On a related note, but something that you didn't particularly address, I'm sick of reading on sites that we should donate to a general suicide or bullying charity instead of directly to Michael.  Why would I donate to an organization that takes out a huge chunk of my money for paychecks and overhead and sends it off to unknown causes I may or may not directly agree with, instead of putting it in the hands of a family I know will put it to good use. 

 

Bottom line, just be proud of bronies for five minutes for doing something freaking amazing to help a little boy, and quit spitting in the faces of those of us trying to lend a hoof to a little boy.

 

 

I'd to say I agree, it pains me that we live in such a cynical and pessimistic world that people will try and turn even something like donating money to a injured child around into selfish act in their minds and put the donor down instead of just seeing it as someone doing a good deed. 

[MLP Moth 224]

Can I meet the 'bullies' so I can punch each of them in the throat? I can't believe I am saying this; the bullies are probably around his age and they probably didn't know any better. You can't blame them, well you can. Blame their parents too, they didn't teach their kids how to accept others.

[Castle Bleck 19,337]

@MLP Moth,

 

"Punch each of them in the throat"? What, you mean like this?:

 

[Zekromic 1,054]

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/02/micheal-morones-hits-top-5-on-imgur.html

might show this, glad you spread the world about it

[Bubba090 16]

I don't have any money so im sorry but i have been getting picked on also in class

[Sir Wulfington 276]

@@Shoboni

@

 

Hey, folks. Due to the similarities between your threads and an older one, I'm merged them into a single thread. Thanks for understanding!

 

Brain damage can't be reversed with current medical technology, but with luck, he might be able to recover most of his physical and mental functions. I despise bullies, but to be honest, I don't wish them harm. They're kids who don't know any better. I just hope they take a good lesson from what they've done to their peer. Children can be amazingly cruel. 

 

No, they do know better. Kids can be evil. They deserve to suffer, especially if they intentionally tried to convince him into suicide. but they probably wont, because people with your mindset will argue that "they didn't know any better" or "they're just misunderstood" and they'll just get away with it.

 

It angers me that the boy tried to befriend the kids bulliying him, and that his family doesn't want revenge, they want to "change them with love" or something like that. Makes me fucking sick.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Sir Wulfington

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

No, they do know better. Kids can be evil. They deserve to suffer, especially if they intentionally tried to convince him into suicide. but they probably wont, because people with your mindset will argue that "they didn't know any better" or "they're just misunderstood" and they'll just get away with it.

 

It angers me that the boy tried to befriend the kids bulliying him, and that his family doesn't want revenge, they want to "change them with love" or something like that. Makes me fucking sick.

 

Revenge is never an answer, I agree they need to be someone punished to break them of pulling this shit again(or worse) in the future though. 

[)O( Scarlet )O( 1,259]

He chose to try to take his own life, bullying is nothing new. I can't say I feel very bad.

I have to agree, bullying is nothing new, and while it is sad that he chose to attempt to take his own life, why didn't he just tell someone like his parents or teacher about it, instead of contemplating suicide? There are far worse things to happen to a person than bullying, like poverty or abusive parents/family members. Yes, it sucks to be bullied, believe me, I know, but to attempt to take your own life, simply because you were being bullied is kind of, instead of talking it out with someone you trust... well IMO it is rather dumb. 

[Deesinn 393]

I have to agree, bullying is nothing new, and while it is sad that he chose to attempt to take his own life, why didn't he just tell someone like his parents or teacher about it, instead of contemplating suicide? There are far worse things to happen to a person than bullying, like poverty or abusive parents/family members. Yes, it sucks to be bullied, believe me, I know, but to attempt to take your own life, simply because you were being bullied is kind of, instead of talking it out with someone you trust... well IMO it is rather dumb. 

 

Yeah, I mean I was bullied a lot in Junior High, and I used to get the shit kicked out of me, but I had enough and knocked one of em hard.  I'm a small guy, so they defiantly weren't expecting that.  I blame this kids parents more than the bullies, because this kid clearly had very little self-esteem and confidence to actually make the choice of suicide, and choose not to stand up for himself regardless of what other people said.  Nobody taught him these vital lessons.  I swear when I have a kid, and if it's a dude, there is no way in hell I'm letting him be a little wuss bag.  When you lack a father that can teach a boy to love himself and take pride in himself, you get these kind of issues.  My dad was my moms little bitch, and my mom (as mothers usually do) babied her babies, it's no wonder bullies targeted me, and no wonder that I could barley talk to girls until I was 17.  I feared way too much in life, and I never took any risks back then.  It takes a long time to realize you have a problem with yourself, and to actually start fixing it takes even longer.  All of the dead ends and all of the useless information you have to filter through can be a nightmare.  I do feel bad for this kid, and the parents helped instill this lack of self-esteem into their boy, unknowingly of course.  It's so important that we avoid conditioning our children in a way that drains them of their natural self-esteem. 

[Captain Brony (MG11) 218]

I have to agree, bullying is nothing new, and while it is sad that he chose to attempt to take his own life, why didn't he just tell someone like his parents or teacher about it, instead of contemplating suicide? There are far worse things to happen to a person than bullying, like poverty or abusive parents/family members. Yes, it sucks to be bullied, believe me, I know, but to attempt to take your own life, simply because you were being bullied is kind of, instead of talking it out with someone you trust... well IMO it is rather dumb.

 

Wow where do I begin..

Well first off you never know exactly what they were going through.

Think psychology. Getting put down and insulted for something you love makes you feel that their words illegitimize your love for it. There is a perceived role for males, and because of it he was being told he's not supposed to do that as a male. If he's not following his role than he feels incompetent for not living up to his "role."

 

If you are torn between doing something you love and failure to be competent then its hard to choose between the two.

In the end you feel you have no choice despite the fact that there usually is one.

If you can't do what you love, if you can't be competent in life, then why live? How can you find the strength to admit your own incompetence to the ones closest to you?

 

That's where this goes. In the end it's not that dumb.

That's why we need to be there to let people know there always is a choice, you just have to learn how to live with the consequences and learn from it in order to make better choices in the future.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Captain Brony (MG11)

[Simon 4,557]

Story made it onto a local news station finally... http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9418200&vid=9418234

 

I really have to applaud the newscasters at the station... not only was their coverage heartwarming and respectful of both Michael and the fandom, but you could truly tell that they cared about Michael and this cause.  They even linked to the brony study and other sites to try and help people to understand bronies instead of judging them.  I really wish this kind of journalistic integrity was at every station.

 

You'll also notice that the family has said that any extra money after his medical bills will go to help them start their anti-bullying charity which they are now determined to create.

 

Edit:

 

On the other end of the spectrum of journalistic integrity... http://gawker.com/eleven-year-old-attempts-suicide-after-bullying-over-my-1515455915

 

Good job guys... call Brony culture silly in an article about how teasing a little boy about liking MLP caused him to attempt to commit suicide... *Sigh*

 

And those comments make me sad for humanity...

Edited February 4, 2014 by Simon

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

Story made it onto a local news station finally... http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9418200&vid=9418234

 

I really have to applaud the newscasters at the station... not only was their coverage heartwarming and respectful of both Michael and the fandom, but you could truly tell that they cared about Michael and this cause.  They even linked to the brony study and other sites to try and help people to understand bronies instead of judging them.  I really wish this kind of journalistic integrity was at every station.

Kid gets bullied to the point that he tries to take his own life, and ABC is sure to remind you that "this is a story you will only see on ABC."

 

So much fucking integrity.

 

EQD was honestly the only site that actually came off as genuinely concerned for the boy's well-being. Everyone else only wants to turn human misery into some kind of sick reality show to drive up their ratings.

 

Here's hoping you make a full recovery, Michael. We're all rooting for you, so please don't let us down.

 

I'd like to extend a very sincere thank you to anyone and everyone who has donated, run fundraisers, or just taken the time to give his family a kind word. We saw a poor soul in desperate need of help, and we stepped in to give him whatever we could, be it big or small. Thank all of you for reminding me that there is still good in humanity. I love you all!

[)O( Scarlet )O( 1,259]

Wow where do I begin..

Well first off you never know exactly what they were going through.

Think psychology. Getting put down and insulted for something you love makes you feel that their words illegitimize your love for it. There is a perceived role for males, and because of it he was being told he's not supposed to do that as a male. If he's not following his role than he feels incompetent for not living up to his "role."

 

If you are torn between doing something you love and failure to be competent then its hard to choose between the two.

In the end you feel you have no choice despite the fact that there usually is one.

If you can't do what you love, if you can't be competent in life, then why live? How can you find the strength to admit your own incompetence to the ones closest to you?

 

That's where this goes. In the end it's not that dumb.

That's why we need to be there to let people know there always is a choice, you just have to learn how to live with the consequences and learn from it in order to make better choices in the future.

 

Been there, done that, most of my life. Don't think I haven't! I wasn't calling him dumb, but more his actions. Did he even try to talk to his parents or school councilor about it? From all I've read and heard, he went straight to the suicide option... Yes, I too have been close to that situation, for various different reasons, but in the end, I personally chose to put the blade down and go to my mother and talk to her about it. What I find kind of disturbing is how the parents are demanding the bullies parents to pay for the medical bills, kids will be kids, as will bullies will be bullies, you cannot escape from bullying, I learned that the hard way. It is his parents fault for not recognizing the signs before it was too late, they should have recognized the signs and talked to him, or he should have trusted them enough to go to them and talk about it..

 

I am sorry if this sounds harsh, but this is me speaking as a ex-parent and someone who has gone through very similar situations.

[Sir Wulfington 276]

Revenge is never an answer, I agree they need to be someone punished to break them of pulling this shit again(or worse) in the future though. 

 

Revenge is valid in this case, and punishing them is the point, revenge is punishment. I just don't want a couple of jerks who were bullying someone for no good reason to get away with it without at least a solid fist to the face. And before somebody says that I wouldn't say that if the bullies were my kids, yes yes I would, if I had a son or daughter I'd fully support somebody kicking their asses if they were treating somebody terribly for their own sick amusement. If I support it when it's someone else's kids, than I'll support it if it's my own, or else I'd be a hypocrite. 

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Revenge is valid in this case, and punishing them is the point, revenge is punishment. I just don't want a couple of jerks who were bullying someone for no good reason to get away with it without at least a solid fist to the face. And before somebody says that I wouldn't say that if the bullies were my kids, yes yes I would, if I had a son or daughter I'd fully support somebody kicking their asses if they were treating somebody terribly for their own sick amusement. If I support it when it's someone else's kids, than I'll support it if it's my own, or else I'd be a hypocrite. 

 

You have to remember, if we sink to the level of people like this we make ourselves no better than them.