Bullying leads to pain, sorrow, and can even make people lose their will to live. A heartbreaking video is going viral and it once again brought the topic of bullying to the forefront of most people’s minds.
In the video filmed by his mother Yarraka Bayles, 9-year-old Quaden cries and says he wants to take his own life because he gets bullied over having Achondroplasia, a form of Dwarfism, every single day.
The video even spurred some celebrities to lend Quaden a helping hand, including comedian Brad Williams who also has Dwarfism: he raised over 175k Australian dollars (and counting) to send the child and his mother to Disneyland in California. You can support the GoFundMe campaign right here. Bored Panda spoke with Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt from the University of Ottawa, an expert in children's mental health and violence prevention, about Quaden's case. Scroll down for the full interview.
We must warn you, Yarraka’s video of Quaden is very emotional and you should watch it at your discretion.
9-year-old Quaden gets bullied every day at school because of his Dwarfism
Image credits: Yarraka Bayles
His mother uploaded a heartbreaking video of her child in distress to show the effects of bullying
Image credits: Yarraka Bayles
Image credits: Yarraka Bayles
Image credits: Yarraka Bayles
Image credits: Yarraka Bayles
Image credits: Yarraka Bayles
According to Dr. Vaillancourt, "The situation is now fairly unique because of the tremendous outpouring of support Quaden has received."
"I am happy to see this reaction and I believe that Quaden and his mother will benefit from knowing that there are many people in their corner," she told Bored Panda.
The professor added: "What is also needed, however, is the children and educators in Quaden’s immediate environment to also show their support for him and other children who are being bullied."
Dr. Vaillancourt pointed out that those people who believe that Quaden might have an anger issue are mistaken. "The people who think Quaden has an anger issue are pathologizing a normal reaction to bullying, and this is wrong. When children and adults are bullied they either get mad or they get sad. Protesting poor treatment by peers is appropriate."
You can watch the full emotional video right here
"What is not appropriate is watching someone get bullied and doing nothing about it. Quaden’s reaction may seem extreme in isolation, but against the backdrop of being tormented for years, it makes sense. In fact, his reaction is one that I have seen far too often," the expert explained.
"There is evidence that some targets of bullying go on to be perpetrators of bullying. We published a longitudinal study of children and youth showing this (Haltigan and Vaillancourt, 2014). The way to resolve this cycle of abuse is to prioritize the reduction of bullying. This requires a cultural shift in which bystanders actively dissuade the abuse of power," Vaillancourt said.
She also noted that being the target of bullying is "so hurtful" that people will "try anything" to avoid this type of abuse."
"But herein lies the problem. It’s not targets of bullying who need to change, it perpetrators. Indeed, every child has a fundamental, democratic right to be spared from abuse and humiliation."
Members of Australia's National Rugby League are supporting the 9-year-old as best they can
Image credits: teuilablakely
Australia’s National Rugby League invited Quaden to lead out the Indigenous team before the All Stars game against the Maori team.
Yarraka and Quaden both live in Brisbane in Australia. The 9-year-old’s mother was so desperate for help that she uploaded a video of her son at his low-point on Facebook. The video has over 17 million views at the time of writing and it raised the issue of what the devastating effects of bullying are.
“I've just picked my son up from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal, and I want people to know—parents, educators, teachers—this is the effect that bullying has," the boy’s mother said in the video. Meanwhile, Quaden talked about taking his own life in the video because he couldn’t stand the amount of bullying he received at school. According to his mother, he has tried to take his own life before.
While most people sent their love and support to the boy and his mother, some internet users were skeptical and wondered whether Quaden has anger issues, perhaps, as a result of being bullied.
Even Hugh Jackman sent a message to Quaden
Comedian Brad Williams is raising money to send the boy and his mother to Disneyland in California
Image credits: funnybrad
Image credits: funnybrad
Image credits: funnybrad
Image credits: funnybrad
Image credits: gofundme
Image credits: quadosss
Quaden has some advice for people who are being bullied
Lots of people showed their support and demanded that bullying should be stopped
Some internet users were skeptical about the situation...
Image credits: quadosss
Image credits: quadosss
Image credits: quadosss
...while others thought that Quaden was just trying to fit in because of how much he was being bullied
