#773 – Friendship is Magic and Bullying is Awful

I’ve never watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and wouldn’t consider myself a Brony.

Today, though, we are all Bronies.

Michael Morones is an 11-year-old Brony. After repeated bullying because of his love for My Little Pony, Morones attempted suicide and is now in critical condition.

I know that Jesus is making everything right but sometimes I wish he’d pick up the pace.

Mornoes is a religious boy who would often spend time at school reading his Bible and memorizing verses. He found comfort from his bullies in the scriptures. However that comfort wasn’t enough and he sought a different way out.

I can’t adequately express the sadness and anger I feel over this story. That an 11-year-old boy, a beautiful child of God, would feel the need to commit suicide makes my whole body sick.

We have to do something about bullying.

I know what it’s like to be 11 and bullied for liking something on the fringe. For me it was Star Trek and Magic, which led to constant bullying during my 6^th grade year. If we call ourselves nerds we all have a similar bullying story to Morones’s. The nerdclinations may be different but the feelings of loneliness and helplessness are the same.

For most of us, though, we found an escape from our bullies and tormentors. Perhaps we curled up in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father or found comfort with our family and friends.

Friendship really is magic and it is the key to beating bullying. We need to befriend kids who are being bullied. If we have any interactions with kids and young people, we need to show them love. We need to show them that they’re valuable. They need to hear the voices of those who love them more clearly than the voices of their bullies.

We need to get angry and do something.

You can give a donation to help cover Michael’s medical bills.

You can tell your children that you love them until they’re sick of it.

You can hug your nieces and nephews, letting them know that they’re invaluable.

You can pay for a teenager at your church to go to camp.

You can send a text, tweet or Snapchat to a junior higher just to let them know that you care.

One kid attempting to take his or her life is one too many and we can’t let it happen anymore. We need to look at our lives and determine what we can do. And then we need to do it.

Nerd or not, no one should be bullied. And nerd or not, there’s something we all can do.