Bullied Keaton Is My New Hero
I'm a pretty cynical guy sometimes, but this young man's viral video brought me to tears this morning.
By now you may have seen a video online that has gone viral of a young man by the name of Keaton responding to being bullied. Despite his tears at being taunted, he manages to offer a ray of hope to others who have been bullied. CBS and our Local 4 News partners have the details here.
Music, sports and pop culture stars from all over the world have offered support to Keaton after seeing his video, and I wanted to offer my two cents as well.
I was bullied relentlessly as a kid. I was skinny, and smart, which made me the oddball to other kids. It took me a long time to realize the problem wasn't me.
Bullies are simply trying to project their own perceived insecurities and inadequacies on their victims. They feel that by getting folks to make fun of you, that they will look better in other people's eyes, or that no one will see the shortcomings they feel they have.
Knowing this doesn't always make being bullied easier as others will often join in on the taunting. But, knowing that the issue isn't you, that it is the bully who has issues, is something that you can use to remind yourself that you are really ok.
That's how it gets better. Believing in yourself. Because the truth is we all have things we can be better at doing, but, as long as you can go to bed each night knowing you brought your best to your day, you're doing just fine. And if you had a rough day, tomorrow is a fresh start.
You're a brave kid, Keaton. Just by making your video, you proved that you're a pretty cool, compassionate kid.
As for the bullies, your time is best spent dealing with your own issues. You don't have time to be dumping your crap on anyone else.