Grayson is a nine year old boy who loves My Little Pony so much that he chose to get a backpack and lunchbox with his favorite characters and take them to school. Apparently, his classmates at Candler Elementary School in North Carolina feel this is reason enough to punch Grayson, push him down and call him terrible names. What do officials at the school have to say about it? They believe Grayson and My Little Pony are the problem. The school principal contacted Grayson’s mom and forbid her to send him to school with his favorite backpack and lunchbox. Grayson’s mother responds by calling it “flawed logic; it doesn’t make any sense,” adding “saying a lunchbox is a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape.”

It’s a real shame that the staff at Candler Elementary couldn’t use this as a teaching moment but it looks like the bad publicity will soon force the irresponsible administrators to do the right thing. Children need to be taught that bullying is unacceptable and that there are consequences for their actions. You treat people how you want to be treated.

The good thing to come out of this story is that there is a lot of support pouring in from the geek community (see awesome videos below).

If nothing else, Grayson will see that there is a pretty awesome group of like minded people out there that have the same passion as he does for geeky things. Anyone interested can sign the Change.org petition demanding school authorities crack down on the bullying. You can also show Grayson some support by liking the Support For Grayson Facebook page.