A nine year old boy in North Carolina was being bullied by a few kids in elementary school because he had a My Little Pony backpack. Instead of punishing the bullies and doing their job to create a harassment-free environment for the children who are in their care, they punished the victim by telling him that he couldn't use his backpack in school. How twisted is this?
My Little Pony was around when I was a kid. It was definitely considered a "girls" cartoon back in the day, but I think that even the most bigoted simpleton would have a difficult time finding something in the show that is in any way inappropriate for boys. That is, of course, besides the point. There shouldn't be a problem if he carried a Barbie backpack and wore pink barrettes in his hair if it makes him happy because it literally would not hurt anybody in this world if he did, but the fact that the school would have such a huge problem about a kid carrying a backpack from a cartoon that's about ponies and friendship should show you what's going on here. The school district is siding with the bullies out of pure laziness. It's easier to force one kid to conform to playground gender norms than it is to teach a hateful little bastard that abusing others is wrong.
The school district's laziness isn't doing the bullies any favors either. Carrying a My Little Pony backpack is not a crime. However, harassment is a crime. By creating an environment that punishes the victim to cover for criminal behavior is going to teach the bully that there's nothing wrong with harassing other people any time you feel like it. If you grow up in an environment where it's acceptable to abuse others for your amusement, you're setting the bully up for a difficult life when their behavior continues beyond the protective confines of public school and becomes a matter for law enforcement to deal with.
There's no excuse for this. None whatsoever. [source: Judd Legum]
