"The statement sounds great on paper, but they are not implanting any of those things," Bruce said.įor now, Grayson is being schooled at home, where he can have any backpack he wants.Īnd his solution? The 9-year-old believes everyone should have the guts to do what they want to do, no matter what others think. The principal was unavailable for comment and a school district official told ABC News: "Our schools take any allegations of bullying seriously and work diligently in all cases to resolve the issues in the best interest of students." "The focus should have been more on educating the entire school body instead of actually isolating the child who is being bullied," said parenting expert Dr.
"I didn't know why they weren't focusing on the big picture," Grayson added.
"Saying a lunchbox is a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape," said Bruce. Nearly 50,000 likes on the "Support for Grayson" Facebook page and a petition reaching more than 6,000 signatures and counting, calling for the school to allow Grayson to bring his backpack. That triggered an outpouring of support for Grayson and the backpack he uses as a lunchbox. Fluttershy as Dora Pinkie Pie as Boots Trixie as Swiper Spike the Dragon as Benny the Bull Applejack as Isa Rarity as Tico Rainbow Dash as Map Twilight Sparkle as Backpack Discord as Diego (Discord and Diego Both are Start With D) Sunset Shimmer as Alicia Shining Armor as The Big Red Chicken Night Light and Twilight Velvet as Dora's Parents Duck (from TTTE) as Azul Blue Oliver (from TTTE) as. "That he as a principal had the right to ban anything that he believed was a distraction." "The principal told me that we could no longer bring the bag to school," Grayson's mother, Noreen Bruce, explained. "I didn't think I was going to get the reaction that I got."īut it's the school's response to the situation that is generating controversy. "It made me feel devastated," Grayson told ABC News of the behavior he has endured. The always cheerful cartoon horses of "My Little Pony" have made Grayson Bruce, 9, the subject of bullying at his Buncombe County, N.C., elementary school. One backpack is at the center of a national firestorm.