Posted on 09/08/2022 4:32:55 PM PDT by Morgana
he young boy who took his own life as he started school in North Carolina on Tuesday has been identified, as his heartbroken mother revealed he had been bullied for years and urged her fellow parents to teach their children to be kind.
Austin Pendergrass, 13, took his own life in a bathroom at Wendell Middle School on Tuesday on his first day of eighth-grade.
He was found dead by two students, prompting school officials to send everyone home, claiming there was a 'medical crisis.'
Pendergrass' family has now confirmed he died of suicide after years of bullying.
'The signs were there, but the bullying it was so bad,' his grieving mother, Jessica Pendergrass told WNCN, revealing he had been bullied since he was in sixth-grade.
'It was so bad last year with kids just taunting him, hurting him,' family friend Jalia Harris said in a video taken at a vigil Wednesday night.
He was able to enjoy the summer, his mom told WRAL, but as soon as he went back to school on Tuesday, the bullying started again.
'It's sad for us,' Harris said in the video, 'but this should be an eye-opener for everyone.'
'Just teach your kids to be kind, because kids can be so cruel,' Jessica Pendergrass added.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
All of my children were bullied.
I raised my children to be kind and respectful. They were good looking and smart, never got into trouble. We pulled them out of public school and sent them to charter school.
For my oldest, the linebacker, the bullying got worse. Because he was so big and strong, he was loathed to hurt someone. He finally fought back and beat the hell out of his bully. We removed him from the charter school and put him back in public school. When we were enrolling him again, a young man with a snarky attitude called out to my son and said, “Hey, TJ, what are you doing here?”
I turned around, sized this kid up, and replied,”He beat a bully so bad the kid was hauled away in ambulance. Any questions?”
There was only one minor incident for my eldest in high school. As soon as it happened, I was in the Assistant Principal’s office with my attorney on speed dial. I made it clear that the next time someone struck my son, I was pressing charges, suing the family, and suing the school.
No more bullying for him.
My middle child has an endocrine disorder. Was bullied for that. Same thing; momma hell-fire and threats of lawsuits.
My youngest, who is autistic, was bullied daily and became suicidal. Moved him to a different school where he is protected as part of a program.
My kids don’t drink, smoke, do drugs, lie, cheat, steal or fool around. I raised them for God’s world, not this one.
That makes them a target.
I would have sent him to self defense classes so he could care for himself.
Jodi Picoult, “Nineteen Minutes”. a fictional account of bullying and school shootings. A truly great insight into the mental aspect of bullying.
I can’t count how many kids were sent my way to teach them how to defend themselves. Some caught on, some didn’t, very few stuck with it. Those who wanted to be there were successful.
I would enroll my kid in a practical fighting course and motivate him to master it.
Then he would dominate the bully(s).
Xxxxxxxx
I taught my son to kick in the right place. End of that bully and future bullies.
80% minority kids were the majority in the school. Black and Hispanic
I think you hit the nail on the head.
What’s wrong with those parents? They should have gotten their child transferred to another school or home schooled him this year. Now he’s dead.
I'd teach any kid of mine who was being bullied and wanted it to stop, to be real, real, good at math.
Very, very sad, I know. And I shouldn't be cracking jokes. But why make things up at a time like this? Makes me question the whole story. For instance, maybe he was being abused at home.
Kids are mean little shits. It has forever been thus.
Parents, teach your kids to get over it.
Yep.
Did she have a choice?
If there was a single word in the article about who the bullies were, or what was being done about them, I missed it. Law enforcement needs to investigate this as a murder. Hounding a child to their death has to be some sort of crime.
Don’t other kids know who was responsible? Didn’t the bastards have names? Was there a racial component, making this a racial hate crime? (And that could go two ways — evil white kids might have targeted him, who knows, but the truth needs to come out).
I greatly pity the boy’s mother, but she must be very weak herself to send her child back to the same school, with the same bullies, for another year of hell.
You children were/are blessed to have you there for them.
You don’t intimidate easily; school official or not.
Each child had their own story, their own set of challenges.
Was his father part of his lift?
Yep. This kind of bullying is not new. It’s been happening forever.
I was taught Judo.
And I’m not full of shit.
You know, if you chew a guys nose off
you get their attention.
And when they ganged up on him to teach him a lesson you could explain to him how that all worked out?
The article only mentions a response from the mother. I think you have the answer right there.
Women might not “need no man.” Their children, especially boys, certianly do.
Too many people on this thread are living in the past. The schools are filled with ferrels now and the advice being given will get kids knifed, shot or beaten to a pulp by a gang. The days of hurt them so they won’t hurt you are gone.
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