Bullying can do serious damage to a kid, but all too often it seems bullies’ parents aren’t willing to do enough to stop their kid from victimizing others.
A guy on Reddit found himself in the middle of this situation when he caught his younger brother bullying a kid at his school, and his parents didn’t seem to care.
The Original Poster (OP), who goes by throwaway77684 on the site, wasn’t sure about how he handled things, so he went to the AITA (Am I The A**hole) subReddit for input.
OP asked:
“AITA for refusing to take my brother to school after he made ‘jokes’ about one of his classmates”
He explained:
“My brother (15) goes to the same private school i attended. It’s full of a bunch of spoiled, rich kids whose entire identity is surrounded by how much money their parents make. If you don’t have a car by 16, you’ll get bullied without a doubt.”
“So a friend shared a tiktok her sister posted and it was a group of boys bullying a kid waiting for the bus. They were mocking him, laughing at him and at one point someone off camera threw food at the kid. After a few plays i recognized 2 kids, one being my brother.”
“I told my parents and they brushed it off saying ‘he’s a teen boy, you know how they get’. When my brother got home i told him what he did wasn’t right and he walked away laughing. I told my mom as long as he continues to bully people and they do nothing about it, i won’t take him to school anymore.”
“This will mean he’ll have to take public transportation because my parents leave too early for work to take him to school. My parents are livid saying i’m an a**hole for being so unreasonable and sensitive over a joke. Am i in the wrong here?”
OP then came back to add some more information.
“Hey y’all so tomorrow is his first day taking the bus since my parents couldn’t find anyone else to take him. I’ll update y’all this weekend and tell you how the week went!”
OP’s fellow Redditors were then asked to judge who is in the wrong in this situation based on the following categories:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
They were absolutely on Team OP.
“NTA. I’d like to high five you right now.” —holisarcasm
“Seems like a logical consequence of teasing someone for having to take the bus to me and utterly fair. At least everyone knows why the AH brother has the attitude he has now I’m wondering how OP got so wise. Right on.” —JuryNo7670
“NTA and because I’m petty. I’d pick the bus kid up and take them instead. 😌” —akczinzow
“NTA, and I suspect we now know where he gets it from. Stick to your convictions.” —Pspaughtamus
“NTA, and you better get your parents to be more serious about this cause if that kid’s parents see this video and recognize your bro, more dire consequences may occur than just taking the bus.” —Tis-but-a-scratch-yo
“Of course you’re NTA! It’s exactly the opposite: you’re a decent human being and trying to get your brother to be the same, and your parents are actively encouraging him to continue being a bully by calling his harassment of an innocent kid a ‘joke’.”
“I’d love to know what it is about that entire situation they think is funny, or whether they’d feel the same way if their own peers were ganging up on, mocking, and throwing things at them while they were just standing there trying to mind their own business. Somehow I doubt they’d have a good answer.”
“Your brother is an AH. Your parents are definitely amoral AHs who shouldn’t be raising kids. But you? You are absolutely NTA. Good for you for trying to do the right thing.” —FoolMe1nceShameOnU
“NTA. someone should teach him decency and respect. You’re a good older sibling (and a good person)” —apricotsleeping
After reading his fellow Redditors’ comments, OP came back with some updates.
“Its pretty late and i don’t think i’ll keep replying to people but i want to clarify two things.”
“One, i bought my car with my money. My parents didn’t. It’s not their car, it’s mine.”
“Two, i’m not ‘parenting’ my brother. Idk how anyone jumped to that conclusion. If i no longer wish to go out of my way and pay for gas to take him to and from school everyday, i don’t have to. Like i said, he has the bus to take and all it costs for kids under 18 is a dollar. $2/day is not going to hurt my parents in the slightest lol.”
“guys i would take the bullied kid to school if i knew who he was. the principal and vice principal had the video sent to them already so if i find out who the kid is, i’ll see if his parents are okay with me taking him to school.”
“i cant make any promises on anything happening since i know how this school is and how they deal with bullying. and i am not sharing the tiktok on here.”
“and there seems to be some confusion. i said he goes to the same school i attended not attend. i’ve graduated and i’m not a minor lol.”
“okay this is the last i’m adding onto this. i don’t know how me questioning if my actions were right or wrong led to people discussing me living with my parents? then again it’s the internet so i’m not surprised.”
“so i was giving my brother rides even when i was moved out. but i lived with a shi*ty roommate and moved back home. i am to move back out in less than a month if all works out and if it doesn’t then i’m at home longer than i anticipated. why are strangers so bothered my parents aren’t forcing me to move out 😂”
Hopefully OP’s brother can learn from the example he’s set.