Teens Are Put in Their Place After Mocking a Boy at Burger King

Bullying continues to be a massive problem across the globe. Kids at school have been bullied before a word for this action was created. We frequently see individuals singling out a victim for no reason and taking out their frustrations. Thankfully, bullying is now taken more seriously. Those who see this typically stand up for and support the victim. We have one of the best examples of where someone stood up against a bully. Let’s look at this poor boy’s experience at his local Burger King.

A Kid’s Nightmare

Robert is like any other teenager. He loves playing video games and watching movies in his free time. However, he’s also known for being studious and quiet. He was on his way to get a treat from Burger King and didn’t suspect this to turn into a nightmare.

Mean Teens

For reasons he didn’t understand, Robert had caught the eye of some teenagers while at Burger King. It felt like no matter where Robert went, this group of teens would appear to bully him. It had been going on for weeks.

Tough Kid

Despite these teenagers bullying Robert, he was a tough kid. That’s why he didn’t let the name-calling and jeering affect him. However, this bullying started taking a frightening turn. The teen’s behavior was becoming unpredictable.

Being Approached

Robert was enjoying his own company and started eating his whopper and fries. He was minding his own business when he was suddenly met by three teenagers. These were the bullies that had been hounding him for the past few weeks.

Sitting Down

To all those watching, it seemed like these teens knew Robert. They walked with purpose and sat at the table. Their demeanor seemed friendly. However, they had dark undertones beneath their fake smiles, revealing their true intentions.

No Escaping

One of the teenagers approached Robert and said ‘hey kid.’ Before the boy could react, the three teens had him cornered. They sat at both sides of him and started provoking him. All Robert could do was protest.

Protesting

‘Leave me alone!’ The boys didn’t listen to the boy’s pleading. One of the boys looked at Robert’s lunch and poured his drink all over his whopper and fries. However, the boys didn’t see who was watching them.

Watching Eyes

One man was carefully watching the entire event unfold. He was seated at a bench close by where he was eating his meal. His eyes watched the interaction between Robert and these three teenagers.

Escalating

The teasing began to escalate. That’s when the man started turning his attention to the teenagers. When he saw one of the boys sabotage Robert’s food, he knew he needed to act against this bullying.

Intervening

Robert was trying to get these teens off when the man stood up and approached them. The man knew that pouring the boy’s drink over his food was only a sign that things were about to get physical.

Shocked

‘Gentlemen,’ the man stated as he approached the table, ‘What are you doing?’ The teens first seemed shocked that this man was intervening. However, the leader of the group stated that they were just playing.

Didn’t Believe It

The man didn’t believe what the leader was saying. He asked if the teenagers had a problem and why they were picking on the boy. The boys were lost for words and didn’t know how to answer his questions.

Just Playing

The teen repeated in a low voice that they were just playing. The teenagers were now standing with their heads low. It was evident that they were incredibly uncomfortable. The man’s presence was certainly affecting them.

Berate Them

The man continued with what he had to say. ‘Don’t you think your parents would love to see what you’re doing?’ ‘Do you think they would be proud?’ The boys remained silent while listening to what the man had to say.

Answering Sheepishly

The older boy answered sheepishly, ‘no sir.’ It wasn’t over. The man then turned to the other teenagers who had remained silent throughout this exchange. What was the man going to do next?

Getting Grilled

‘Why didn’t you stop your friend from picking on this boy?’ The man wasn’t being subtle. After this, the boys agreed that they didn’t want to be part of this. Once he was satisfied that his message had come across, he turned to Robert.

Offering Company

‘Are you alright?’ asked the man. Why don’t you bring your lunch and we can go have a seat over there? He pointed to where he was originally sitting. The man then asked the teens to leave. However, this wasn’t over.

One More Thing

The kind man was unaware of what was happening when he helped Robert. This entire event had been orchestrated with No Bully (an organization dedicated to increasing awareness about bullying) and Burger King.

Thought-Provoking

The goal of this experiment was to create a thought-provoking image to display the behavior of individuals when confronted with various situations. However, nobody knew that there was another form of bullying taking place that day.

Bullying the Burgers

The teens bullying Robert wasn’t the only event taking place. The Burger King employees were also ‘bullying’ the burgers they were serving. Before wrapping these up to serve, they smashed the burgers with their fists.

The Reactions

Many different responses came when this video was released. It sparked a national conversation about bullying. However, how did the customers react to receiving smashed burgers? Let’s find out.

Very Telling

The customers didn’t only respond to the bullying going on in front of them, but also to the bullied food they were being served. Their responses were incredibly telling and heartbreaking. What happened?

The Results

Few people decided to intervene and help Robert. However, a whopping 95 percent spoke up about their burgers being smashed while only 12 percent stood up for the young boy. What does this show?

Hitting a Nerve

The video was titled ‘Bullying Jr.,’ and the goal of it was to see how people would react to seeing a child being bullied. The video hit a nerve, as it reached more than 8 million views.

A Heartwarming Moment

This experiment was performed two more times. Even though many people decided to step in and help Robert, there was one truly heartwarming moment. A woman had decided to sit down next to the boy to show that she was there for him.

A Great Idea

What was shown in the video is definitely something worth thinking about. Burger King did a brilliant job of releasing a thought-provoking campaign. However, how can we properly address the issue of bullying?

Making a Difference

Even though bullying is a massive problem in our schools, institutions aren’t taking this issue as seriously as it should be taken. Many parents report that school teachers downplay concerns about their child being bullied.

Learning

The hope for this campaign is that each adult, from parents to teachers to random strangers, can learn from this social experiment. From this knowledge, these adults can immediately help a child who is being bullied.

What to Do

Many children are bullied, despite the various awareness campaigns. That’s why parents should be made aware of the best ways to approach such a situation. One thing all parents should do is to listen without getting upset or angry.

Listening

It’s crucial to put your feelings aside when sitting down to listen to your child. This allows you to give them the support they need. Additionally, you should never encourage your child to shout names back or hit, as this can only make the situation worse.

Adding

If your child is lacking in confidence, encouraging this type of behavior is only going to add to their anxiety and stress. Instead, you should aim to work together with their teachers. You should also make it clear that you’re finding a solution with the school.

Supporting

When sitting down with your children, you should ask their opinion on how they would like you to take things forward. This avoids them feeling excluded from choosing how to resolve this situation while also being too afraid to confront their bully.

Not Their Fault

You should reassure your child that it isn’t their fault. Moreover, remind them that they aren’t weak for being bullied. It’s the person who is bullying that has the issues. That’s why they feel the need to make others feel this way.

Encouragement

A great form of encouragement in these instances is to help your child build resilience. This is because voice tone and body language speak volumes against bullies. Many bullies say things because they want a reaction, so don’t give it to them.

Stopping It

Bullies are likely to stop picking on people when they realize they can’t get the same reaction anymore. That’s why building your child’s resilience is so beneficial. Role-play different bullying scenarios with your child to practice their responses.

Sending Messages

You can also talk about how our faces, bodies, and voices send messages to people. In many instances, these actions are more powerful than our words. Moreover, you should emphasize that this bully shouldn’t dominate their life.

Avoid

When dealing with these situations, you should avoid charging off to see the bully’s parents or the headteacher. This is typically the reaction no child wants to see and can make the bullying even worse.

Their Experience

Don’t dismiss their experience. It’s crushing to be told that your feelings are invalid, especially if you’ve plucked up the courage to feel people about your experience. This is exactly how your child is bound to feel if this is your reaction.

Dealing

You might feel helpless, guilty, hurt, and angry when you hear what your child is experiencing. It’s important that you deal with your feelings and not let this cloud your judgment. You also shouldn’t get offended if your child wants to speak to other adults about their experience.

Getting Support

All schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy. This stipulates the obligations of the school and how they should support those affected by this event. First, you should gather all the necessary evidence before you approach the school.