That’s right! It happened. And I didn’t do it! James Jones boarded his daughter’s school bus in an attempt to put an end to the bullying his daughter suffered at the hands of some snot nose punks. Check out the video, it’s crazy. Now listen, we all know this isn’t appropriate behavior but let’s be honest — we’ve all wanted to do it. My daughter is only 4 and I’ve already experienced this feeling. This poor guy’s daughter is fifteen and has cerebral palsy. These little douche bag bullies put an open condom on her head, smacked her in the back of the head, twisted her ears and shouted rude comments at her, multiple times. All I’d be thinking is, “those kids are fucking dead!” But see that’s the difference. I’d be thinking it. James Jones went out and did something about it. Dude’s got brass ones.

So we think it, but he did it.

Are we really all that different from this guy? Should we be?

He’s a parent whose child was being abused. He asked for help from the school and received none. Had he not stepped in, it would have continued. As it is, his daughter has been hospitalized, is not returning to school and has undoubtedly been damaged in ways we’ll never know.

So the problem is not that he got involved, it’s how he got involved. He crossed the line. He apologized on live television and begged parents not to repeat his actions, despite the pouring in of support he received from the community… which is eye opening when you think about it.  

Parents supported him. So what does that tell us? It tells us that there are many silent victims out there… people who are relating to his pain and who envy his actions — parents and their children alike.

The reality is that children in this country are up against disturbing statistics when it comes to bullying. You want a wake up call? Click that hyperlink and read it.

Or maybe you need to see some true stories:

Check out Ryan’s story.

Or Megan’s story.

Phoebe’s story is bound to leave you speechless.

I linked to these terribly sad stories because, to be honest, I started this blog with the intention of being funny. I thought about the subtle, obnoxious ways I would explain how I would have handled these little assholes. I had paragraphs written about how my conversation with the bullies would have gone down. And they were funny, I’m not going to lie.

But then I googled “Bullying Statistics,” and my entire tone changed. These videos came up. Articles came up. Statistics screamed in my face. In those moments, my entire outlook changed.

I have a daughter and a baby on the way. Things like this terrify me. So yeah — I’m going to be as involved as I can be in their lives. And if that requires my involvement with sorry little bully bastards, then so be it. I will do everything I can in my power to make sure that something like this never happens to my children. Can I guarantee it? Of course not. But I’m going to be the scariest mother fucking mother out there. I’d rather my kids be embarrassed by me for it then end up speaking to Diane fucking Sawyer about all the ways I could have intervened, when it’s already too late.

Maybe I sound crazy or irrational. I don’t really give a shit. Stories like this get under the very fiber of who I am and they never leave. But that’s just me. That’s what happens after writing, researching the statistics and watching the video footage of these poor kids that died as a result of bullying. And the majority of these deaths? Suicides. Young, hopeless children that are so defeated, they would rather be dead than endure another minute of torture from these bullies.

After finding all of this out — James Jones is my hero. Big fucking deal if he dropped a few “f bombs” or used inappropriate language and scared these kids. What if that’s what they needed to hear to bring an end to their terrorizing behavior? What if he just saved all of their lives? Like I said, read the statistics — nobody comes out a winner in these situations.

To James Jones: While you technically shouldn’t have dropped “f bombs” and threatened any lives, your intentions were true and justified as far as I’m concerned. And perhaps because of your inappropriate actions, your daughter is alive today.

Life can sometimes have a cruel and interesting way of working out. Every day that notion proves more and more true.

A living, breathing child means more than anything to me in this world. A few “f bombs” never killed anyone… can you say the same about bullies that aren’t stopped in their tracks? I don’t think so. So you tell me… what would YOU do?

Going Parental appears on Wednesdays. Like I said, I’m back — with a vengeance. So bring on the comments.

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