Fair warning: you might need a tissue for this one.
Dan Bezzant received word from his son’s school about an incident that completely broke his heart. His 7-year-old son named Jackson was eating breakfast at school when he was taunted by three older boys. The called him horrible names like ‘monster’ and ‘ugly.’
Jackson sat there, being teased by the bullies, unable to defend himself and unsure how to react. Thankfully — a teacher stepped in to put an end to the situation before it went any further.
When Jackson’s dad found out that his son was made fun of and taunted at school — it brought him to tears.
It broke his heart because he knew that people didn’t understand what made his son special. Jackson was born with a condition called Treacher Collins syndrome; it affects the development of facial bones and tissue. Jackson has already endured surgery to help build his eye socket — he is also nearly completely deaf.
Sadly — since Jackson looks different than the other kids, they don’t understand and resort to bullying and name-calling. The bullying wasn’t restricted to just uninformed children — adults would say and do mean things as well.
“One time, a woman walked past us, and we could hear her say, ‘Did you see that little boy’s face?’” Dan remembers.
Jackson will undergo many more surgeries throughout his life and he currently relies on hearing aids. Dan knows that his days of being bullied are far from over. The best he can do is teach his son how to stay strong and to spread awareness of his son’s condition so that people are more understanding.
Dan decided to take to Facebook to tell the world about his son’s latest bullying experience at school. Enough was enough.
The Facebook post reads:
“My heart is in pieces right now and my soul feels like its ripping from my chest and this beautiful young man my son Jackson has to endure a constant barrage of derogatory comments and ignorance likeI’vee never witnessed. He is called ugly and freak and monster on a daily basis by his peers at school. He talks about suicide and he’s not quite 8!
He says he has no friends and everyone hates him. Kids throw rocks at him and push him shouting these horrific words and please please take a minute and imagine if this were your child. Take a minute to educate your children about special needs. Talk to them about compassion and love for our fellow man. His condition is called Treacher Collins. Maybe even look it up. Hes endured horrific surgery and has several more in the coming years. Anyway & I could go on … but please educate your children.
Please share this. This shouldn’t be happening and to anyone.”
As soon as Dan posted his heartfelt message on Facebook — it immediately went viral. Kids at Jackson’s school have even started to make an effort to befriend Jackson.
Dan says that he doesn’t blame anyone for the bullying and mean comments. He simply urges parents to teach their children about kindness and compassion — not to judge a book by its cover.
The Facebook post has even brought Jackson together with two other kids in the area that have Treacher Collins syndrome. They now have scheduled playdates!
If you’re interested in sending Jackson words of encouragement and positivity, Dan has set up a PO Box for his son.
It’s so important that we all stand up to bullying. Dan’s touching Facebook post is below. It’s now been shared over 80,000 times. What an amazing dad!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
