There is no worse feeling for a parent when you have to comfort them because kids at school were being mean to them. Bullying not only impacts the child experiencing it but also the parents who want to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, sometimes bullying goes past initial rude remarks and becomes something else entirely. A Wisconsin mother was shocked when she found out her daughter was being bullied due to the shape of her eyes. It’s very clear that sometimes bullying crosses the line and becomes racism.
TikToker @hlovescplus4 shared a video of her Asian daughter, who came home from school one day crying. The reason? She said the kids at school “made fun of her Asian eyes.” This mom said all the right things and told her, “If they say that about you, they’re not your friends.” She tells her that, if these children are going to be cruel to her, then she should talk to other children and keep her distance from them. Those children she trusted broke her trust the moment they decided to judge her for her looks. It’s so disheartening to see a literal child being judged for the shape of their eyes at such a young age. Racism truly starts at home.
This young girl says that the girls in her class would say mean things to her when her teacher was focused on the rest of the class. Her mom asks, “And what would they do?” She cries as she responds, “They make fun of me.” The young girl shows her mom how they pull at the sides of their eyes and mock her. She tells her mom she also has a friend who is Asian at school and the children will taunt her and say that they’re ‘sisters’ because they look so alike. It’s a truly racist display that these children probably learned from the adults in their lives. That makes it so much worse. Parents need to do so much better when it comes to their children.
This mom tells her daughter that if they were her real friends, they would never do this to her. She goes on to tell her TikTok audience, “Learning moments still require accountability. This is why we talk to our kids. This is why we teach empathy early. Because no child should feel ashamed of their face, their culture, or who they are… especially at school.” A child at this age will never forget how they were treated by racist schoolmates. These types of things tend to live with you, and it’s so disheartening and upsetting.
One commenter pointed out, “This is a canon event for us Asian girlies. She either learns how to fight back or make new friends.” Another person said, “Utter betrayal and the start of wondering whether we should try to change to be accepted.” But there’s no reason why anybody should ever back down in the face of racism. No matter how bad it hurts and no matter who’s listening when you do it, defending yourself and your culture is always acceptable. Unfortunately, sometimes this lesson is learned when children are still so young.
