“It’s gotta stop, no matter what.”
( The Blaze Sep 11, 2019)
A 12-year-old boy with autism who has faced relentless bullying inspired a national campaign of support after videos of his beatings went viral.
The brutal videos out of Yukon, Oklahoma, were circulated on social media where most are reacting with outrage, and support for Rayden Overbay, the victim.
this is very sad we are all here for you brotha, please tag anyone that knows him or his parents i would like to reach out! 💔 #standwithrayden pic.twitter.com/B13pn8zPCC
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) October 23, 2019
The parents of Rayden say he has faced bullying because of his special needs. They say he deals with ADHD, ODD, ADD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
“It’s gotta stop, no matter what. Whether it’s my son somebody else’s son or daughter, it’s gotta stop,” said Danny Overbay.
He broke down in tears as he related that some of the bullies had pretended to be his son’s friends.
Scotlyn Overbay, Rayden’s mother, says that she has personally witnessed the bullying from other kids.
“As you saw in the video, he’s always been bigger than everybody. I would witness kids when he was like 8 or 9 just walk up and punch him square in the stomach,” she said.
The community responded to the videos with support for Rayden, and a social campaign under the hashtag #StandWithRayden.
Unfortunately, some replied with death threats against the children who were seen bullying Rayden in the video.
“These are adults threatening children,” said Scotlyn. “Threatening harm to children, which is totally unacceptable. I shouldn’t have to sit here and say adults quit threatening 12 and possibly 13-year-old children.”
The Overbays say they forgive the bullies and do not blame the Yukon school where the bullying was recorded.
Those who want to support Rayden and his family can contact the nonprofit organization “Fight for the Forgotten.”
Here’s a local news report about the videos:
