Casey Heynes
In the interview, Heynes opens up about the years of bullying he has endured "practically every day" at school. He talks about all the insults about his weight and tells how bullies once duct taped his eyes and then duct taped him to a pole. Probably most heartbreaking, Casey reveals how he felt suicidal after his friends turned against him and he felt completely alone. But that day that Ritchard Gale walked up and punched Casey in the face, he says, "All the anger came out."
However, there's much more than adolescent bullying being revealed in this story.
Watching the events of Casey's story unfold definitely serves as a reminder about all the emotional trauma that is high school. Because of cliques, peer pressure, friendship hierarchies, and hormones, the teen years and high school can be lonely enough for kids who have lots of friends. However, think about all the kids who never fit in, feel completely left out, and how no one ever comes to their rescue against that alienation and loneliness, let alone for teasing or bullying. That pain of feeling alone, with or without the bullying, is almost more excruciating than being punched in the face.
Casey says, "I've never had so much support," and that support, even if it comes from an Internet full of people he'll never meet, helps to validate his story, his experience, and his life in a big way, which is crucial. The message to Casey is: we see what you've gone through, how you have suffered, and it is wrong. And that's probably the best result of this whole situation.
Casey's dad says Casey is "already standing a lot straighter, a lot more proud," and that's the best news yet.
I'm proud of Casey for speaking out about his emotional experience as well as his bullying experience, however painful, because there's hope that another kid out there who can't defend himself is watching and feeling a little less alone because of this solidarity for Casey.
WATCH the Casey Heynes interview for yourself:
Did the interview with Casey Heynes remind you of high school horror stories?
Image via A Current Affair
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Comments 11
Good for him! Bullies suck!
So much cruelty and pain for him to endure for so m any years. I hope i'ts over for him now.
This made me cry because i was bullied all through elementary, middle school & high school.. Even at work until i started fighting back against my co-workers and now they call me bi-polar.. I seriously don't care.. I was bullied as a child and was too scared to fight back or tell anyone.. now as a grown adult, i don't fear punks & bullies..
The poor poor boy! If I had known anything at schhol was making my kid that upset and even suicidal, they would have been yanked out of that so fast it would make your heads spin. He would be homeschooled.
I'd like to see the little shit bully and his mother on one of the talk shows, explaining why he was tormenting casey.
Reminds me of my highschool. I was always bigger than the other kids, an "easy target" because I knew if I fought back *I* would be branded the bully. Nasty comments, ostracism, being poked, stabbed with pencils, and having my hair yanked so hard my head snaped back was a daily occurance. And I did nothing, because I was told at a young age by my mother that I couldn't because I was bigger than the other kids. I snapped one day and slapped a girl who was working with me on a group project, the rest of the group was slacking off and I was doing all the work. I told them if they left me alone, I'd get us all an A. They kept stabbing me with pencils and poking me, pulling my hair. I said the next person who touched me I'd slap, someone yanked my hair and she said she did it, so I did. I cried all the way to the office because I had NEVER gotten in trouble before. I explained the situation to my counselors and vice principle, and they gave me one day after school detention. She got three days suspension, because she was known to cause trouble. After that life got a little easier, people learned if you poke the Giant, she might eventually poke back.
I can't wait until he's Ritchard's boss in 15 years.
My husband watched that video and said, "How much of an idiot do you have to be to pick on someone so much bigger than you?" Seriously, that kid was half his size!
I was bullied a lot as a kid, mostly by "frienemies." That's how most girls do it. One day, one of these girls was bullying my best friend. I told her to lay off. She called me a "pentecostal whore." So I slapped her. Me, the kid who never got in trouble, who always followed the rules. Everyone who saw what happened said they were proud of me. Even the teacher. Sometimes fighting back is the answer. Not all of the time, and certainly not when the kid is twice your size and could kill you, but sometimes.