A Milwaukee father is being hailed as a small town hero after turning to Facebook in an attempt to help his son with bullying problems that he has faced at school.
Matthew Bent of Kaukauna, Wisconsin says that his son has been the recipient of numerous verbal and physical assaults from three bullies at Riverview Middle School. The father and son can be seen on Facebook holding up a sign that says:
"I stand behind my son in the fight against bullying! ... Tell school districts that protecting bullies by turning a blind eye is WRONG!"
So far the Facebook post has gone viral, netting over 390,000 likes and over 410,000 shares. Bent says that so far he has received praise and kind words from people across the globe. He says his main objective with the post was to raise awareness of an issue that he had to go through as well when he was his son's age.
"This is a worldwide problem that needs to stop, and I'm glad my post could help some people. I wasn't expecting it to," says Bent.
Several concerned parents have already called the school in light of Bent's post, and the Kaukauna School District held a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The superintendent of the school district has already stated that the incident prompting Bent to take to Facebook occurred on Monday and was not in view of any of the teachers or staff.
"Kaukauna Area School District does not protect bullies," Superintendent Mark Duerwaechter said. "We are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable place to work and to learn. Although, very difficult, we do look forward to working with the families that are involved in these situations that are unresolved."
Taking to Facebook has become an increasingly popular way to raise awareness of various societal issues. Multiple bullying posts have gone viral on the website in the past, the Kony 2012 gained the majority of its traction there, and most recently, a large amount of people have used a red equals sign as their picture on Facebook to represent their support of gay marriage equality.
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