Generally speaking, you would like to think that bullies exist because teachers are not witness to the behavior. However, for Amanda Anoai’s 11-year-old son, the bully was his teacher, Tori Bothe. What could provoke such behavior? Amanda’s son has long hair, long hair that his teacher put into pig-tails and paraded him around the classroom and school taking pictures and encouraging the usage of girl names to compliment his long locks.
“They had no reason to touch my son, to embarrass him, to make him feel bad,” says Amanda. “He shouldn’t have to switch elementaries and start over.? We’ve had to change our lives because of this.”
The trauma caused them to change schools in a district that is much further away, and even that may not help the child get over the torment. Amanda has filed a suit against the school accusing school officials of violating the boy’s constitutional rights and failing to protect him against “offensive gender-based harassment.”
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