Two teen girls have gone to the home of 14-year-old Brett Corbett in Halifax and tearfully apologized for being part of a humiliating case of bullying. Corbett, who suffers from cerebral palsy, was forced to lay down in a stream of rainwater in front of some 20 classmates as they shouted at him and gave him orders. One of the girls is seen stepping on Corbett to cross the water. The boy’s mother, Terri McEachern, said three students in all walked on her son. The community has been shocked by the incident. Horrifying as it is, such cruelty is nonetheless a known part of much juvenile behaviour. Ms. McEachern said she has been amazed at Brett’s forgiveness. He didn’t tell her the truth about what happened to him at first because he said he didn’t want the other kids to get in trouble, she said.
IT’S OKAY I WAS ALREADY WET
When she asked him whether he had been walked on after she watched the videos, he told her, “It’s OK, I was already wet.” “It’s just breaking my heart. This is his mindset,” she said. “Children with disabilities have the most amazing gifts in the world. They don’t see bad in anyone. They see so much good in everybody.” She did not know what really happened to Corbett until family friend Brandon Jolie saw one of the videos circulating on Snapchat and Instagram. Jolie took his own video of the video and shared it with McEachern’s older son – and on Facebook. Since the video went viral, some of the students seen have apologized. The father of one apologized on his son’s behalf at a public meeting and read from a letter in which the boy described his actions as “the worst decision of my life,” CTV News reported.
YOU ARE WAY STRONGER THAN ME FOR BEING SO FORGIVING
Two girls and their parents came to Corbett’s house to apologize to him and his mother. They each read aloud from their letters. The parents all cried. The girls cried. So did Corbett. “I shouldn’t have told you to go [into the water]. I should have helped you up instead of breaking you down,” one girl began. “You are way stronger than me for being so forgiving so fast,” she continued, “and I’m really sorry for what I have done. I know better. This is not who I am as a person. I truly care. I made a really bad choice and I will live with that for the rest of my life. I want with all my heart to make this better, and I can promise I will never let this happen to anyone again.”
