Teens Bullying Boy At Burger King, Don’t Notice Man On Bench

What’s more important? Your fellow human or your cheeseburger?

Bullying is a bad thing. Yet it still happens far too often. We all believe that bullying should not occur, but do we actually do something about it when we see it happening?

Bullying is a widespread social problem that impacts people of all ages and causes lasting emotional and psychological harm. Recently, a boy wanted to eat his fries and burger at his local Burger King in peace. The boy decided to sit down alone and stared dreamily as he took a bite of his burger. Then it turned out that a group of bullies were after him. They turned his meal into a nightmare. It was very busy in the fast-food restaurant. Lucky for the victim, you might think!

Curious how the bystanders reacted to a young boy being horribly bullied? Read on quick!

Imagine: you go to Burger King as a teenager and spend your accumulated pocket money on a menu. Wouldn’t you want to be able to eat the menu in peace, without bullies bothering you? So did this boy. Unfortunately for him, a group of peers did not leave him alone. One of the bullies had very broad shoulders and was a lot bigger than the victim. This bully immediately showed his presence by pushing the victim off his chair. 

The photo shows a woman watching in shock, holding her phone to her ear. But did she intervene? People often do not intervene when they see someone being bullied, either out of fear, uncertainty about how to help, or because they believe someone else will step in.

Have you been in such a situation before?

The man in the photo above is also clearly aware of what is going on in this fast-food restaurant. Like the victim, he also came here to enjoy his meal in peace. Unfortunately, the spectator decides that his burger is worth more to him than the well-being of the bullied teen. After the moment captured in the photo, the man continued to chew in concentration, pretending his nose was bleeding.

In some situations, failing to act when witnessing bullying or harassment can be illegal, as certain laws require bystanders to report or intervene to prevent harm. But in reality people often decide not to become involved.

Thanks to security cameras, the entire situation was recorded on video, including the reactions of all the other customers, how many people do you think decided to stand up for the boy?

Unfortunately, the woman on the phone did nothing but watch, as the victim was pushed off his chair. She kept watching but didn’t even stop talking on the phone, the onlooker thought the person on the line was a lot more important than the bullied boy. She didn’t try to help the boy get up. What would you have done in her situation?

People sometimes hesitate to intervene in bullying situations due to anxiety about misinterpreting the situation and potentially embarrassing themselves by speaking up.

But like you saw before, there were a lot more people in the Burger King. See what else happened on the next page…

The bullied boy has now climbed back into his seat and tries to keep the bigger peer away from him. He begs him to be left alone. “I just want to eat! Please!” he shouts at a volume that cannot be ignored by bystanders. With this he attracts the attention of a number of other customers in the Burger King. His savior must be among them, because something this unfair can’t just happen, right?

Have you ever been bullied in your life? Or maybe you did some bullied others when you were younger? How does this situation make you feel?

On the next page you can see how one of the customers asks the staff for help.

This middle-aged man looks indignantly at the Burger King staff. He seems to wonder why they don’t intervene. But when it turns out that they do not do this, the man himself does not take any action either. And that while this man could have easily turned around to put an end to the bullying behavior. Why he decides to do nothing is not clear to us. 

People often assume that someone else will step in to address bullying, leading to a bystander effect where no one takes action. This is especially the case in a situation where employees of the establishment are nearby. Though in fastfood chains employees are often scared to speak up because they do not want to lose their jobs.

Meanwhile, the scene behind him keeps getting worse… 

The big bully, who seems to be the leader of the group, goes one step further in ruining the victim’s meal. He decides to completely ruin the food by pouring a cup of drink over it. What a waste of the teenager’s hard-earned savings. The head bully’s henchmen watch with glee.

Some research has shown that only 1 in 5 bystanders take action when confronted with a similar situation. There are more than 5 bystanders present at the restaurant at the time, surely one of them will do something?

This is going too far… 

The man behind the group doesn’t seem very comfortable. He certainly feels sorry for the victim, who is now being dealt with very harshly. This is beyond “teasing”. The David versus Goliath scene in front of him is getting worse, but no one has dared to intervene until now. 

The decision to intervene in a bullying situation can take as little as 5 seconds, but in many cases, it can take up to 20 seconds or even longer, depending on factors such as the bystander’s confidence, the severity of the situation, and the presence of other bystanders.

Will the man jump into action?

Unfortunately this spectator also does not dare to interfere in the situation. He seeks distraction elsewhere in the restaurant, while the bullies continue to make their victim’s life miserable. He must be thinking: “there are plenty of other customers in the Burger King. If they don’t intervene, why should I?” There must be someone else who wants to be the hero. And this way he comes out unscathed.

This man decides to do nothing, while the teen continues to be bullied. He’s not the only one showing ostrich behavior. If only one of the bystanders walked up to it… 

Curiously the presence of more bystanders often decreases the likelihood of someone intervening in a bullying situation, as individuals tend to assume that someone else will take action instead.

One Burger King employee watches in disbelief as none of the spectators intervene. He feels sorry for the teenager and decides to teach the bystanders a lesson. Let’s see if they forgot how to open their mouths. His plan has to do with the Whopper standing in front of him. One advantage of fast-food chains is that the food in every restaurant is the same. When you order a Whopper, you know exactly what to expect.

If you witness bullying, you could consider calling the police or reaching out to authorities like school administrators, HR departments, or hotline services for help and intervention.

 However this employee decided on a different path, and by doing so he will give his customers a big surprise… 

What is he doing now? The employee pushes his fingers into the newly made Whopper. This is not what it looks like in the commercials! You can’t serve something like that, can you? Unless this is intended for the bullies of course, they have earned this treatment. But they haven’t ordered a burger for a long time and they are certainly not entitled to free food. 

What is he trying to do with this? Ruining someone’s order sure doesn’t seem like it will help the poor boy who’s getting bullied.

Who is this burger intended for? Read on for the answer to this question! 

This man seemed to care more about his phone than the boy being bullied. The ruckus the group caused made him look over annoyed, but he quickly turned back to his “important” cellphone. Nowadays it seems that many people prefer their phone over real world events. Have you ever looked around on public transportation or at a waiting room? 90% of every person is constantly looking at their phones.

Phones actualy play a more sinister role in bullying than you might think, by facilitating cyberbullying, allowing bullies to harass victims anonymously and relentlessly through social media and messaging apps. As well as spreading videos and photos of their victims.

The crushed Whopper looks very unappetizing. One advantage is that the employee wears gloves. If you are presented with a ruined Whopper, then preferably one without bacteria. But who is this treat for?

Honestly at this point we couldn’t figure out what the employer’s plan was, and it was taking some time. In the meantime the boy was still receiving harassment and no one had so far intervened.

 You will read it on the next page. 

The employee gave this Whopper quite a beating. He dug into the burger with his fingers, crushed it and beat it… You could say he bullied the burger. Are you beginning to suspect what the employee is up to? It has something to do with what is going on in the restaurant at that moment. 

At this point all we could imagine is that he would use it as some kind of metaphor. But most bullies are not well known for their intelligence, so would this really help out?

We can tell you that the burger is not for the bullies. But who is it for then?

One of the bystanders, who has pretended not to notice the bullies until now, picks up her order and walks back to her table. On the way, she walks past the victim again. She casually glances in his direction, but then decides she has more hunger than courage. She quickens her step and reaches her table without saying a word.

While it may be somewhat understandable when bystanders hesitate to intervene in situations involving aggressive adults, it’s perplexing how few are willing to speak up against teenage bullies, given the comparatively lower physical threat and authority differential.

But what’s that on her tray? 

Source: https://www.tips-and-tricks.co/various/teen-bullied-burger-king/