Man teaches niece a valuable lesson after she brings his son's bully to family gathering

No matter how old one gets, it's hard to forget a childhood bully. For some children, the impact is so severe that parents must take drastic measures to help them recover. One parent on Reddit shared how his queer son, Shaun, was brutally bullied at age 13. Years later, the family faced Shaun's bully again when the dad’s niece began dating him. The niece was unapologetic about dating the boy who had tormented Shaun, prompting the father to take action.

The father explained how the bullying severely affected his son's life. "I know for some may seem like it was a long time ago and they were just kids and I agree if the bullying was just name-calling and pulling hair but what my boy went through was downright cruel," he shared. Turns out, the 13-year-old boy was called names because he was gay and soon it extended to cyber-bullying. At one point in time, the boy was physically attacked so terribly that he didn't want to go to school for four months. The bullies didn't receive the punishment they deserved but Shaun had to get psychiatric help to feel better. The whole family moved and had to restart life in a different place.

Around five years later, Shaun's dad took his entire family back to his sister's place in their hometown to celebrate the 4th of July. He mentioned that he had earlier offered to pay for his sister's 17-year-old daughter's college tuition. But the niece turned out to be ungrateful as she brought one of Shaun's bullies to the family gathering as her boyfriend. The bully recognized Shaun's family and left the gathering early. When asked about dating the boy who troubled her cousin, the niece barely expressed any remorse. "She acted like it wasn’t a big deal and said that he had changed and the whole thing happened years ago," the dad wrote. The niece was absolutely "nonchalant" about her actions and even claimed that Shaun's inability to get over the incident wasn't her boyfriend's fault.

This indifferent response tested the family's patience. "I stayed back and told her that if her boyfriend had changed so much then I guess he could pay for education because I’m not supporting her anymore, then I left," the dad said. After the dad and his family left, his sister and other family members called him up to reason with him saying that he was "overreacting" and shouldn't cut his niece off as it was a matter of her education. "They have all sided with the bully saying he has changed a lot and is now a good kid and I can’t hold what he did as a 'troubled' kid over him forever," he added. When the dad wondered if he was wrong to teach his insensitive niece a lesson, the internet rallied in his support. 

"They simply want to use you for your money. It's clear that your niece and her parents don’t actually care about you or your son. They are just so used to relying on your money," said u/Apprehensive_War9612. "Let the parents pay or she can get a job and pay if she wants to date a bully. My son was bullied in middle school and still hates those kids. You are justified. Your kid is a priority always," commented u/maria_goreti. "Tell all those family members if they care so much, they contribute to your niece's college. You have no obligation to support your niece. If the bully had grown and changed so much, he should have apologized to your son and family," added u/Financial-Gene161.