St. Charles 12-Year-Old's Anti-Bullying YouTube Video Goes Viral
(CBS) -- A suburban 7th grader created a unique way to stand up to bullies, and the YouTube video in which he does so, is going viral.
In this Original Report, CBS2's Charlie De Mar explains how this kid wants to put an end to bullying.
"I think I'm being bullied but I can't be sure," a child says in a YouTube video created by 12-year-old Jonah Maxwell. In it, the bullies are faceless.
"It's as easy to be nice as it is to be mean and manners cost nothing," he says. "I was bullied in elementary school, I think a lot of kids have been bullied in elementary school and I thought we should make a movie with the message being: If you are a bully, stop."
Over a span of about 7 months, Jonah wrote and edited the film from his St. Charles, Ill. home with a little help from Mom and Dad.
"Yeah I am surprised but I'm also delighted that the message is getting out there," his mother, Jenny Maxwell, says.
The script was inspired by actual bullying stories from the children seen in the video. It's gained well over 350,000 views, but the message is making an even bigger impact.
"A lot of the kids really opened up and told their own stories too.and it's horrifying to think anybody has to go through this," Jenny says.
Jonah and his family say local schools near St. Charles are showing the YouTube video in classes and they've even heard that teachers in Ireland, Australia and as far away as Brazil are using the video as a teaching tool.