At school today my friend put a girls backpack who was being Racist in a toilet cubicle I walked away because I didn’t what to get in trouble but I didn’t tell a teacher either because I didn’t what to get them I trouble the girl still can’t fine her bag what should I do
Hi hi thank you for messaging luna about this 🙏 It sounds like you're in a bit of a bind here 😔
Firstly, well done for not actively participating in the bag hiding, this is a good first step to doing the right thing.
Look, it's NEVER okay to be racist, but remember two wrongs don't make a right – it's not okay to take matters into your own hands and do something mean back. This doesn't ultimately resolve the situation and could make things worse in the long run.
It's great that you didn't participate in what your friend did, but it's also important now and in general to speak up when you see something wrong happening.
You could try talking first to your friend about owning up to a teacher – they can also explain the motive behind it, so your teacher can take action against the racist behaviour which it's important they do!!
If your friend doesn't do this, it's important that you speak to a teacher about this instead – they will be able to help you figure out the best way to handle the situation and make sure the girl gets her bag back.
Remember, it's always important to stand up against racism and bullying, but it's also important to do it in a way that genuinely helps the situation and has appropriate consequences – this is always by raising the problem with adults who can take real action, rather than taking matters into our own hands which may just make things worse.
Hope this helps and good luck with this 🫶
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luna's team of experts comprises GPs, Dermatologists, Safeguarding Leads and Junior Doctors as well as Medical Students with specialised interests in paediatric care, mental health and gynaecology. Questions are answered and reviewed by this team.