This Florida dad came up with a creative punishment for his son after he was caught bullying at school.
Humiliation has to be one of the strongest motivators out there. If you're engaging in some particularly terrible behavior, if you're called out and put on the spot for it in a situation that matters to you, chances are you're going to remember that stinging, painful embarrassment for a long time.
I'm not saying all humiliation is good, bullies who bring up the fact you still wear a retainer or have irritable bowel syndrome in front of the entire cafeteria are probably trying to humiliate you just to be jerks.
But if someone's humiliating you, so you can humble yourself for a good reason, like stopping garbage behavior, is perhaps a good thing. Which is what this dad from Florida wanted to do when he found out his son was bullying other kids.
Michael Yager from Volusia County, Florida wanted to teach his son a lesson he wouldn't forget, so he had him hold up this sign at a highly trafficked intersection.
Yager came up with the unique punishment when discovered that his 13-year-old-son, Jacob, was bullying and teasing a bunch of his classmates at New Smyrma Beach Middle School.
After standing near Road 442 with his father parked close by, people started honking their horns to acknowledge that they, in fact, hated bullies.
Some drivers even pulled over to speak with Yager and his son. There were tons of people who thought Jacob was learning a valuable lesson and applauded Yager for being an involved parent.
Others weren't the biggest fans of Yager's out of the box punishment.
"I had one woman come up and call me every name in the book. In my mind I thought I was doing the right thing, but I guess you just can't please everyone."A Florida dad decided to punish his son after he caught him bullying other kids at school by making him stand on a busy corner with a sign that read "I'm a bully, honk if you hate bullies." Do you agree in punishing a child in public after they have done something wrong?
— KATV News (@KATVNews) May 1, 2018There are some others who equated Yager's punishment to bullying itself and that it would be like hitting your child to teach them that hitting is wrong.
Honk if you hate me sign? Dad converts motorists into bullies in an attempt to punish his kid for bullying. Yeah okay. Like hitting ur kid to teach him hitting is bad.
— danny (@dannyT2greenN2) April 30, 2018Yager isn't the first parent to make their kid do something like this.
About 5-years ago, Jose Lagares made his 4th grade son hold up the same sign, but in bright pink posterboard, for commuters to see.
4th grade bully forced to carry 'Honk if you hate bullies!' sign http://t.co/k8ORR8arx2 pic.twitter.com/gaeb3b7MRm
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 5, 2013And he received tons of praise and support for his actions.
We need more parents like this: 'Honk if you hate bullies!' Father makes son hold sign for bullying studenthttp://t.co/Z2Cfj2AFXx
— Brad Thor (@BradThor) October 5, 2013This 'honk if you hate bullies' dad is not over the top.
— Britt (@smitterbritter) October 8, 2013Good Discipline .. Sign says " I am a bully , honk if you hate bullies" I think I broke my horn .😂 http://t.co/IqwoDghafa
— Bean (@JvCardier) October 1, 2013And some people hate bullies so much they've got bumper stickers indicating as much.
Honk If you Hate Bullies 👊❤️ pic.twitter.com/Zuhwu63tfM
— Justinnnn💋 (@fivefortweeting) April 18, 2018Other people's opinions aside, Jacob seems to have had a very positive takeaway from the punishment. He says he's learned an important lesson and is dedicated to be an advocate and friend to his classmates instead of a bully.
What do you think? Was Yager's punishment too much? Or did it send the right message? (h/t nbc4i)
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