In a tear-jerking PSA by UP TV, a girl waits at a bus stop and deals with what the video states 1 in 3 children will during school: Bullying.
"Do you have any friends at all? Any ones that aren't imaginary or your family?" two classmates ask her at the PSA's beginning.
The girl's classmates continue to tease, and bystanders on benches nearby begin to hear the vitriolic words. Soon, witnesses do exactly what viewers would hope stand up to the bullying.
Vanessa Wilkins wrote for ABC News the girls in the video were actors, and the scene was staged, but PSA director and producer Rob Bliss told Wilkins the reactions by regular people were "100 percent authentic."
And those reactions might give you a bit of faith in humanity, Beth Greenfield wrote for Yahoo Parenting. At the very least, people waiting for the bus tell the bullies, "Leave her alone, please," "Quit messing with her ... It's not nice," and "It's that stuff that you're doing that brings people's self-esteem down."
A few bystanders go further to combat bullying.
"Others motion for the girl to move away from the bullies and sit closer to them and when she does, the caring bystanders try to cheer her up by offering compliments and support and, in one touching case, pulling out a harmonica and playing her a tune," Greenfield reported.
Sarah Barness wrote for A Plus that UP TV, an anti-bullying organization, released the clip to coincide with October's Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.
Wendy McCoy, UP TV senior vice president of marketing, told Wilkins the campaign's purpose is to "remind people to uplift someone" and take a stand against bullying.
"Bullying is a very critical issue today, and we want to help raise awareness and provide families with tools and resources to help combat it," Wilkins quoted McCoy as saying.
As Greenfield notes, the video ends on a positive note, setting expectations for viewers.
"Who will stop the bullying?" text in the clip reads before fading out. "All of us."
"Do you have any friends at all? Any ones that aren't imaginary or your family?" two classmates ask her at the PSA's beginning.
The girl's classmates continue to tease, and bystanders on benches nearby begin to hear the vitriolic words. Soon, witnesses do exactly what viewers would hope stand up to the bullying.
Vanessa Wilkins wrote for ABC News the girls in the video were actors, and the scene was staged, but PSA director and producer Rob Bliss told Wilkins the reactions by regular people were "100 percent authentic."
And those reactions might give you a bit of faith in humanity, Beth Greenfield wrote for Yahoo Parenting. At the very least, people waiting for the bus tell the bullies, "Leave her alone, please," "Quit messing with her ... It's not nice," and "It's that stuff that you're doing that brings people's self-esteem down."
A few bystanders go further to combat bullying.
"Others motion for the girl to move away from the bullies and sit closer to them and when she does, the caring bystanders try to cheer her up by offering compliments and support and, in one touching case, pulling out a harmonica and playing her a tune," Greenfield reported.
Sarah Barness wrote for A Plus that UP TV, an anti-bullying organization, released the clip to coincide with October's Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.
Wendy McCoy, UP TV senior vice president of marketing, told Wilkins the campaign's purpose is to "remind people to uplift someone" and take a stand against bullying.
"Bullying is a very critical issue today, and we want to help raise awareness and provide families with tools and resources to help combat it," Wilkins quoted McCoy as saying.
As Greenfield notes, the video ends on a positive note, setting expectations for viewers.
"Who will stop the bullying?" text in the clip reads before fading out. "All of us."