Bullies used to make school a living nightmare for 14-year-old Brandon Spencer. Cruel classmates would call him names, knock his books to the ground, and even shove him around in the hallways on a regular basis. That all changed, though, when Brandon finally decided that enough was enough and had a doctor surgically insert a defensive ink sac into his mouth.
This defense mechanism, common in many cephalopods like the squid and the octopus, allows Brandon to fire a huge blast of black ink into his bullies’ faces and escape to safety. The results have been beyond inspiring! Brandon is now standing up to his bullies and learning that, sometimes, the greatest weapon against cruelty is a simple blast of ink.
“I used to be afraid of going to school, but now whenever a bully tries to pick on me, I shoot my ink and run off,” says Brandon. “They say things like, ‘I can’t see! I can’t see!’ and that’s when I get away.”
Brandon’s ink sac can expel nearly a gallon of ink at a time, which Brandon maintains has given him the confidence he needs to walk through the halls of his school free of fear. He says that other kids shouldn’t be afraid to stand up to their bullies, and he has a special message for anybody who has been terrorized like he was:
“If the other boys are being mean to you, tell the doctors to give you an ink sac,” Brandon says. “That way, if anybody tries to bully you, you can get away, and so you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Here’s hoping other children in Brandon’s situation are fortunate enough to get defensive ink sacs of their own very soon. Brandon, you are a very brave little boy, and we hope that you and the jets of ink you fire out of your mouth help to put a stop to bullying once and for all!
