My son is afraid of reporting this to police because many of his friends work there, and he’s afraid of retaliation at school for being a “snitch”. This is not the first time he’s witnessed something very wrong and had to report it, that time to police, and he was targeted at school both physically and just with asshole kids treating him the way they do (while also influencing others).
Management made up an excuse and fired my son after it became apparent that he knew about the meth situation and was not ok with it.
He does want corporate to know all of this and take action, so we plan to report it to them.
Part of the trouble is this: My SO’s daughter had a similar situation at another fast food joint, it was reported to corporate, and the response was basically “we can’t do anything because that location is a franchise”. The problem manager in that instance was promoted soon afterward.
I’m not sure if my son’s restaurant is corporate owned or franchise. If it’s a franchise as I fear, and corporate will take no action, what recourse can we take without police?
I’m super pissed my son was exposed to this and I’m concerned for the girl that informed him, not to mention the other employees. This obviously cannot stand, but I also don’t want to ruin my son’s social life over it. I remember being a high schooler, it’s hard enough without being targeted by jerks.
EDIT: Thank you for all the replies. I plan to wait awhile to give my son some distance, then contact police. To all who said we live in a broken place, you’re right, and if we could move immediately we would. It helps to get outside perspectives on stuff like this, and I appreciate all your replies.
Also fuck Spez!
This route appeals most to me. My first instinct was to contact the police immediately for the well-being of the girl and others, but then my son made a strong case for the retaliation he expects at school. To add to that he’s already hesitant to seek help for things, always has been, and I worry that taking action he doesn’t want will make him clam up even more.
So waiting awhile is a good plan, and I can probably get him onboard in that time. I’d like to be more proactive in helping the girl, so that bothers me, but since I’m forced to choose I have to look out for my boy.
Thank you for this idea. I wish you all the best in life.
No offense but if the people at your son’s school are so disgusting that they’d retaliate for him reporting an underage girl’s abuse then I would consider taking him out of that school anyway. I cannot imagine anyone at the school I went to when I was his age being that depraved, and I hated most of my schoolmates so I don’t say that easily. That must be a school full of extra shitty kids that you don’t want your son to be around.
Tell your son that not reporting this to police could put that girl’s life in danger. He might be bullied at school, but she might end up dead. If he is so opposed to asking for help to the point of letting something like this continue then he could possibly use a few visits to a counselor to help him with that because it’s an extremely unhealthy mindset to have. Imagine if it was HIM in her position, what would you want one of his older coworkers to do in that situation? Think very hard about that scenario and how it would make you feel.
I get the impression from OP’s other comments that a lot of what’s happening isn’t ideal, and it’s also not something they can change any time soon.
IMO, OP is struggling in a bad situation, with few options, and they’re just trying to get by.
Not everyone is privileged enough to simply pull their kids out of one school and move them over to a better one. Some people just kind of have to deal with the hand they’ve been dealt, and make the best of it.
I believe OP is doing their best given their circumstances; and bluntly, I appreciate them for it. Keep doing your best OP.