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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When a 5-year-old boy set out to pull a prank on his teacher with one of his pals, he didn’t realize how or why his plan would end up touching the hearts of thousands.
Jax Rosebush had some pretty epic bed head. When his mom suggested it might be time to tame his wild blond locks last week, he knew exactly what he wanted to do — shave it short like his friend, Reddy.
“He said he couldn’t wait to go to school Monday with his hair like Reddy’s so that his teacher wouldn’t be able to tell them apart,” Lydia Rosebush wrote in a Facebook post. “He thought it would be so hilarious to confuse his teacher with the same haircut.”
A silly prank by a creative 5-year-old, until you see the photo Rosebush posted of the two boys on her Facebook page.
Jax is white, Reddy is black.
“I’m sure you all see the resemblance,” Rosebush wrote. “If this isn’t proof that hate and prejudice is something that is taught, I don’t know what is. The only difference Jax sees in the two of them is their hair.”
Rosebush’s post about her son’s beautifully innocent plan quickly caught the attention of thousands of friends, family and strangers alike. As of Friday morning, it had garnered more than 73,000 shares, 131,000 likes and 7,700 comments since its original posting on Feb. 24.
“Love is all children know until taught otherwise,” wrote one commenter.
“It’s beautiful,” wrote another. “Now if only the 'grown-ups' of the world would 'get it' and be so wise. Out of the mouths of babes.”
Turns out, Reddy and Jax share a haircut and a sense of humor. Reddy couldn’t wait to get on board with the prank, Rosebud told Today. When he got to school first, he waltzed into the classroom and declared himself to be Jax.
Luckily the boys have a kind teacher who played along, much to their amusement, according to Today.
Rosebush’s post was picked up by the Love What Matters Facebook page and the story has been covered by dozens of national and global news outlets. Seems it’s a story with a moral that’s worth sharing.
“It is just two innocent boys,” Rosebush told Today. “Obviously, they see they are different colors, they just don’t care. It is not important.”
White #Kentucky boy, four, #shaveshead to match black best friend #JaxRosebush... https://t.co/pGdzsEp6TNpic.twitter.com/V3DzylcT31
— Trending UK News (@UKolizer) March 2, 2017
For Reddy, color doesn’t dictate love, nor does it dictate family. He and his brother were born in Africa and were adopted by the Weldon family — who are white, ABC 7 News reports.
“It’s really cool to see that move on from our family right into his relationships with his friends,” Kevin Weldon, Reddy’s dad, told ABC 7. “There’s an innocence children have that sometimes we lose. If we could get some of that back, I think it would be amazing.”
A sweet reminder from an unexpected source.
“I thought with all the hate in the world today, we could use this lesson from an almost 5-year-old,” Rosebush told ABC 7.
