Rest In Peace
>> Thursday, September 30, 2010
It seems like everyday this week, I hear some kind of gay teen suicides or death because of some bullying at school. 
On September 9, 15 years old Billy Lucas hung himself in his mother's barn in Indiana because his classmates thought he was gay telling him he's a piece of crap and didn't deserve to live.
Former student of the Greensburg High School had been bullied for the same reason before and when he complained to the school administrators, they just dismiss his complain, the same student had tried committing suicide. On the video clip below, you'll hear the school principal actually blaming Billy Lucas for his own bullying.
On September 23, Asher Brown shot himself with a pistol. Asher had been harassed for the past 18 months for being smaller in stature, his religion, not wearing name brand clothes and shoes. He has also been labeled as gay by the other bullies. On the day before he died, Asher was intentionally tripped down a flight of stairs and his books were kicked everywhere by his classmates. The next morning, Asher told his parents that he was gay and while his parents did not condemn him, Asher found a pistol in his stepfather's closet and killed himself. He was 13.
Throughout the past 18 months, Asher's parents had called School administration at Hamilton Middle School to complain about their son being bullied and harassed, they have talked to the counselors and assistant principal but they were mainly brushed off. After Asher's death, the school official claimed that no one have ever reported that any bullying have ever gone on at the school, almost calling the parents of the dead child are liars.
In California, 13 years old Seth Walsh hung himself on a tree in his backyard after years of being bullied. On the day that he hung himself, a few kids were taunting him but they said they never expected Seth to hang himself. School administrators said they have an anti-bullying program in place, but schoolmates said staff at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi offered Seth no protection or guidance.
After 9 days of being in a coma, Seth died on Tuesday.
I guess for the kids there, it's hard to start a new school year knowing that for the coming months and perhaps years, they'd have to stay in the same school with those same monsters who would cause them physical and emotional pain. The lack of support or justice from the school officials are at the end, the ones to blame. While I applaud Dan Savage's initiative to tell GLBT teenager that it'll get better once they grow up, I also understand that one year for a young person can feel like an eternity, I don't know by telling them things will get better actually helps. Even after we grew up, we're still facing people who tells us everyday that being gay is a sin. Case and point: an asshole who is telling gay kids that things will get worse and the kids who commit suicide that they will go to hell. It's too vile to post it here but if you're interested, watch it here.
There will always be crazy loons that tries to bully people for myriad reasons. An Assistant Attorney General from Michigan, Andrew Shirvell is harassing the student body president at University of Michigan Chris Armstrong. Shortly after knowing that Chris Armstrong is gay, Mr. Shirvell set up a blog just in the purpose of slandering Chris. He also go out to where Chris lives and videotape what he's doing whenever he can, all in the name of his first amendment right and labeling Chris as a political figure. Sounds more like the guy has unresolved gay issues and Chris is his object of obsession. Anywho, Chris Armstrong has a stalker and he looked semi-retarded. I wonder if a little protest outside the AG office for a few days is not just the appropriate act to get him fired.
On the subject of Tyler Clementi, the 18 years old Rutgers Freshman who jumped off the George Washington Bridge because of his roommates broadcast his sexual encounter in his dorm room for the world to see. I don't know if this could classify as bullying. Clearly it's invasion of privacy but I don't know if it was done in jest or maybe the roommates just didn't realize the consequence of their actions. The whole thing, along with all the other suicides in this post are just very unfortunate, sad and somewhat infuriating.
Our culture are brewing some kind of self-righteousness for a group of people to treat another group badly. The bullies felt that they can rightfully torment gays and the authority figures are turning a blind eye either because they agree with that point of view or they are just too lazy to deal with kids and providing justice and at least protection. And when the victim kill themselves, everyone is surprised or they claim not to be responsible, and then these people are not punished for what they have done. It gets me angry.
