In the past weeks, two eleven year old boys have committed suicide after being taunted repeatedly in school.
Both boys suffered from the same taunts of bullying and harassment's of anti-gay epithets and attacks. Obviously, the youth were in desperate need for the pain to go away -- which resulted in their deaths.
The victims names are Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover (seen above) of Massachusetts, and Jaheem Herrera (seen below-r) of Georgia.
Both boys suffered from the same taunts of bullying and harassment's of anti-gay epithets and attacks. Obviously, the youth were in desperate need for the pain to go away -- which resulted in their deaths.
The victims names are Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover (seen above) of Massachusetts, and Jaheem Herrera (seen below-r) of Georgia.
Jaheem's mother stated that she repeatedly complained to the Dekalb school
system about her son being harassed, but nothing was ever done to rectify the situation.Our current culture of accepted homophobia, and the prevalence of bullying hurts LGBT youth and heterosexual kids as well.
Because students are affected by a climate of anti-gay rhetoric, as a result, these anti-gay taunts were a driving force behind Jaheem and Carls' tragic suicides.
When children go to school aren't they supposed to be protected? School houses are considered to be second homes to our children, and now we can't feel safe in knowing that our children aren't in good hands?
According to the 2007 National School Climate Survey, 73.6 percent of the students surveyed heard derogatory remarks like “faggot” or “dyke” frequently at school.
We know that in schools the word “gay” with derogatory intent, can be applied to any student who maybe viewed as different no matter what their actual sexual orientation might be.
Even in our own government right-wing groups and religious institutions, continually use anti-gay sentiment and rhetoric. Many describe scary imagery and falsify religious arguments to fuel misinformation and fear, many also outright claim that LGBT people are a threat to society.
But how many deaths must we witness before we enact laws to protect our children?
Eleven states including the District of Columbia have student protections based on sexual orientation, and only seven of those states including the District of Columbia, protect based on gender identity and expression.
We need to expand these protections to every state and defend the states that have already put in place these protections.
We must fight back against the misuse of religion as a tool of hatred and intolerance. We must work to create a culture which embraces differences in gender and sexual orientation, just as we work endlessly to end racism, sexism and any other negative -- ism there is.
We need a powerful movement that will protect our children from all negativity and danger. We must do it fast and we must do it NOW!
Eleven states including the District of Columbia have student protections based on sexual orientation, and only seven of those states including the District of Columbia, protect based on gender identity and expression.
We need to expand these protections to every state and defend the states that have already put in place these protections.
We must fight back against the misuse of religion as a tool of hatred and intolerance. We must work to create a culture which embraces differences in gender and sexual orientation, just as we work endlessly to end racism, sexism and any other negative -- ism there is.
We need a powerful movement that will protect our children from all negativity and danger. We must do it fast and we must do it NOW!
2009 LA
