Another boy hung himself...

Because he was bullied for being gay.

Normally I don't like posting rants on the internet because I figure it doesn't do much good, but this just broke me this morning, and I literally cried, which is something I hardly do. It's been happening way too much that children are either being killed, or killing themselves because of their sexual orientation. Last year 14-year-old Lawrence King was shot for being gay, and now, in just this month, two 11-year-old boys, Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung themselves after receiving daily anti-gay bullying. There have probably been many more, but these are just the ones that have come to my attention.

I've seen a lot of gay-friendly people here on Cut out, so I doubt I need to stress how absolutely horrible this is. But I do want to encourage people to talk to their kids about the issue, and to stand up against abusive language. Even if it isn't directed at a child or it's said in a private place, you standing up to the person may make them think twice before saying it again, and make them realize that it does hurt people. Also if you are part of a Parent Advising Committee or something in a school, then please bring up the subject of gay bullying at your next meeting and find out what your school is doing to prevent it. Your voice could save a child's life.

Sources:
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover - http://www.topix.com/news/gay/2009/04/gay-news-blog-11-year-old-hangs-himself-after-enduring-daily-anti-gay-bullying
Jaheem Herrera - http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2009/04/21/boy_suicide_bullying_decatur.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab
Lawrence King - http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oxnard15feb15,0,7663055.story

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34 replies since 21st April 2009 • Last reply 21st April 2009

Reply #1:

oh gosh, that is so horrible, and the thing is the school could of and should of stopped it. In Canada, one student commited susiside, and two of his classmates rallied against it, by organzing pink shirt day. Where all the students who were against homophopbics to wear pink.

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Reply #2:

http://www.pinkshirtday.ca/

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/09/18/pink-tshirts-students.html

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Reply #3:

http://teenymanolo.com/2008/09/11/pink-and-proud/

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Reply #4:

That is wonderful what they did, I love the fact that "there's been nary a peep from the bullies since, which Shepherd says just goes to show what a little activism will do." If two kids could do this then imagine what the principal, teachers, and parents could have done in situations like these.
This cheered me up quite a bit, thanks for sharing it Happy

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Reply #5:

They were only 11?! That's so sad and horrible that they felt like that was the only option they had left Happy

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Reply #6:

Thats TERRIBLE! They were 11!!!

I can't BELIEVE people would do shit like that. This morning, the girl we carpool with saw the DVD of Milk on our table and she was like "thats a funny movie" i was like "why??" and she said it was because she thought it was funny at the end when harvey milk gets assassinated.
she said she had "a wierd sense of humor"
to which i replied "thats not a sense of humor"

god i was about to kill her

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Reply #7:

omg, someone said that was funny!!! thats not a joke.

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Reply #8:

i know! i was like OMG that was a real person who stood up for what he believed in and refused to stay in the closet, and he got shot.
AND YOU FIND THAT FUNNY?!
God.

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Reply #9:

did she know it was not fictional

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Reply #10:

i hope she thought it was fictional. although if she saw the ending with all the info about what the people went on to do after the assassination and the photos, she mustve known

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Reply #11:

well, lets just say some people have no idea of whats really going on, like miss claifornia

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Reply #12:

It sucks i remember my junior year prom king was gay and a lot of football players thought it was rigged but to tell the truth cam (his name) was just really nice and could relate to nearly everyone he talked too

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Reply #13:

people always assume the worst.

But to get back to the topic at hand, someone should be helping these kids. Teachers, parents, students. We have to take action.

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Reply #14:

seriously, stuff like this needs to stop

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