Time to confront causes of anti-gay bullying
By Kay Springstroh
Lawrence King was an openly gay 15-year-old student at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, CA. On the morning of Feb. 12, his 14-year-old classmate entered Room 42 and shot Larry in the head with a handgun. His father said, "If Larry had the story to write, he'd say, 'If I have to give someone a heart, I want to give it on Valentine's Day.'"
Seven of Larry's vital organs were transplanted and he was pronounced dead on Feb. 14.
Larry's executioner, Brandon McInerney, is being charged as an adult for premeditated murder with a hate crime allegation. There are reports that his father and mother were involved in excessive drug use and violent arguments, one of which ended when his father shot his mother in the arm. In conflicting reports, people have suggested that Brandon was extremely charming and assertively bullying.
One boy pulled a trigger previously cocked by a learned vigilante mindset and another child was its premeditated target.
It seems that Larry had been bullied for quite some time. The school principal, Joel Lovstedt, told reporters, "There was some teasing, but we were working on it and King had met with counselors before. And we met with others, with classmates, about picking on people." There are numerous reports from students about the escalating disagreement between Lawrence and Brandon, including one in which Brandon had been overheard saying that the next day would be Larry's last.
Witnesses say that Larry had asked Brandon on a date; perhaps the child who pulled the trigger couldn't deal with his own feelings. Did the taunts of Brandon's friends, questioning his orientation, push him into carrying out a planned execution? Did bigots, masquerading as patriots, brainwash at least one of our children into believing there really is a war that pits him against some imagined enemy attack from gay people?
We have some religious leaders and politicians characterizing the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) struggle for equality as terrorism and an attempt to destroy families. We hear adults who continue to echo the lies about how gay people are a threat to America. Is it really a surprise when one of our children finally comes to believe that he is a soldier in some sort of convoluted holy war?
People who repeat the mantra that activist judges are forcing Americans to accept immoral behavior or that gay people are destroying the family are sending concrete messages to immature minds. When parents rail against marriage equality or rant against granting basic human rights through legislation like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), they are giving permission to bully, name-call, and, yes, use violence to protect themselves against a perceived, imaginary threat.
We hear that the LGBT students in Oshkosh schools are enduring harassment on a daily basis. It's time for all of us to start standing up to those who seem to enjoy knowing that the threat of physical harm or death is looming somewhere in the background for the kids who won't stay in the closet.
The same folks who oppose diversity training that attempts to educate and inform students about gay people because young minds are impressionable are the same folks who suggest that their message isn't indirectly justifying abuse and violence.
It can't be both ways.
Kay Springstroh is an Oshkosh resident and one of the organizers of Students of Oshkosh Finding Acceptance (SOFA), which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender youth and their allies.
full article
Lawrence King was an openly gay 15-year-old student at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, CA. On the morning of Feb. 12, his 14-year-old classmate entered Room 42 and shot Larry in the head with a handgun. His father said, "If Larry had the story to write, he'd say, 'If I have to give someone a heart, I want to give it on Valentine's Day.'"
Seven of Larry's vital organs were transplanted and he was pronounced dead on Feb. 14.
Larry's executioner, Brandon McInerney, is being charged as an adult for premeditated murder with a hate crime allegation. There are reports that his father and mother were involved in excessive drug use and violent arguments, one of which ended when his father shot his mother in the arm. In conflicting reports, people have suggested that Brandon was extremely charming and assertively bullying.
One boy pulled a trigger previously cocked by a learned vigilante mindset and another child was its premeditated target.
It seems that Larry had been bullied for quite some time. The school principal, Joel Lovstedt, told reporters, "There was some teasing, but we were working on it and King had met with counselors before. And we met with others, with classmates, about picking on people." There are numerous reports from students about the escalating disagreement between Lawrence and Brandon, including one in which Brandon had been overheard saying that the next day would be Larry's last.
Witnesses say that Larry had asked Brandon on a date; perhaps the child who pulled the trigger couldn't deal with his own feelings. Did the taunts of Brandon's friends, questioning his orientation, push him into carrying out a planned execution? Did bigots, masquerading as patriots, brainwash at least one of our children into believing there really is a war that pits him against some imagined enemy attack from gay people?
We have some religious leaders and politicians characterizing the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) struggle for equality as terrorism and an attempt to destroy families. We hear adults who continue to echo the lies about how gay people are a threat to America. Is it really a surprise when one of our children finally comes to believe that he is a soldier in some sort of convoluted holy war?
People who repeat the mantra that activist judges are forcing Americans to accept immoral behavior or that gay people are destroying the family are sending concrete messages to immature minds. When parents rail against marriage equality or rant against granting basic human rights through legislation like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), they are giving permission to bully, name-call, and, yes, use violence to protect themselves against a perceived, imaginary threat.
We hear that the LGBT students in Oshkosh schools are enduring harassment on a daily basis. It's time for all of us to start standing up to those who seem to enjoy knowing that the threat of physical harm or death is looming somewhere in the background for the kids who won't stay in the closet.
The same folks who oppose diversity training that attempts to educate and inform students about gay people because young minds are impressionable are the same folks who suggest that their message isn't indirectly justifying abuse and violence.
It can't be both ways.
Kay Springstroh is an Oshkosh resident and one of the organizers of Students of Oshkosh Finding Acceptance (SOFA), which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender youth and their allies.
full article
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