Another child has chosen to end his life rather than endure continued torment that his school was either unwilling or unable to stop. Carl Walker-Hoover, 11-years-old, hung himself after enduring repeated bullying that included daily taunts of being gay.
According to GLSEN, his mother asked for help from the school more than once to end the bullying. His is the fourth suicide of a middle school aged child this year that is linked to bullying.
Despite the obvious need for awareness to solve this problem, anti-gay groups like MassResistance would rather pull their children out of school than let them be contaminated by protests on the National Day of Silence organized by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) on April 17. Groups like MassResistance don't see the need for education on the bullying and harassment that LGBT students face on a daily basis. Instead they see the Day of Silence as an endorsement of the "Gay Lifestyle" and a threat to their children.
Someone from MassResistance needs to try to explain that to Carl's mother. Explain to her that her son's suicide had nothing to do with anti-gay bullying and that the DOS, which will fall on what would have been Carl's 12th birthday, is a threat and advocation of sin.
I don't think she'll believe them. But I bet she could give them an eye-opening description of just what this kind of bullying can do.
H/T to Joe.My.God.
4 comments:
This breaks my heart.
An 11 year old is getting taunted about being gay? Homophobia in this country by some is over the top. Why are some people so ignorant.
So sad...my husband has been working for tolerance in the school setting...education is the answer. Also the few school districts that allow gay teens to have support groups are helping to decrease the suicide rate by giving them a voice, and acknowledgment.
Very sad. A child this age should still be playing yet a world has been created that allows an innocent to feel such humiliation that suicide is his logical recourse. Strange that as humans gain more knowledge they gain less empathy toward each other...
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