11-Year-Old Hangs Himself after Enduring Daily Anti-Gay Bullying

How sad.

I blame all the anti-gay posters here for fostering a climate where the behavior that led to this is acceptable.

Read the story directly here:

http://www.outcomebuffalo.com/bully-mass-409-...

Words cannot express how awful this whole ordeal is. It's bringing me to tears just thinking about it.

What's even sadder, IMO, are the kids a most-likely gay by their families force them into a situation where they just can't be, in no way shape or form, gay. This is like the lawsuit which was just filed about the kid killing himself for being called 'fag' and the parents are still insisting the kid wasn't gay (although you can obviously tell he was via his pictures).

I don't think school bullying is the major problem here. These kids wouldn't be killing themselves if their families didn't add to it. It's one thing to have kids call you a 'fag' but when your family is basically putting the frosting on the homophobia cake then it becomes too much to deal with.

umma, "the kids are most-likely gay but their families"

Updated wrote:

Wonder how many gay men raped this kid of his real life and pushed him into being something he hated in himself and felt like filth for what they did to him.

You caused this. You killed this boy.

He didn't identify as gay. He may have been. But he may not have been. What difference does it make? He was attacked by those who thought he might have been gay. And enjoyed taunting him.

You killed him, and you enjoyed it.

You and all those heartless, criminal promoters of "family values" who fought so furiously against legal protections for this child and all those young people who endure the daily taunts and physical attacks.

You killed another child. You are guilty. All of you who ever railed against anti-bullying legislation, who ever dismissed as PC or big government or whatever the need to protect people on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

You who hid behind some mythical superstition and ancient writings that say that killing or disparaging gay people is OK; you who say idly by as your religious leaders, your elders, your relatives, or your friends made jokes, encouraged the attacks, denigrated people and shouted for more.

Your ignorance killed him. Your religion killed him. Your hatred killed him.

You killed him.

McMike wrote:

What's even sadder, IMO, are the kids a most-likely gay by their families force them into a situation where they just can't be, in no way shape or form, gay. This is like the lawsuit which was just filed about the kid killing himself for being called 'fag' and the parents are still insisting the kid wasn't gay (although you can obviously tell he was via his pictures).
I don't think school bullying is the major problem here. These kids wouldn't be killing themselves if their families didn't add to it. It's one thing to have kids call you a 'fag' but when your family is basically putting the frosting on the homophobia cake then it becomes too much to deal with.

I've worked with youth and parents who have been in this situation. I can assure you, without equivocation, that the anguish that a negative school environment can cause is quite sufficient to push a vulnerable young person to consider drastic measures, including suicide. I've known families with wonderful parents who have struggled and fought with school officials so ignorant or homophobic that they turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to what is going on around them.

Do not let these schools off the hook by diminishing or playing down their culpability. School officials, teachers, coaches all need to know that they can be held personally liable for their gross negligence or deliberate contributions that failed to protect this young man and all students similarly situated. This is a crime. It needs to stop.

Updated wrote:

Wonder how many gay men raped this kid of his real life and pushed him into being something he hated in himself and felt like filth for what they did to him.

YOU and other HOMOPHOBIC BIGOTS killed him by spreading hate and riducule - HE WAS A completely innocent CHILD, you A$$, and YOU killed him.

I know/knew a fine young man ( age 17 ) that one New Years Eve took his fathers shotgun and shoot himself in his face , Because of his family being Homophobic , To him and to the young man who hung himself , I say , May your spirit finally be as free as the wind ,( Im not nameing names here incase someone might reconise the name, ( and to this day his family doesent know why he shot himself ( But , I know why )

So Sorry wrote:

I know/knew a fine young man ( age 17 ) that one New Years Eve took his fathers shotgun and shoot himself in his face , Because of his family being Homophobic , To him and to the young man who hung himself , I say , May your spirit finally be as free as the wind ,( Im not nameing names here incase someone might reconise the name,( and to this day his family doesent know why he shot himself ( But , I know why )

You should tell them. Even if it's an anonymous letter. As painful as it is, they need to know the part their homophobia played in this world - so they make sure it doesn't affect the life of anyone else.

Jerald wrote:

<quoted text>
I've worked with youth and parents who have been in this situation. I can assure you, without equivocation, that the anguish that a negative school environment can cause is quite sufficient to push a vulnerable young person to consider drastic measures, including suicide. I've known families with wonderful parents who have struggled and fought with school officials so ignorant or homophobic that they turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to what is going on around them.
Do not let these schools off the hook by diminishing or playing down their culpability. School officials, teachers, coaches all need to know that they can be held personally liable for their gross negligence or deliberate contributions that failed to protect this young man and all students similarly situated. This is a crime. It needs to stop.

I fully agree with you but in the case where the parents are filing the lawsuit they're denying their son was gay. They're saying he was "terminally single". I really think the harshness a gay kid might feel at school pales in comparison when he has to come home and face the same mentality. I bet you about 90%, if not more, of the gay kids who kill themselves do not find acceptance at home. You can't just blame the school when the kid's own parents basically bully him too. Sure, bullying needs to stop but I think the bigger problem is parents who refuse to admit their kids might be gay and thus, IMO, push them over the edge.

So Sorry wrote:

I know/knew a fine young man ( age 17 ) that one New Years Eve took his fathers shotgun and shoot himself in his face , Because of his family being Homophobic , To him and to the young man who hung himself , I say , May your spirit finally be as free as the wind ,( Im not nameing names here incase someone might reconise the name,( and to this day his family doesent know why he shot himself ( But , I know why )

You need to tell them. I'm sorry but the parents shouldn't get away with it. If they weren't so homophobic then their son would still be alive. I've heard of a story like this once where the son killed himself and the parents blamed the ex-girlfriend however the ex-girlfriend knew the son was gay and she also knew it was their homophobia which drove him to the edge.

Not to go off on a tangent but I was watching CNN two days ago when they were reporting on the kid's parents suing the school over the bullying. They were talking about how this drives kids to kill themselves but were completely tip-toeing around the cause of the bullying. All they could talk about was the "effect" but wouldn't at all touch on the "cause". Honestly I'm getting sick of the bullying aspect being the only thing that's being talked about. It's like saying there's this huge disease killing everyone but no one tells you what the disease is (and, no, I'm not comparing being gay to having a disease). It also amazes me it's these so-called Christians who are at the forefront of making sure these gay kids aren't protected. Again, it just seems really odd no one in the media is talking about the root cause of this bullying.

This wrote:

The child may have not been gay at all and we all know how the gays are when it comes to sexuality issues, they think they alone hold the definition of homosexual or straight.
This kid may have been a nerdy type that the other kids confused for being gay.
Who knows, maybe he was molested too?

Your unsupported speculation about the child being molested are as bad as McMike's speculation that she can tell that a teenager in another case was gay by looking at her pictures or that the parents rejected and emotionally abused their child.

Tony C wrote:

How sad.
I blame all the anti-gay posters here for fostering a climate where the behavior that led to this is acceptable.

I agree. They have blood on their hands.

Do any of the Fundies or 'phobes still have questions about why gay pride parades are needed? If you still believe that gay equality is a bad thing, then this 11 year old's blood cries up from the ground and accuses you of murder. I, for one, will not find you guiltless.

Rather let this death, and the many others we know about, inspire those of us who have worked through our own identity issues to be active and visible in our communities, so that no kid, gay, only bullied mistakenly as gay, or for any other reason of not loving who they are, need ever feel that life is so painful that suicide is preferable.

I heard of about in WBZ 4's site, how sad?

How sad! He may not "identified" as gay, but, at 11, he didn't need to identify any sexuality. He may have been gay, or not. Doesn't matter at this point, however, I think that if he hung himself due to homophobia, then he knew he was different from the other boys. Too bad his parents couldn't see, and accept that.

Updated wrote:

Wonder how many gay men raped this kid of his real life and pushed him into being something he hated in himself and felt like filth for what they did to him.

You imbeciles still admit that you had any hand in this. When the "he made a choice" arguments cannot be applied you fall back on homosexual gang rape. Unbelievable!
Regards, Terry

This wrote:

The child may have not been gay at all and we all know how the gays are when it comes to sexuality issues, they think they alone hold the definition of homosexual or straight.
This kid may have been a nerdy type that the other kids confused for being gay.
Who knows, maybe he was molested too?

And we all know how bigots like yourself are, disparaging others. People like yourself are the ones that created the rope by encouraging the harassment.

Insert, still won't Admit