Two stories which should sober us up

[dsc]

http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid52689.asp

At 8:15 a.m. on February 12, Brandon McInerney, age 14, stormed into the computer lab of Oxnard, Calif.’s E.O. Green Junior High. Armed with a small caliber handgun, he shot 15-year-old Lawrence King twice in the head in front of a roomful of students.

If they didn’t see the execution coming, most of King’s peers at school knew he was being bullied for being proudly gay and flouting male conventions by accessorizing his school uniform with eye shadow and high-heeled boots. In the months leading up to that morning, King had undergone a metamorphosis. Guided by a welcoming support system at the group home where he lived, the teenager was encouraged to dress as he pleased and live as the person he wanted to be. What King and others didn’t recognize was that this encouragement—and his response to it—placed him on a collision course with a culture that found him repulsive.

Even before his death, Larry King was notorious. He was the sassy gay kid who bragged about his flashy attire and laughed off bullying, which for him included everything from name-calling to wet paper towels hurled in his direction. King was an easy target—he stood 5 foot 4 and was all of 100 pounds.

The boy’s unconventional family life was also fodder for gossip around the lockers of E.O. Green. Even though both his parents reside in Oxnard, about an hour’s drive northwest of Los Angeles, King lived at Casa Pacifica, a group home for abused, neglected, and emotionally troubled children. The facility houses kids until they are returned to their families or taken in by foster parents. The average stay at Casa Pacifica, according to staff member Melissa Flavin, is 30 days. King lived there for over four months.

end of quote (tons more at link)

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52978.asp

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens are 190% more likely to abuse illegal substances than heterosexual youths, MedicalNewsToday.com reported Wednesday. A new study by the University of Pittsburgh shows that among this group of LGB teens, the odds were higher for bisexual youths, 340%, and lesbian youths, at 400%.

"Homophobia, discrimination, and victimization are largely what are responsible for these substance use disparities in young gay people," said study leader Michael P. Marshal, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC. "History shows that when marginalized groups are oppressed and do not have equal opportunities and equal rights, they suffer. Our results show that gay youth are clearly no exception."

The results come from a look at 18 previous studies between 1994 and 2006, which tested the associations between drug use and sexual orientation in teens. The substances in the study included cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and injection drugs.

end of quote (a little more at link)

We have made immense gains in previous years. My own life speaks volumes to the amount we have gained. But when we are close to twice as likely to have addiction problems and kids are getting killed for trying to be themselves we sure have a long way to go.

[David Dunham]

1. His killer should be put in jail for a long time or else he'll kill again

[Beregond2]

2. Home

I have to say, those at that group home who were encouraging his self-destructive behavior are reprehensible. Of course he shouldn't have been harrased, let alone killed, for being different, but who in their right mind couldn't have seen this coming? They should have been encouraging him to tone it down until he was out of the fascist world of public schools, not telling him to walk around with a target on his back.

[mitchtv]

3. Sorry, I don't buy it

He was "obvious" and all the butching up in the world wasn't going to get the target off his back. The fault is with the perp, NO ONE else. Please No more closets.

[mitchtv]

9. Furthermore, if you care to proscribe blame on anyone other than the MURDERER

You should be looking at the school. I saw one of the administrators on tv discussing the affair; he described "some teasing". Well toots ,that was more like bullying and it betrays the complete lack of understanding by the dick strate people in charge at that school

[Solon]

4. Hiding who you really are, especially because of outside pressure, is extremely damaging...

to your psyche. Would it have been better if this was a suicide instead of a murder?

I can't believe this homophobic "blame the victim" mentality is allowed here. Get the fuck out of here you sick asshole! :grr:

[readmoreoften]

5. You don't know much about queer folk, do you?

Being trans is not self-destructive behavior. And there are plenty of kids who get beat up and killed even when they're trying to hide. Comments like yours remind me of how emotionally strong a kid like Larry King was.

[Zuiderelle]

6. Yes, let's blame the victim.

That always makes a lot of sense. :eyes:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. nice way of blaming the victim. good going.

[Der Blaue Engel]

11. "Self-destructive behavior"? No, your post is what's reprehensible.

You're advocating that GLBT youth be closeted and ashamed in order not to be murdered. What an offensive, idiotic thing to say.

[hulklogan]

12. There's nothing self-destructive about dressing in a way that doesn't match YOUR gender expectations

What the school SHOULD have done was punish the bullies for creating a disruptive learning environment. They knew it was happening, there was an event prior to the murder involving the two boys that should have been a LOUD wakeup call.

What we need to do is stop all of this nonsense that it is okay to bully kids for expressing themselves. People who tell kids to "tone it down" when there is no toning down needed are a part of the fascist world of public schools themselves, or fascism-enablers.

[Sentath]

8. % more likely

IFF I understand this, then its not twice, but nearly 3 times.

if 100 out of (number) group A and 101 out of (equal number) group B then group B is 1% more likely. The numbers in the article would indicate 100 out of (number) group A and 290 out of (equal number) group B

[keepCAblue]

10. And, in spite of this tragedy, Assemblymember Huff wants to strip LGBT youth of protections

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x69644 for more on Bob Huff's proposed bills, AB 2085 and AB 2086.