School's back in session, and the level of anti-Gay bullying & violence is heating up

Divine Discontent

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Wed Sep-29-10 11:49 PM
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School's back in session, and the level of anti-Gay bullying & violence is heating up

I blame the schools & colleges, particularly those involved, for not doing a better job of educating their students, setting firm punishment for bullying, and enacting a student force to report questionable texts/emails/wall postings on facebook/and tweets which are abusive. Some schools outright ignore complaints about kids being bullied for being Gay, and others downplay it as kids being kids, or blame the kids for being Gay, or appearing in questionable attire which 'asks' for it. Also, many teens have spent the summer at youth camps organized by churches, and we all know how a lot (not all) of churches treat being GLBT, and those sermons and classes the kids have listened to all summer are showing themselves.

I believe if the people on Dharun Ravi's tweet list had been educated about harassment properly, ONE of them would have reported his bullying last week, or confronted him by asking why he didn't just ask for a different roommate if he was so offended?

Driven to suicide by bullying in just the past 2 weeks due to bullying from students either at school, heading home from school, or through cyber-bullying. School should be a place where a kid or teen is safe, not bullied to death. RIP guys...

Bullies Flourishing with Christian Support, says Hodge

Candace Chellew-Hodge, one of my favorite 'listens' on podcasts, because she is a Christian who is Gay, is the founder/editor of Whosoever: An Online Magazine for GLBT Christians and currently serves as the pastor of Jubilee! Circle United Church of Christ in Columbia, S.C. She is also the author of Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/candacechellew-hodge/3446/bullies_flourishing_with_christian_support/

She had this to say about the role religion is playing in bullying, and Focus on the Family's actions regarding congressional legislation ---

(snip)
In her CNN appearance, Cushman swore that Focus believes "every child should be protected from bullying" but they, and other Christian groups, continue to fight against anti-bullying measures that would specifically target bullying against gay and lesbian students. Even though studies show that specific policies are more effective than general anti-bullying policies, Focus and their cohorts continue to fight it because they believe it demonizes Christians and gives special status to gays and lesbians.

Instead of being concerned for the actual lives of gay and lesbian children (or those perceived as gay and lesbian), Focus' true motive is to continue its political and religious agenda at the expense of these children. Their own position paper on the subject accuses groups like the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network or GLSEN, which advocate for the gay-specific bullying policies, of using the policies to create diversity training, "evade parental rights" and "circumvent traditional marriage laws."

While it's true that teaching children to value each other no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity may lead to more tolerant people -- it's disgusting to see an organization put its morality politics over the lives of children.