Bully Pummels Gay Teen in Classroom -- Is Three Day Suspension Just?
COMMENTARY | The video is disturbing. A 15-year-old student is brutally attacked in his own classroom, while nothing is done to stop it. In the video, the boy is seen lying on the floor between desks while another student, viciously pummels him. Why? Because he is gay.
Rebecca Collins, the mother of the boy, said her son has also been harassed on Facebook, and suffered a chipped tooth and a possible concussion in the attack. The bully who perpetrated the brutal beating received just a three day suspension. Collins does not believe it is a just punishment and is looking at law enforcement for further help.
Similar horrific incidents have been the news recently, including the suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer. Rodemeyer was a gay teen who had endured bullying in middle school that worsened once he was in high school. After his death, students at the school taunted his sister by chanting, " We're glad you're dead! You're better off dead!"
Three days suspension is not enough. A punishment that light does nothing to teach would be bullies that their actions are horribly wrong. The bully knew what he was doing. It was a vicious and, likely, a premeditated violent attack.
The members of our society who continue to preach the evils of homosexuality, insisting that it is an immoral decision that a person chooses to make, are the root cause of hate crimes. A young teen does not suddenly decide he is gay, he or she, is born that way. The people who judge and condemn those who are different from themselves send hateful messages to their own offspring, inspiring them to commit atrocious acts that are based in ignorance.
Actor Zachary Quinto who played Spock in the latest "Star Trek" film, was inspired by Rodemeyer to come out to the public and acknowledge that he is gay. Quinto remarked that Rodemeyer's death was a catalyst for change within himself to lead an "authentic life of compassion, integrity, and action."
Our society, our nation, needs to stand up and fight against these hateful attacks. Take a stand against those who use their religion as an excuse for hatred and violence. We need to protect our children. They should not have to go to school in fear for their lives. A three day suspension is not enough.
Rebecca Collins, the mother of the boy, said her son has also been harassed on Facebook, and suffered a chipped tooth and a possible concussion in the attack. The bully who perpetrated the brutal beating received just a three day suspension. Collins does not believe it is a just punishment and is looking at law enforcement for further help.
Similar horrific incidents have been the news recently, including the suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer. Rodemeyer was a gay teen who had endured bullying in middle school that worsened once he was in high school. After his death, students at the school taunted his sister by chanting, " We're glad you're dead! You're better off dead!"
Three days suspension is not enough. A punishment that light does nothing to teach would be bullies that their actions are horribly wrong. The bully knew what he was doing. It was a vicious and, likely, a premeditated violent attack.
The members of our society who continue to preach the evils of homosexuality, insisting that it is an immoral decision that a person chooses to make, are the root cause of hate crimes. A young teen does not suddenly decide he is gay, he or she, is born that way. The people who judge and condemn those who are different from themselves send hateful messages to their own offspring, inspiring them to commit atrocious acts that are based in ignorance.
Actor Zachary Quinto who played Spock in the latest "Star Trek" film, was inspired by Rodemeyer to come out to the public and acknowledge that he is gay. Quinto remarked that Rodemeyer's death was a catalyst for change within himself to lead an "authentic life of compassion, integrity, and action."
Our society, our nation, needs to stand up and fight against these hateful attacks. Take a stand against those who use their religion as an excuse for hatred and violence. We need to protect our children. They should not have to go to school in fear for their lives. A three day suspension is not enough.
Published by K.C. Dermody - Featured Contributor in Travel
K.C. Dermody is a freelance writer, writing for YCN, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, and OMG! Yahoo as well as other web content projects, and working on a historical fiction novel based in ancient Ireland. She... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentRita,there may be more to this case. Did this victim have a history of abusing others in the classroom before he got bashed? What I’ve found in the few cases of where straight men bash gays, they almost always do so reacting or overreacting to criminal abuse the gay did. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out if the bashed teen had a history of committing assault&battery on others (perhaps while as drugs are so gay & Injun)before he got bashed by another teen who got 3 day suspension. Even if the teen didn’t harass the boy who bashed him, the teen could’ve harassed & abused others. There maybe more to this 1 minute 43 second video than what we've seen. If it's true the bashed victim had a history of abusing others, then getting bashed is still excessive but it's excessive reaction to abuse. Finally we don't know if gays are born that way but even if it's inborn, homosexuality is stll bad & we must cure it. #$%$amp;lesbian activities may be a birth defect for some just as cancer maybe result of bad genes. Just because something is inborn doesn't make it good. Serial killers could do their deeds because of inborn defect but we still try to prevent it.
How did one become Gay/Lesbian is not the issue. The issue is bullying, period. Who are you to judge anyone because the other person was born or made a choice to be someone you do not agree with? Bullying in schools should not be tolerated...zero tolerance. Assault anywhere should not be tolerated...zero tolerance. Bullying leads to assault....battery....manslaughter...murder. Bullying is a decision a person makes to disrupt the life of another. You do not have to like a person but you should respect a person's choice. Choices are an option and no one has to live up to your expectations. America land of the FREE???
Something else & this case aside Most violence against gays & lesbians happen to be domestic violence cases. If a gay commits assault&battery on his gay lover it's usu. not going to be reported in the press as it's not interesting. If a gay kills his gay lover, it'll get minor press coverage. The Matthew Wayne Shepard case made the news because it's interesting. The press gave minor coverage to what Matthew Wayne Shepard did 2 months BEFORE his death in Aug. 1998. MW Shepard in August 1998 committed assault&battery on a Cody Wyoming bartender who reacted by decking Matthew Wayne Shepard. MW Shepard the next day falsely accused the Cody Wyoming bartender of homosexual rape by saying 3 men homosexually raped him. Medical tests came up negative as no sex had happened & the Cody police concluded the bartender self-defended.
MW Shepard should've been arrested for assault&battery along with falsely reporting a crime but he wasn't because perhaps the Cody police thought that him being decked was punishement enough. MW Shepard should've been in a Cody jail awaiting trial & hopefully conviction not Laramie that day. Why Matthew Wayne Shepard was killed on Oct. 1998, only he & his killers know.
But on another point-on what people call 'gay panic' must be called the 'gay abuse' defense. If a gay is going to be anti-social such as harass a man (propose after a man has said no) or grab a man's groin against his will (assault&battery which you call unwanted sexual advances) after which the man reacts violently by bashing or killing the gay, the man reacted or overreacted to a crime that the gay did. It's the gay abused me reaction. If a man pinched a woman's butt or boobs after which the woman or the woman's boyfriend or husband bashes or kills the man, many would not sympathise with the man-they'd say that the man committed a crime for which he was bashed or killed though excessive force-most wouldn't hold vigils for him.
Gays have no right to harass others (propose after some1 has said no) & they have no right to commit assault&battery. So if a gay is going to be anti-social before the man bashes or kills him, it maybe excess force, but I don't believe the gay deserves vigils as the gay committed a crime before he was killed. Yes with self-defend you may only use just force. Murder has different degrees (1st, 2nd & Manslaughter) & if a defense lawyer wants to bring up abuse that the gay did before he was bashed or killed, then a jury decides if man's reaction was just or excess & if it's excessive force, then what degree to convict. I don't want gays committing harassment or assault&battery. So if a gay is going to grab a man's groin or butt against will after which the man reacts by killing the gay, Ok, it's probably excessive force, but again, it's an overreaction to a crime (assault&battery) that they gay did.
This post will offend if you differ but what they must do is find a cure for homosexuality regardless of why it happens. They must abolish sex change maimings & cure GID not mutilate, GID is another topic. Why people take part in gay/lesbian activities is the same as why people get cancer. Some take part in gay & lesbian activities possibly because of biological defect (birth defect if inborn or hormonal defect) as homosexuality is true orientation. Some people take part in gay & lesbian activities because of sex abuse. Yes, if a boy is homosexually raped in youth the likelihood is more that he'll take part in gay activities in adulthood & 33% of gays report being homosexually raped in youth. So yes, homosexuality is the result of something bad-perhaps bad biology or because of child molestation esp. homosexual rape. They must cure homosexuality whatever the causes. People who take part in gay & lesbian activities have higher copathologies incl. suicides, anti-social conduct, etc. & societal attitudes are only part of it. How many gays commit suicide because childhood sex abuse messed up minds? My guess is that the latter has a large part to it.