From the NY Times today, there is a powerful piece about our responsibilities towards the children.
On April 6, just before dinner, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a Massachusetts boy who had endured relentless homophobic taunts at school, wrapped an extension cord around his tiny neck and hanged himself. He was only 11 years old. His mother had to cut him down.
On April 16, just after school, Jaheem Herrera, a Georgia boy who had also endured relentless homophobic taunts at school, wrapped a fabric belt around his tiny neck and hanged himself as well. He too was only 11 years old. His 10-year-old sister found him.....
The sad ends to their short lives shine a harsh light on the insidious scourge of the homophobic bullying of children.....
...In short, homophobic bullying is pervasive. It disproportionately affects black and Hispanic kids. A new study suggests an apparent link between bullying and suicide. To wit, black and Hispanic adults who are gay reported higher “serious suicide attempts” than their white counterparts, most of those attempts taking place when they were young.
Of course, these boys were too young to even know if they were gay. No matter. The words they heard were awful enough.
The data in this piece shows that taunting kids for being gay accounts for >30% of bullying (whether or not the victim is gay). Religion? only 8%. (And I'm betting most of that 8% isn't kids who espouse the majority Christian faith....just a hunch.).
What I find striking in the video above is that the self-proclaimed "Christians" find even a day of silence where GLBT supporters don't say anything to be an attack on THEM. Say what? TRUE Christians preach love. I know a lot of them, but they are seldom the ones interviewed by the media.
The next time some conservative rages on about how "Christians" are attacked in this country, remember who it is who uses the language of GLBT bias and hatred against even children. Because where do kids learn their language? They learn it from us.
When we speak, children will listen.