We are one of the last minority groups for which it is socially acceptable to publicly denigrate. A gay kid gets piled on while straight adult administrators stand by, hoping it will teach him a lesson and he'll "choose" to be straight.
You know, maybe that is at the heart of this bullying problem. Some many? One of my students told me how he stood up for a mentally challenged student who was being bullied. But in the next breath he made some statements about decking any gay student who he feared might come on to him.
(mh=3UpHQg_s9yMbTaX2)8.jpg "Babes Saint-Maur-des-Fossés")
The admins have to address sexuality directly - the kids just aren't sophisticated to make the connection. Ignorance is not bliss We are not asking people to change their own lifestyle or system of beliefs. Instead, we ask that our children be educated in a way that teaches them respect for all lifestyles and beliefs.
A respect for humanity as a whole. Being "neutral" to the issues at hand, especially when it comes to bullying is no longer acceptale. Unfortunately, there has to be a shift in socieities way of thinking before anything will change. I am a friend of the Aabergs. Justin was my daughters best friend. His death was a tragedy, as is any death where a child feels their only option is to take their own life. It both saddens and sickens me to think that things will not change and that at the rate things are happening, we will lose more children in senseless deaths.
Thanks Anita. Please pass on my condolences to the Aaberg's. No family should have to deal with what they are dealing with, just like no child should have to deal with the things Justin did. Say anything, but keep it civil Justin Aaberg was fifteen, and shy; he played the cello, and came out to his mother when he was just thirteen.
