Quote:No apologies required here and I don't think Rychard would object either. Rant away
Apologies not required by me Jim, the ones who should be doing that is the people who still remain silent over these young teenagers deaths. :mad::mad::mad:
Some more who gave up their lives for being gay, again we failed to protect them.
On July 9, 2010. Justin Aaberg, 15, of Anoka, Minnesota, who tried unsuccessfully to kill himself in January, but succeeded in June, after constant anti-gay harassment at school. School officials had decided not to intervene in the bullying because they were wary of 'conservative protests.'
On September 30, 2010. Caleb Nolt, 14, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who died yesterday after taking his own life. Schoolmates claim there is a long history of his being bullied for being gay at high school.
On April 9, 2009. Carl Walker-Hoover, 11, of Springfield, Massachusetts, who hung himself after repeated gay taunting.
On March 29, 2007. Eric Mohat, 17, of Mentor, Ohio, who was involved in theater and music, and was called "gay," "fag," "queer" and "homo" often in front of his class and teachers in class. When one bully said publicly in class, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will miss you" - - he did.
If this is not stopped, more teenagers will die needlessly from these criminals.
Below is extracts from the Guardian website, dated Friday 22 October 2010 08.56 BST.
It Gets Better Project receives backing of US president amid concerns over spate of gay American teenagers killing themselves
Barack Obama has released a video to draw attention to pressures facing gay teenagers, lending his weight to a campaign that has attracted more than 2,000 video contributions and 10m views on YouTube.
The campaign, prompted by a spate of gay American teenagers killing themselves in recent weeks, has also received the backing of the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who has posted her own two-minute video.
But with the midterm elections less than two weeks away, and the Democrats facing significant losses, the administration needs to appease its liberal base and defuse anger over what some see as a betrayal of Obama's presidential election pledge to remove the restriction.
Is this just some more talk, we want action Barack Obama not words.
Going to other forums, where I play a straight man to prevent the onslaught of hatred that would come if they knew the truth... Obama just 'talking' is met with a lot of contempt and hostility.
One poster accused Obama of being gay, while another twisted saying Obama is telling minors to BE gay, and a few others all agreed that the 'Liberal Agenda" to 'gay-ify Amerika is well under way.
Demanding action from the office of the president is sort of self involved and short sighted. While it is easy for us to insist he must 'do more' we tend to forget that the rest of those who would vote him into office next election are not really cottoning to the idea that Gays should serve openly in the military, that gays should be allowed to married, that 'gay teens' committing suicide is such a terrible thing.
Our President does not just represent the LGBT community, he tends to represent all of us thus he has to always find a middle ground in such political hot topics as 'the Gay Problem'.
Consider that Reagan wouldn't even talk about Gays and Aids when Aids was epidemic and a serious threat... Then consider that Obama is at least talking about Gays and Suicide and 'troubled youth'. As a society we have come a long way.
Yes we have a lot further to go.
There is still a lot of open hostility when it comes to the Gay issue. There are a lot of people out there who wish for the old days when gays were easily lynched and forgotten. While few would actually act on that desire, the mindset still exists.
Yet, we need not forget that the people are changing - yes it is a very slow process against the span of a single life. Yet change is happening.
100 years ago being openly gay was a criminal offense. 40 years ago it was a mental illness treatable with electroshock therapy.
20 years ago it was illegal to be gay and be in the military, this was replaced with 'don't ask, don't tell'.
6 years ago gays started marrying in Massachusetts.
Against the background of human history 'equality' is a pretty new idea, with the evolution of equality meaning only white land owners now including women, blacks, etc. That took about 300 years to unfold. Prior to that equality was pretty much an alien concept.
I assure you, there will come a time when being gay is no longer unacceptable, where gays will marry in all 50 states as naturally as straights do today. A time when gays serve openly in the military and folk will look back at this 'dark period' of history much as they look back at the dark period when Blacks were kept as slaves, used as cannon fodder in war and where interracial marriage was illegal.
I just wanted to say that...Spirit Day in our school went pretty well. There were homophobic comments here and there but they were looked upon with disgust and rejection. Many people wore purple. Many boys wore purple. I am very happy to see that our school is so accepting...
Bowyn Aerrow Wrote:Demanding action from the office of the president is sort of self involved and short sighted. While it is easy for us to insist he must 'do more' we tend to forget that the rest of those who would vote him into office next election are not really cottoning to the idea that Gays should serve openly in the military, that gays should be allowed to married, that 'gay teens' committing suicide is such a terrible thing.
Our President does not just represent the LGBT community, he tends to represent all of us thus he has to always find a middle ground in such political hot topics as 'the Gay Problem'.
According to the polls the majority of Americans support ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the House of Representatives have voted to end it, the Senate failed to bring it to a vote and a federal court ruled it unconstitutional. Yet Obama's administration still feels it necessary to appeal that ruling.
Obama promised to be a 'fierce advocate' for gay-rights yet I've heard little of that advocacy from the 'bully pulpit' of the Presidency.
The gay community sells itself very cheaply if they would vote for Obama so long as he is at least slightly better that the Republican alternative, the Religious Right drives a much harder bargain with the Republicans.
Just my thoughts...
Fred
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
Clint McCance, Arkansas School Board Member, Resigns On 'Anderson Cooper 360'
These extracts were taken from The Huffington Post website, article dated 29th October 2010.
The Arkansas school board member whose homophobic rants on Facebook drew widespread condemnation announced he was resigning on Thursday's "AC360."
Anderson Cooper told viewers that Clint McCance, a member of the Midland School District board in Arkansas, contacted him to set up an interview after his anti-gay Facebook posts sparked a wave of outrage.
The posts, which emerged on Wednesday, were written in response to the "Wear Purple Day" that was launched to show solidarity with gay youth in the wake of a recent string of suicides. In one post, McCance protested the idea behind the initiative.
"They want me to wear purple because five queers committed suicide," he wrote. "The only way I'm wearing for them is if they all commit suicide. I can't believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid.
In another post, he wrote, "it pisses me off, though, that we make special purple fag day for them. I like that fags can't procreate. I also enjoy that they often give each other AIDS and die...I would disown my kids they were gay. They will not be welcome at my home or in my vicinity. I will absolutely run them off."
McCance, who said he was ashamed and embarrassed by his actions, told Cooper that "I would never support suicide of any kids. I don't support bullying of any kids."
"What do you feel like you're apologizing for, exactly?" Cooper asked him.
"It was over the top, Anderson," McCance replied. "It was -- I -- I just went too far with it."
That explanation, however, did not seem to be enough for Cooper, who pressed McCance further.
"But, I mean, do you have any idea of the... pain and fear you have caused to kids maybe even in your own district who are being bullied or who are gay or who don't feel safe telling anyone that they're gay?" he asked him.
Then, Cooper got McCance to announce his resignation from the school board.
Now what, will McCance face any criminal charges or be ban from the school as a danger to children, or will he be allowed to carry on as normal?
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