“It’s one thing to say, “When I got my kid’s autism diagnosis, it felt like I’d just been told she had cancer, but then I realized how demeaning that is and, for the sake of my child and others like her, I’m not going there again.” I support that. But it’s quite another thing to say, “When I got my kid’s autism diagnosis, I felt like I’d just been told she had cancer, and why should such a thing happen to me?” And when ten, or twenty, or thirty, or a hundred people chime in with a version of “I know! It’s all so unfair!” without any pushback at all from anyone, it just adds insult to injury.

Why do these people say these things? Do they think we’re not listening? Do they think we don’t have feelings? Do they think, in some secret place in their minds, that we really are second-class citizens, of no particular importance? Or do they consider us such a burden that they’ve decided that their feelings trump ours? To tell you the truth, I don’t know and, at this point, I don’t care. Over the past couple of days, I’ve realized that I’ve got to stop asking the Why is this happening? question. It’s a bottomless pit of a question, because the answers all have to do with people’s personal issues and, if we keep waiting until people get clear on their personal issues, nothing will ever get better.”

“If it were only people of color who had fought for civil rights in America, we wouldn’t have any civil rights legislation at all. If it were only LGBT people who had fought for gay marriage, I woudn’t have lived in two states that have legalized it. The outrage of the majority is necessary to the civil rights of the minority. Always. We can keep your feet to the fire, but we can’t change the world alone.”

Read the rest here.

Seth Walsh, a thirteen year old boy from Tehachapi, California, hanged himself on September 19th after “some type of altercation with a group of teenagers at a local park,” and died September 27th at Kern Medical Center (L.A. Times). “Friends told NBC affiliate KGET that Seth had been picked on for years because he was gay” (CBS). Police say that no charges will be made against the bullies as “’Several of the kids that we talked to broke down into tears,’” Jeff Kermode, the Tehachapi Police Chief, said. “’They had never expected an outcome such as this’” (CBS). The kids may not have meant it, but it’s painfully demonstrated here that words have consequences.

Asher Brown shot himself in the head on September 23rd. He was a thirteen year old boy from Houston, Texas. His parents claim he was “’bullied to death’ — picked on for his small size, his religion, and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes. Kids also accused him of being gay, some of them performing mock gay acts on him in his physical education class” (chron). His parents futher said “the bullying went on for two years,” and that “during that time, they had gone to complain to coaches, an assistant principal, and anyone who would listen. They say nothing was ever done” (ABC). Asher’s stepfather says that on the morning of his death, Asher told him he was gay, and that he was “fine with the disclosure” (chron).

Billy Lucas was a fifteen year old who hanged himself in his family’s barn in Greensburg, Indiana on September 9th (camp). “Lucas committed suicide after allegedly being tormented by bullies. Classmates say some questioned his sexual orientation and picked on the way Lucas talked and dressed” (INC). Friend and classmate Nick Hughes said that Billy was threatened to get beat up everyday, and that when schoolmates picked on his sexuality, Lucas did little to defend himself: “He would try to but people would just try to break him down with words and stuff and just pick on him” (WTHR).

Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, jumped off the George Washington Bridge on September 22nd after his roommate broadcast a video of him having a sexual encounter with another boy. Two Rutgers students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, both 18, were charged with invasion of privacy (CBS). After the images were streamed online, Tyler’s sexuality became a “subject of gossip” in the dorm (The New York Times).

Cody Barker and Raymond Chase were also young gay men who took their lives this September, although it is unclear the level to which anti-gay bullying played a part in their suicides. No matter the cause, we should carry on their memories as well, as we try to create a safer, kinder world.

Cody Barker was a seventeen year old from Shiocton, Wisconsin, and took his life on September 13th. “Maria Peeples, Barker’s peer mentor through GSA for Safe Schools, said he was a passionate activist for all students, especially those, ‘targeted or ostracized for their sexual orientation or their gender identity and expression… He really cared about making schools a safe place for students. That wasn’t always his own experience with school’” (The Stranger).

Raymond Chase was a nineteen year old sophomore at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island. On Wednesday, September 29th, the openly gay student committed suicide by hanging himself in his dorm room (The News of Today).

These are only the deaths linked with anti-gay bullying that took place in September. Not to mention all the other teen suicides caused by bullying that don’t have to do with sexuality (Phoebe Prince is an example that strikes close to home). Something needs to be done, and we can all take the first step by being nice to each other. That’s all. Just be nice. Think about what your words could do. And tell others what they’re doing is wrong if you see someone being bullied. Life is the most precious thing in the universe, and when all it takes is a kind word, or support for a lonely child, how can we not help?

Guinness is still reviewing this attempt to ensure that they followed all the rules, but if it gets in they will be the first homosexual pair to hold this record.

Australian ‘angel’ saves lives at suicide spot

I think what one should take away from this story is that you should smile. Smile at everyone and anyone, and if someone is crying, show that you care. It might save someone’s life.

Last Sunday there was a crazy hailstorm in Oklahoma City, check it out!

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