When I heard that Justin Trudeau was going to deliver an apology to LGBT Canadians I arranged to get the day off. I wanted to watch all the speeches, and hear what the survivors had to say about those dark times when gay people had no rights, and were treated like criminals. But I wasn't sure how I might react. Would I be moved like Justin? Or would I explode with anger at those stories of injustice?
So when I finally watched the speeches yesterday I was surprised by my reaction...
Golly. I have no idea why Pat Martin called the Cons rat faced whores. Martin launched into a Twitter tirade for the ages Wednesday night, calling the Conservative Party “rat faced whores” and attacking Public Safety Minister Vic Toews’ personal life to express his displeasure over not being invited to an announcement for a local infrastructure project. I know they're always jumping into bed with foreign interests, for money. Or handing out cheese to their supporters. But can rats OINK?
Don't you just love crazy religion? They are always attacking each other, claiming that only their god is the real one. Spewing gibberish and hate out of every orifice, or blowing up their rivals.
But nothing can bring them together as quickly as a chance to attack gay kids.
Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives say they agree school bullies must be stopped, but they can't condone a requirement under the legislation proposed to deal with it that schools promote sexual tolerance through gay clubs.
"To force, especially Christian classrooms or schools, to have homosexual clubs would of course be an affront to their family values," Charles McVety, of the Institute for Canadian Values, told a joint news conference.
It's been about a week since Jamie Hubley killed himself. And although for a while I was so sad I could hardly write about this tragedy, now I'm feeling better.
Because now I've seen how many young Canadians have been moved to action.
I have been encouraged by the amount of attention his death has received in the MSM, after so many years of shameful silence. And this was a pleasant surprise.
But here's the thing eh?
When it comes to the Harper Cons words are not enough.
Dan Savage, the Seattle columnist who started the “It Gets Better” movement, wrote that Canada’s Conservatives who have made it worse for gays and lesbians in the past can have evolving views.
“But it’s going to take more than a video to undo the damage done by Vic Toews and Canada’s conservatives,’’ Savage wrote. “This was, quite literally, the least Vic and his conservatives could do. The very least.’’
Because in five years in power they have done NOTHING to fight bullying and homophobia. Nothing to break the cycle of hate.
Now is the time for the Harper government to redeem itself by supporting a national strategy to fight bullying and homophobia in our schools. If they did that I still wouldn't vote for them, but I would be the first to applaud them.
Because I believe in the power of redemption, and protecting children, gay or straight, should not be a partisan issue, just the right, decent, and HUMAN thing to do.
So I never have to watch a Canadian kid cry out for help.
I know a lot about suicide. Ever since I saw a young straight couple jump in front of a train at the McGill Metro station I have tried to do what I can to prevent it.
I have worked as a volunteer in the mental health system in Montreal and Toronto. In the last few days I have been too tired to blog because I have been visiting a colleague who tried to kill himself, and the experience has left me physically drained, and emotionally numb.
I wanted to write so badly about the awesome Occupy movement. But I just couldn't. So the last thing I needed to read tonight was this sad story.
Another gay kid murdered by bullies. In a country that doesn't care enough about this crime against the young.
Being sad is sad : /. I’v been like this for way to long. I cant stand school, I cant stand earth, I cant stand society, I cant stand the scars on my arms, I cant fucking stand any fucking thing.
I dont want my parents to think this is their fault either… I love my mom and dad : ) Its just too hard. I dont want to wait 3 more years, this hurts too much. How do you even know It will get better? Its not.
So tragically similar to so many others...
The slashed arms, the bandaged wrists, the cries for help that were never answered. I know them all. I know that about 95 percent of the young people who try to kill themselves are suffering from some kind of mental illness like depression or schizophrenia. I know the warning signs.
I know we need to invest more money in our mental health system. I know we need to smash the stigma and talk more openly about mental illness and the problem that is killing so many Canadians. From native teens to men in their eighties.
And above all I know that bullying can drive a depressed kid to suicide. And it must STOP.
It will get better. But only when we as a society MAKE it better.
You know....I support the Occupy movement because I want a kinder, gentler, world where bigotry and bullying and cruel things don't happen. Where people come before profits and war machines.
And that day can't come soon enough.
Poor Jamie Hubley. Another gay kid murdered by homophobia.
Going out lonely.
Singing this song...
Born this way.To die at fifteen.
When will the slaughter end? What kind of country are we?
The other night I wrote about the tragic story of Jamey Rodemeyer, the 14-year-old boy from Buffalo, New York, who was bullied to death for being gay.
So I'm glad to see that the bullies may be held accountable.
Police are looking to bring criminal charges against three or more teens following the suicide of a 14-year-old who had been bullied for being gay.
At least three teens are said to be of particular interest to police and may be charged with hate crimes, harassment or cyber-harassment following the tragic death.
Because bullying is a hate crime. And I don't believe bullies can ever be punished enough.
It's such a sad story. So tragic in so many ways. And one of the things that moves me the most was how Jamey thanked Lady Gaga before he killed himself, for giving him the strength to endure, until he couldn't anymore.
On Saturday night he posted a lyric from Lady Gaga's song The Queen on his Facebook page which said: 'Don't forget me when I come crying to heaven's door.'
On 1.30am on Sunday morning, he left two final messages on one of his blogs saying he was looking forward to seeing his great grandmother, who recently died, and one as a tribute to Lady Gaga, thanking her.
Jamey Rodemeyer was a 14-year-old boy who lived in Buffalo, New York. He was relentlessly bullied because he was gay. He cried out for help online for months.
On Sept. 8, he wrote: "No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you're the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down."
On Saturday night, he posted a lyric from Lady Gaga's song "The Queen" on his Facebook page: "Don't forget me when I come crying to heaven's door."
Then around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Jamey posted two final messages to his main public Tumblr blog. One said he really wanted to see his great-grandmother, who had recently died, and one offered thanks to Lady Gaga.
The ugliest part? His blog was full of anti-gay comments from his class mates urging him to kill himself.
JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT AND UGLY. HE MUST DIE !
I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it. It would make everyone WAY more happier !
The saddest part? About four months ago he posted a YouTube video telling other kids not to give up.
Promising them it does get better...
But it didn't get better for him.
And you can be sure it won't get better for many Canadian kids in a country where bullying is a national scandal.
As one of the few bloggers who writes regularly about bullying, I don't know why more Canadians don't understand that if you want to build a kinder, gentler world, you have to start with the children.
Statistics Canada has released the latest figures on hate crimes in this country and the results are depressing.
Statistics Canada said hate crimes reported to police increased by 42 per cent, rising to more than four incidents a day from less than three a day in 2008.
Not just because they continue to rise, but also because although all hate crimes are hideous.
In 2009, three-quarters (74%) of incidents motivated by sexual orientation involved a violent offence, usually assault. In comparison, 39% of racially motivated incidents and 21% of religiously motivated incidents were classified by police as violent in nature.15
Victims of incidents motivated by sexual orientation were more likely than other victims of hate crime to suffer physical injuries. In 2009, 63% of victims of violent hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation were injured compared to 39% of victims of racially motivated incidents and 23% of victims of religiously motivated incidents.
But get so little attention. One brief mention in that Globe story, and ONE comment in more than six HUNDRED.
And then there is this chart that points to another problem...
We're not doing enough to fight bigotry in our schools. And sadly in some religious schools homophobia is still being encouraged.
Despite a ban on any rainbows at the St Joseph Catholic Secondary School anti-homophobia event June 3, the student organizers found a creative way to get their message across: hiding rainbows inside the cupcakes.
Oh boy. You've got to love those young bakers, but don't gay kids deserve better?
And why in more than five years have the Harper Cons done NOTHING to fight homophobia? Answer: because Great Godly Leader voted against making it a hate crime to attack gay people.
And like so many members of his rabid religious base, he believes they CHOOSE to be gay. So presumably if they changed they wouldn't be attacked.
Yup. As I've always said, we need to fight this government. We need to do more to fight bigotry in this country.
Religious schools should be abolished, before they hurt more children.
And I'm still waiting to see a video on Canadian TV.
70% of all participating students, LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, reported hearing expressions such as “that's so gay” every day in school and almost half (48%) reported hearing remarks such as “faggot,” “lezbo,” and “dyke” every day in school.
Almost two thirds (64%) of LGBTQ students and 61% of students with LGBTQ parents reported that they feel unsafe at school.
But then Cummins isn't the only one who believes that gay people choose to be who they are.
Izzett gave her his detective sergeant badge, something he said “was really important to him,” his favourite T-shirt, and a letter he copied onto her USB drive called “The Great Nature Nurture Debate.”
She explained it was “a cut and paste” of articles from the Internet about whether people are born gay or is it based on their environment, as well as some deeply personal comments addressed to her.
Isn't that disgusting?
And guess who also believes that murderous nonsense?
"Regarding sexual orientation...what we are really talking about is sexual behaviour."
Stephen Harper House of Commons 2003
Yup. The Dark Lord of Canada.
But in all his years in power nobody in our pathetic MSM has seen fit to ask him to explain himself. And now it's too late.
Now that he has a majority the crazy Christianists are coming out of the woodwork grave yard.
Oh boy. Canada what happened to you? Beautiful British Columbia where did you go?
We're going to have to fight those zombies harder than ever.
Because bigots are bastards. Being gay is not a choice.
He has always been the sleaziest homophobic zombie in a ReformCon government that is full of them.
A grubby religious fanatic, a 43-year-old bachelor, who smells of talcum powder, and has never missed an opportunity to hurt gay people.
During the debate over gay marriage he taunted them by saying they could get married if they married somebody of the opposite sex. Two years ago he symbolically exterminated gay people by disappearing them from the Citizens Guide.
In this election he's been telling new immigrants to vote THEIR social conservative values. i.e. strip gays of all their rights, and send women back to the 1950s.
And now this grubby Con bigot, has been caught with his homophobic pants around his ankles. Exposed as a supporter of another greasy homophobe.
Among the comments attributed to Earle in the Tribunal’s finding of facts:
“Put a cock in her mouth and shut her up;”
You’re a fat ugly cunt. No man will fuck you;”
“Do you have a strap-on? You can take your girlfriend home and fuck her in the ass;”
“Are you on the rag? Is that why you’re being a fucking cunt?”
Can you believe that? A government minister standing up for a man accused of debasing gay people and women, in such a coarse and brutish manner.
But of course I'm not surprised. I've heard that Kenney's office has been preparing a Defence of Religion bill that would allow Christianist fanatics to enter schools and tell gay kids that God hates them, and wants them killed. And nobody will be able to stop them.
Even though that hatred could drive bullied gay kids to kill themselves.
And now of course that cowardly bigot is hiding in his rat hole.
Kenney did not respond to an e-mail request from NOW for comment and as of Tuesday morning (April 26) had yet to return a call to his campaign office in Calgary requesting a response.
Oh boy. Anyone who believes that if Stephen Harper and his foul RepubliCons get a majority they wouldn't kill gay marriage and hurt gay children, is either a useful idiot or a Con collaborator.
Fight them, fight them, fight them. For the sake of our poor bullied kids.
After reading about how the Halton Catholic School Board has decided to deal with it's controversial ban on the Gay Straight Alliance.
On paper its ban on gay-straight alliances is lifted, but a new draft inclusion policy by the Halton Catholic District School Board doesn’t allow them either.
By disappearing the word "GAY." And treating gay kids like they were diseased.
While the document calls on educators to enforce anti-discrimination policies, it also reiterates the church’s official prohibition against sexual activity between two people of the same sex and exhorts teachers to lead “the homosexual student” toward “better sexual morality.” It further suggests that “romantic attachments and behaviour” are fully expected of heterosexual couples, but discouraged among gay students.
Or less than human.
All I can say is when are we going to stop funding religious schools?
The Catholic Church shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children
At a time when the government of Saskatchewan is trying to accomodate marriage commissioners who refuse to marry gay people because their Monkey God doesn't allow it.
Instead of firing their bigot asses.
At a time when an Ontario school board compares the Gay-Straight Alliance to a Nazi group. Even though bullying in Canada is a huge and shameful problem.
•85 per cent of LGBTQ students reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.
•40 per cent reported being physically harassed.
•19 per cent reported being physically assaulted
•Compared to Canada, fewer of the American students, 61 per cent, reported that they felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation.
Even worse than America.
At a time when Vancouver is the gay bashing capital of Canada. Gay people are being assaulted all over Canada. Or having their homes torched.
At a time when Stephen Harper and his Cons are preparing to strangle us ALL.
What's the most fevered cry in the progressive blogosphere? Solidarity forever? Down with the tyrant?
Look I respect the views of my progressive brothers and sisters, even when I disagree with them. Even when they just don't get it.
But why are so many white straight people sooooooo indignant when they've never felt the sting of those words? Or the murderous violence that so often comes with them.
What part of the hate that kills don't they understand?
What about the gay kids who hear the faggot word all the time?
Why did so many make it a bigger deal than even the Blogging Tories did? Why are they sooooooo indignant?
Since when did they become the sacred guardians of the "N" word? Since when did repeating the "F" word so gleefully, over and over again, become a progressive thing?
Nigger.Nigger. Nigger. Faggot. Faggot. Faggot.
Those heroes and their brave act of defiance. Their sacred satire. Our bloody lives.
Oh well. I thought progressives put people before art. Or a word in a lousy song.
When I was at work today, I couldn't help noticing how the CBC was playing this very small story.
Over and over again. As if it was the biggest story in the world, and faggot wasn't an "offensive word."
And they weren't the only ones.
The decision nabbed international headlines (with Fox News and TV Guide among the U.S. websites to pick up on the story) and prompted furious debate on Twitter, where "Dire Straits" and "CBSC" were both trending topics in Canada.
So you can imagine how I felt when I came home and discovered that even on Progressive Bloggers, it was a feverishgangbang.
Gawd. Some old straight guys just don't get it.
So for the record..."Money For Nothing" is NOT banned in Canada. Radio stations are only being asked to play the newer version, which the band has included on at least three albums.
Nothing stops anyone from buying the original version, playing it at home, and shouting faggot all they like. If that's what turns them on.
But let's not pretend that replacing the word "faggot" with "mother" changes the context.
One sanitized version of Money For nothing replaces "faggot" with mother, another bleeps the epithet entirely, so that "See the little faggot with the earrings and the makeup," becomes "See the little (bleep) in the earrings and makeup." Seems to me that the context is still there. We know the character is deriding those 80s rockers with the big hair for their apparently feminine ways.
Or that the so-called satire wasn't an epic fail, as Mark Knopfler, who is no Mark Twain, reluctantly seems to recognize.
Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can't let it have so many meanings - you have to be direct. In fact, I'm still in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to write songs that aren't in the first person, to take on other characters.
And the original version shouldn't be played on the public airwaves because gay people don't like to hear the faggot word. They hear it enough.
And it's KILLING gay kids...
"I think it's extremely important to take these words out of lyrics in popular culture," said Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada, an organization that promotes equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identified people.
Oh boy. What can you say when not ONE of all the MSM stories and blog posts I read today saw fit to mention the plight of bullied gay kids?
What can you say about this feverish gang bang over the "right" to use the word faggot? Even in the so-called progressive blogosphere. Even if it hurts gay people.
What can you say about all those old straight guys who still don't get it?
Except, I hate BULLIES.
Like a kidney stone, or a stubborn stool, everything PASSES.
And of course, for all those fighting so hysterically for the "right" to say sing FAGGOT.
Many stories affected me deeply this year. But no story had such a devastating personal impact as the death of all those gay kids in the United States.
Now the mother of one of them, 13-year-old Seth Walsh, tells his story...
"Thank you for having me" he said. How sweet. When he could have said thanks a lot for bringing me into a world that hates me for who I am.
I'm sure all those deaths had a devastating impact on many other gay people who were bullied. Dredging up memories of brutal times they'd rather forget.
I'm absolutely convinced that those memories, and that sadness, contributed to the death of Bruce McDonald. Whose dream remains frozen in time.
The only consolation was that out of this horror came a new project to give hope to bullied kids.
And it was awesome. Better than anything I had dreamed about for so long. Our poor little gay martyrs whose deaths helped save the lives of other children.
A couple of months ago, Dallas' Turtle Creek Chorale got together with other choirs to offer a few words of encouragement for the kids out there.
And a musical tribute to the dead...
For all gay children bullied to an early grave. For Bruce McDonald, and all the other victims of homophobia.
Homophobia is now not only affecting the day-to-day lives of homosexuals, but it is taking away their lives...Seeing no other option out of the intense and real emotions they feel trapped within, they end their lives – leaving the LGTBQ community and its supporters grasping at straws, trying to find a way to help stop the hate.
In New York last night, thousands gathered to let other gay kids know that they are not alone, and that they are loved.
Other rallies have been held all over the U.S. The media is full of stories about the problem. And a YouTube site is sending out the message that it does get better.
Meanwhile in Canada, where bullying is also a huge problem.
High schools are "the land that time forgot" in the ongoing battle to eradicate homophobia, laments University of Winnipeg education and communications Prof. Catherine Taylor.
"It's a non-issue for so many people these days. They don't recognize how bad the situation is for so many people. Kids are being tormented and terrorized, and very little is being done about it," she said.
Nothing. Rien. Nada. Even though bullies infest our schools, our sports, and our politics.
I'd like to think it's all the fault of the Harper regime, whose hatred for gay people is so intense they have never done ANYTHING to fight bullying in Canada. Never funded ONE public service announcement. Just pleasured their rabid religious base who don't care who they hurt or kill.
But sadly it's more than that. It's a generalized indifference to gay issues, all over the country. In the media. Even in the progressive blogosphere.
In the last few years I think I have written more than ninety per cent of the posts on bullying in our schools. And still I feel guilty for not doing enough. Because if you want to build a gentler, kinder, society where DO you start?
When my gentle brother Mark tried to get something going with this story.
It went nowhere. You could count the number of people who wrote about it on the fingers of one hand.
Or hear the silence, like the sound of crickets on this satirical website.
Or the silence of the bullied dead. Who nobody even tried to help.
Passively standing by will only lead to more tragic deaths of talented LGBTQ students – whether openly identifying as gay or not – and I, for one, am not willing to let that happen. Remember those who have perished this month alone. Do not forget that many more individuals like them are out there, silently suffering. Extend a word, a hand, a hug. Speak up. Act out. Let’s end homophobia.
What happened Canada? How did you become so old and callous?
As you may know, Exodus is a weird Christianist group that tries to torture gay people into becoming straight, or so called "ex-gays."
Most of them are pathetic but harmless self loathing closet queens. Most of them, including their leaders, end up defecting, blowing each other, or apologizing for their actions.
But their so-called reparative therapy is both soul destroying and absurd, as this ex ex-gay recounts...
And some of them are truly evil and dangerous. One of their leaders helped whip up the vicious anti-gay pogrom in Uganda.
And so diseased and cowardly is their self loathing that they even go after gay kids. The ones who are dropped off on their door step by parents who have thrown them out of their homes, and told them not to come back until they're "cured."
You know how I feel about bullies. So you can understand why I feel like Joe does:
It's more than a little fucking sad that the same people who were likely brutalized for their homosexuality while in school are now campaigning to support their tormentors.
So you can imagine how disgusted I was to find out, thanks to some excellent work by my brother Mark at Slap Upside the Head, that in Canada these Christianist crazies are considered....wait for it.... a CHARITY !!!!
Can you believe that? Our tax dollars are subsidizing a group of Christianist quacks, who believe that gays need to be "cured," promote a psychologically damaging "therapy", and target anti-bullying programs.
Even though the bloody facts are staring them in the face.
"The opportunity for students to learn is diminished when they do not feel safe or supported at school. In addition to assault and harassment, gay, lesbian and bisexual students experience high rates of emotional distress, suicide attempts and substance abuse. These factors hinder their emotional and social development, as well as their ability to succeed in school.
So can we expect Stephen Harper's government to stop subsidizing Exodus, and do the right thing like they did in New Zealand? I doubt it eh?
Why? Because the Cons are foul bullies, and as Christianist and homophobic as the holy fruitcakes from Exodus.
Stephen Harper shares their views because he believes that people CHOOSE to be gay.
"Regarding sexual orientation...what we are really talking about is sexual behaviour."
Stephen Harper
House of Commons 2003
His Deputy Chief of Staff Darrel Reid was President of the virulently homophobic Focus on the Family (Canada) for five years. And FOTF is Exodus' closest buddy in arms. Then there are all the SoCon homophobes like Kenney, Toews, Day, and so many others.
How can we expect them to clip the wings of these self loathing freaks, when they are licking them like lollipops?
Oh well. In a country rotting from the head down it's important to do the right thing. Please follow Mark's Slap Action Plan.
Send out the message: gays don't need to be cured, bullies are bad. And we don't want our tax dollars used to subsidize torture and Christianist garbage.
You've probably heard of Constance McMillen, the 18-year-old lesbian who fought for the right to bring her girlfriend to her prom in Fulton, Mississippi.
She won a court order after the school cancelled the prom rather than allow her to attend. Then they organized another one for her.
But when her big night arrived it turned out to be a fake prom.
What nasty little white trash bigots. And what a sad story. Although there was something to celebrate: Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. "They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."
Meanwhile in Cochran, Georgia, Derrick Martin has been told by his school that they can't stop him from bringing his boy friend to the prom.
“I don’t believe in going up there and dancing with gay guys like that,” she said. “It’s also not just him bringing a boy. It was bringing all this attention to it.”
We knew Derrick was gay,” said Keith Bowman Jr., a high school senior who showed up at the rally. “They don’t want (Cochran) to be known as a pro gay town.”
They are talking about organizing a separate prom.
And oh yeah...like so many other gay teenagers he's been kicked out of his home.
As a result of the media attention, Martin’s parents have kicked him out of their home, and he’s staying with a friend in Cochran.
Martin’s father is a math teacher at Bleckley County High and is the school’s Teacher of the Year.
Great eh?
I know all too well that what doesn't kill you can make you stronger.
And that Constance and Derrick are setting a magnificent example for gay kids everywhere. My heroes. But when will this cruel bigotry end?
Because I'm a Canadiens fan, I've always considered Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke a belligerent ....um....jock. But now, although it's painful, I have to admit he's a really neat dad. Because this is one of the best coming out stories I've ever read. He calls you "Moose" because you have always been a big kid. He cares very deeply about you and your happiness. You say he has always been there when you needed him. And he has a great sense of humor. Imagine that.
But on this night in 2007, you are petrified of your dad. Because you, Brendan Burke, at 19 years old, are about to tell your dad, Mr. Testosterone, that you are gay. But what does Mr. Testosterone say?
I wish this burden would fall on someone else's shoulders, not Brendan's. Pioneers are often misunderstood and mistrusted. But since he wishes to blaze this trail, I stand beside him with an axe! I simply could not be more proud of Brendan than I am, and I love him as much as I admire him." I stand beside him with an AXE. How many gay boys hoped they'd hear that from their fathers but didn't.
So imagine how gay boys who love sports feel when they hear Brendan say this: "Imagine if I was in the opposite situation, with a family that wouldn't accept me, working for a sports team where I knew I couldn't come out because I'd be fired or ostracized. People in that situation deserve to know that they can feel safe, that sports isn't all homophobic and that there are plenty of people in sports who accept people for who they are." Because he speaks for all of us. Of course, it will take a lot more than that to rid sports of homophobia. But every step counts.
Today is the beginning of Bullying Awareness Week in Canada, and once again this humble campaign's biggest enemy is the indifference of so many Canadians.
As Rick Mercer said in a video last year, for those long out of school Bullying Awareness Week can seem at bit like National Nutrition Week.... and is easily ignored.
Until you google BULLYING and SUICIDE and you realize it's a huge problem. One that can ruin lives or end them way too soon. Or you read what Michaëlle Jean recently wrote:
"Bullying is not only about threats and intimidation, it is foremost about contempt and injustice.”
Or you know that 60 percent of boys who are bullies in elementary school will have a criminal record by the age of twenty-four.So it's EVERYBODY'S problem...and we all have to stand-up to bullies whoever they are.
Which is why I'm so happy..and proud... to see Montrealers like Nico Archambault doing just that.
I was the only guy in the dance part of the sports/dance program and was surrounded by hockey players, divers, gymnasts and swimmers. I was automatically labelled as gay and experienced homophobia first hand.
Cruel jokes, intimidation, insults. People ignored me, pretended I wasn’t there and had no respect for what I had to say. They would steal or damage my belongings and people would team up to hurt me physically. I took a couple of beatings.
And all the parents and teachers and kids who are trying to do something to fight this horrible problem.
This campaign for a kinder, gentler Canada still doesn't have enough support or resources. It's still an uphill struggle in the face of public indifference. For too many kids, like gay teens, school is still a war zone
And of course Stephen Harper's Con government is doing nothing to help gay kids or all the other victims.
Despite these dismal statistics, organizations like PREVNet that work to promote positive relationships and combat bullying among Canadian kids are about to run out of federal funding with no new funding in sight, despite their being linked with 62 expert researchers from 27 Canadian universities, and 49 national organizations. Because these Cons are not just homophobes, they are bullies themselves. Which is the main reason I dislike them so much.
But thanks to people like Nico Archambault and thousands and thousands of others we are making some progress. We just have to do more.
Because whether it's in the schoolyard... or the workplace... or the seniors home ... or wherever. Every life COUNTS...
I am the person who says bullies are cowards, and will fight them FOREVER.
I am the person who believes indifference KILLS. I am the person who says bullying is cruel and EVIL.
