Another Pre-Teen Suicide From Anti-Gay Bullying

A number of other blogs have already recounted the sad story of yet another 11 year old who has killed himself because he could no longer take the anti-gay bullying he was receiving at school. This time the victim lived in less than gay friendly Georgia rather than Massachusetts. As was the case last week with Carl Walker, Jaheem Herrera's family had complained to his school about the bullying and once again nothing was done. The constant message of hate and lies disseminated by Christianists be they at Traditional Values Coalition - which is currently busy spreading lies about the pending Hate Crimes bill in Congress - or in the form of Benedict XVI creates the atmosphere where bullying is acceptable and, worse yet, where LGBT individuals are viewed as less than fully human by school administrators, judges such as the ones I have suffered under in my divorce case, law enforcement personnel and far too many individuals throughout society (see Autumn Sandeen's post about the Angie Zapata murder trial for more on this). Here are highlights from the Atlanta Constitution about the tragic death of Jaheem Herrera:

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A crowd of about 60 gathered Tuesday night at the DeKalb home of Jaheem Herrera to remember the fifth-grader who committed suicide last week. The 11-year-old boy hanged himself at his home after — according to his family — relentless bullying at Dunaire Elementary School.

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As Bermudez spoke, she clung to two daughters — Ny’irah, 7 and Yerralis, 10. Yerralis discovered her brother’s body last Thursday after school. “His sister was screaming, ‘Get him down, get him down,’” said Norman Keene, Jaheem’s stepfather. When Keene got to the room, he saw Yerralis holding her brother, trying to remove the pressure of the noose her brother had fashioned with a fabric belt.

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Keene said the family knew the boy was a target of bullies, but until his death they didn’t understand the scope. “They called him gay and a snitch,” his stepfather said. “All the time they’d call him this.”. . . Bermudez also said her son was being bullied at school. She said she had complained to the school.

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School officials won’t discuss allegations that bullying may have contributed to the boy’s suicide. Davis said Tuesday morning that officials are legally unable to comment on student-related records, such as whether the school had received complaints that Jaheem was being bullied. The family has hired an attorney.

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I suspect little has change from my days in middle school when I was taunted at times for being a "fag" and similar things. Back then, the teachers winked and looked the other way as I suspect they did at Jaheem's school. We're gays, queers or whatever other nasty name may be in vogue at the moment, and we simply don't matter. I hope the "loving" Christians are happy that they have claimed yet another life. May Jaheem rest in peace and may people begin to wake up to the real cause behind such tragedies.