Anti-Gay Bullying Death Toll Rises With More Suicide Deaths

I wrote recently about Seth Walsh (at left), the Tehachapi, California, 13-year-old who hanged himself from a tree in his back yard after years of being bullied. Sadly, Seth died yesterday afternoon after nine days on life support. Equally sad, is new today that Tyler Clementi, an 18 year old Rutgers University student, committed suicide by jumping from the George Washington Bridge after a roommate and an accomplice posted video of Clementi kissing another male all over the Internet. Words do not begin to describe how such needless deaths sicken me. My heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones purely because of the inhumanity that goes hand in hand with anti-gay bigotry. Yes, the triggering circumstances of these two tragedies differ, but the underlying cause is the same: Homophobia and the unrelenting message put out by religious bigots and professional Christians that gays are inferior, diseased even, and worthy of abuse and torment. Laws like DADT add the force of the nation's laws behind this foul message and reinforce the anti-gay mantra.. My friend Wayne Besen summed up the situation in a press release where he stated in part as follows:

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We blame the anti-gay industry for fighting measures to end bullying in schools, and school officials who turn a blind eye to brutality. We are fed up with what amounts to anti-gay schoolyard muggings that are foolishly dismissed as 'boys being boys'. In reality, it is 'boys beating boys', and these bullies receive tacit approval for their violent, homophobic behavior by teachers and certain vocal segments of society.

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The goal of Exodus International and Focus on the Family is to purge LGBT people from society, although they disingenuously frame the issue as eliminating homosexuality, which is not possible. . . . When you target homosexuality, the result is persecution and punishment of LGBT people, and in many cases it leads to gay bashing or suicides. The anti-gay industry should dismantle these despicable programs and work towards creating solutions instead of suicides.

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Of course, we know that the anti-gay professional Christians - and I'd add NOM, the Mormon Church and the Roman Catholic Church to Wayne's list - will not stop their anti-gay propaganda. They are living far too lavishly and/or raise too much money off of the equivalent of blood money that they receive from the ignorant and their fellow bigots. I would also lay blame at the feet of Barack Obama and every member of the U.S. Senate that voted against DADT repeal. It truly all is part of one larger package of hate and bigotry. KGET-TV 17 has details on the death of Seth Walsh. Here are highlights:

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Tehachapi police investigators interviewed some of the young people who taunted Seth the day he hanged himself and determined despite the tragic outcome of their ridicule, their actions do not constitute a crime.

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Friends said Seth was picked on for years because he was gay. School administrators said they have an anti-bullying program in place, but schoolmates said staff at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi offered Seth no protection or guidance.

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A YouTube video by a family member sends a message about Seth: "He was bullied and teased, now in the hospital, this face right here is suffering because of bullying, never say a mean thing again." . .A memorial service for Seth will be held Friday at 3:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Tehachapi.

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As for the sad case of Tyler Clementi (pictured at right), fortunately his tormentors may well be looking at criminal charges based on their unauthorized video taping of their victim (it's a crime in New Jersey to tape someone without their knowledge when they are in a place where they can expect privacy). One can certainly that both will be prosecuted and receive the maximum sentences possible. I also hope that Clementi goes after them in a civil lawsuit as well.

Here are highlights from the New York Daily News on this sad story:

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A Rutgers University freshman killed himself after two classmates used a hidden dorm room camera to splash his sex life across the internet, sources told the Daily News. A distraught Tyler Clementi, 18, left his wallet on the George Washington Bridge before plunging to his death in the Hudson River last Wednesday, sources said.

A Twitter post from one of the students accused of streaming the sexual encounter live on the internet indicated Clementi, a renowned high school violinist, was with another man. "Roommate asked for the room till midnight," read the post from Dharun Ravi, 18. "I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay." The Twitter post went up Sept. 19 - three days before Clementi's suicide.

The stunning details emerged one day after authorities announced the arrests of Ravi and Molly Wei for cyber-voyeurism. The pair used the hidden dorm room camera to stream their fellow student's sex session, officials said.

Ravi's lawyer was not available Wednesday for comment. The top count against each suspect carries a five-year jail term. The two students were on the Piscataway campus less than a month before their arrests.

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I hate to sound terrible, but I hope the roommate gets convicted and gets to be some one's bitch against his will in prison. It would certainly be a touch of Divine justice. Oh, and I don't want to hear more platitudes from Obama about bullying being wrong. If he meant it, he'd either not appeal the ruling in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States or he's issue an executive order stopping discharges under DADT. Anything less is merely more disingenuous bullshit.