High school freshman Brandon Bitner, age 14 (pictured at right), of Mount Pleasant Mills, Pennsylvania ran in front of the truck to kill himself as a result of anti-gay bullying. The disingenuous Christianists like Maggie Gallagher and Albert Mohler will claim that no one is at fault other than Bitner himself. On the contrary, MANY bear responsibility. First there are the bastards at Bitner's school who taunted and bullied him. Then there are the school officials who apparently did nothing to stop such bullying, most likely being afraid to offending the religious based bigotry of modern day Pharisee like parents. Then, of course, there are the Christianist hate merchants like Gallagher, Tony Perkins, leaders in the Mormon Church, Pope Benedict XVI and countless others who cling to the writings/myths of ignorant and uneducated tribal herders from 2000+ years ago as a justification to denigrate and ruin the lives of others. *
And then there are politicians like John McCain, Barack Obama, Scott Rigell, and a host of others who continue to support or litigate to uphold laws that keep LGBT Americans inferior under the law and thereby reinforce the hate filled Christianist message to youths like Bitner. All bear responsibility and all have blood on their hands. Bitner - like the other gay suicides that I've written about - was a living, breathing, feeling human being with hopes and dreams. He had every right to live his life as God, if there is one, made him. And now his life is over so that the Maggie Gallaghers of the world can enrich themselves financially as they market hate and intolerance and so that politicians like McCain and the Liar-in-Chief in the White House can play games and score political points while damaging people's lives. It truly sickens me and makes me hope that there is a God who will punish and damn to Hell these de facto co-murderers of Bitner - and so many other gays whose names will do not know.
*
I admit that stories of these gay teen suicides hit home with me very hard. I spent much of my teens (and later years) wishing myself dead and trying to deny who I was. Somehow, I managed to hang on. Unfortunately, far too many do not. Here are highlights from the Daily Item on this latest tragedy:
*
MIDDLEBURG — Students at Midd-West High School cried out against bullying Friday as they mourned the loss of a classmate who in the early morning hours walked about 13 miles from his home to Routes 11-15, where he ran in front of a southbound tractor-trailer after leaving a suicide note at his home.
*
There seems to be little doubt in the students’ minds why Bitner did what he did. “It was because of bullying,” friend Takara Jo Folk wrote in a letter to The Daily Item. “It was not about race, or gender, but they bullied him for his sexual preferences and the way he dressed. Which,” she said, “they wrongly accused him of.”
*
His death came just days after an anti-bullying assembly at the high school, which, according to district Superintendent Wesley Knapp, was not held in response to any specific problems at the school, but because it is an issue Principal Cynthia Hutchinson has always felt strongly about. After the assembly, according to student Briana Boyer in another letter to The Daily Item, “No one took it seriously, and joked around about it.”
*
Former Midd-West student Erin Barnett sent a letter as well, blaming the school, saying that when students report bullying, “Nothing is done.”
*
Other high school students on Friday described Bitner as extremely gifted. “He was very talented,” said sophomore Alley Sharp, of Middleburg, as she remembered an “Evanascence” song he played on his violin at a middle school talent show, wowing the crowd.
*
“Anyone in our school who looks different is tortured,” said sophomore Emily Beall-Ellersieck, of Middleburg, who said Bitner had “changed” around the eighth grade. Bullying is a problem at the school, she said, and “It needs to be dealt with.” The day before, “He seemed perfectly fine,” said friend Kendra Lyons, 14, of Middleburg. “He was so sweet,” she said, adding that whenever she had a problem, Bitner always tried to help her through it. “Brandon was such a sweet kid,” Boyer wrote. “He was always smiling and happy ... but behind that smiling face there was something very different going on.”
*
I am typically not one to condone violence, but when I see stories such as this, a part of me could almost welcome seeing violence done to those like Gallager, Perkins, and even Benedict XVI who encourage hate, bullying and homophobia in the name of religion all the while not giving a damn for the evil that they do.
*
MIDDLEBURG — Students at Midd-West High School cried out against bullying Friday as they mourned the loss of a classmate who in the early morning hours walked about 13 miles from his home to Routes 11-15, where he ran in front of a southbound tractor-trailer after leaving a suicide note at his home.
*
There seems to be little doubt in the students’ minds why Bitner did what he did. “It was because of bullying,” friend Takara Jo Folk wrote in a letter to The Daily Item. “It was not about race, or gender, but they bullied him for his sexual preferences and the way he dressed. Which,” she said, “they wrongly accused him of.”
*
His death came just days after an anti-bullying assembly at the high school, which, according to district Superintendent Wesley Knapp, was not held in response to any specific problems at the school, but because it is an issue Principal Cynthia Hutchinson has always felt strongly about. After the assembly, according to student Briana Boyer in another letter to The Daily Item, “No one took it seriously, and joked around about it.”
*
Former Midd-West student Erin Barnett sent a letter as well, blaming the school, saying that when students report bullying, “Nothing is done.”
*
Other high school students on Friday described Bitner as extremely gifted. “He was very talented,” said sophomore Alley Sharp, of Middleburg, as she remembered an “Evanascence” song he played on his violin at a middle school talent show, wowing the crowd.
*
“Anyone in our school who looks different is tortured,” said sophomore Emily Beall-Ellersieck, of Middleburg, who said Bitner had “changed” around the eighth grade. Bullying is a problem at the school, she said, and “It needs to be dealt with.” The day before, “He seemed perfectly fine,” said friend Kendra Lyons, 14, of Middleburg. “He was so sweet,” she said, adding that whenever she had a problem, Bitner always tried to help her through it. “Brandon was such a sweet kid,” Boyer wrote. “He was always smiling and happy ... but behind that smiling face there was something very different going on.”
*
I am typically not one to condone violence, but when I see stories such as this, a part of me could almost welcome seeing violence done to those like Gallager, Perkins, and even Benedict XVI who encourage hate, bullying and homophobia in the name of religion all the while not giving a damn for the evil that they do.
No comments:
Post a Comment