With their unrelenting attacks on gays the professional Christian set, child rapists enablers at the Vatican, and homophobic politicians like Rick Santorum and Ken Cuccinelli (whose hysteria over gays suggests to me that there's something "going on" with their own sexuality) continue to fan and nurture societal attitudes that give a green light to the harassment and bullying of LGBT youth and adults. Their disgusting handiwork has now claimed another life: 17 Josh Pacheco who killed himself leaving a note that said "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be strong enough." Those like Rick Santorum, Ken Cuccinelli, Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, Tony Perkins, Victoria Cobb, and Benedict XVI are just as guilty of responsibility for Pacheco's suicide as if they had been the ones who closed the door to the garage in which Pacheco sat in a running vehicle. It sickens me that we as a society cannot see that it is the anti-gay crusaders, not the gays, who are abnormal and a real threat to society. And as seems to be the case time and time again, school administrators claim that they knew nothing of the bullying, suggesting once again that people need to be fired. Here are highlights from the Flint Journal:
FENTON, MI – Linden High School junior Josh Pacheco had a heart for theater and an infectious smile, but above all else he cared for others, his family said.
“My son was very funny and exceptionally sensitive and loving to other people’s feelings,” said Pacheco’s mother, Lynnette Capehart.
Pacheco, 17, committed suicide Nov. 27. His parents believe bullying is to blame.
Pacheco was part of the Fenton-based Kidz Theatre Kompany, worked at Tim Hortons, loved his advanced placement politics class and called his four siblings his best friends, Capehart said.
Pacheco also was gay, which led to him being bullied both inside and outside of school, said his mother, Lynnette Capehart.
He told his mother he was gay just two months ago, but Capehart said she wasn't surprised and she said it made no difference to her. She loved her son just the same.
Lynnette and stepfather Michael Capehart said they didn't know until recently that Pacheco was bullied.
Capehart said her first indication that there was a problem came after the homecoming dance on Oct. 6. She was out of town, so she called to see how the dance was. It was the only one he attended this fall.
Pacheco was upset and crying, but wouldn’t tell her why, Capehart said.
After his death, she found out from students that her son had been pushed into lockers and teased at school. It wasn’t surprising that he didn’t tell many people about it, Lynnette Capehart said, because Pacheco never wanted to make anyone else upset.
“He was having problems with bullying. He didn’t really want to tell us very much,” she said. “It was very disheartening to me.”
The weekend after Thanksgiving, Pacheco talked to his sisters, questioning life and his future -- comments that worried his parents. His mother talked to him that Sunday and on Monday, Nov. 26, set up an appointment for him to see a counselor on Wednesday -- even though he seemed back to his normal, "quirky" self.
Pacheco was home sick that day, so Capehart called his neighbor to check on Pacheco. He was found unresponsive in his truck, which had been running in the closed-up garage. He left a note in the truck: "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be strong enough."
After news of Pacheco’s death had spread around the school, Lynnette and Michael Capehart said they received calls from friends and parents saying Pacheco had been bullied.
Another needless death and lost life all so that sick and twisted individuals can feel superior about themselves and/or either make a living peddling hatred or pandering to the foulest elements of society to further their political careers. If there is a Hell, it will be full of the godly Christian crowd.
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