When Bullying is More Than Name Calling

In my online graduate course at University at Albany, we had a discussion about "digital bullying" among grade schoolers. It seems that bullying just went online along with just about everything else young people do.

My thinking, which I shared with my classmates, was that sometimes young people just have to work things out for themselves. They have to figure out how to best handle a bully. Why not ask the child/young person who is being bullied how they wanted to handle it.

That seemed like a way to handle things, let the person in the position of victim take control and find their own internal control and power. It seemed fine that is, until I watched CNN and learned of the death of a young gay boy in Oxnard, California.

On February 12th, Lawrence King, 15, was shot to death by another boy, in the middle of the day in the middle of a class. Lawrence King was, by the sounds of it, in the process of coming out at school. A brave and scary thing for an adult, let alone someone in high school. According to the LA Times, King and the murderer and a group of boys had a verbal confrontation the day before the shooting.

To those of us living as lesbians, gay men, and transgendered folk, it is not a big surprise that gay teens are harassed. LGBT youth face verbal harassment and physical violence on a regular basis at home, at school, in the streets.

Neil Guiliano, president of the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said of the crime, “This senseless act of violence is deeply disturbing and a reminder of the climate of harassment, bullying and violence that so many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students face across the country.” said Giuliano. “It is imperative that the media shine a spotlight on bullying, violence and hate crimes based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Calling attention to such issues is critical if we are to address the hostile and sometimes dangerous environment that LGBT students face all too often.”

It is too easy for me to forget what LGBT youth go through in high schools and colleges across the nation. Standing guard, being vigilant, remaining in a state of hyper-awareness because those who want to do you harm will wait, will lay traps. Who could focus on learning in such a state? What is academic freedom, if not the freedom from the threat of violence?

I was glad to see that the DA prosecuting the King case did not hesitate to say that what had happened was a hate crime. It is only too bad that the penalty is an extra 1-3 years. And some may say that is better than nothing at all.

We get what we settle for. It is time to stop settling for less than what we deserve.

Freedom from violence, harassment and threat of violence should be at the top of the academic rights agenda. It should not be something we have to fight for, but it is. Along with the rights of LGBT people not to be discriminated against in employment, housing, insurance, or any other right or privilege given to others.

If you are a resident of New York State, I hope that you will join with other LGBT people as we take a day to speak to our legislators about the rights of LGBT people. Included on the agenda is the protection of young people in our schools. It is the right of all young people to an academic environment free of violence simply because of who they are beginning to become. The date is April 29, 2008.

If you would like more information about going to Albany and meeting with representatives of ALL people, visit New York Pride Agenda about Equality and Justice Day.

One last thought - since this is an election year and the unprecedented is taking shape - picture if you will a young person, free of the threat of violence and harassment, free to discover who they are, growing up to become our first transgender or lesbian or gay president of the United States.

That can only happen if we start act now to make sure our youth grow up with both their intellect and concept of self fully intact.