I expect simple behaviours here. Friendship, and love. Any advice should be from the perspective of the person asking, not the person giving! We have had to make new membership moderated to combat the huge number of spammers who register
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) NOV 17 | Mark Snyder is the 27 year old founder of Queer Today, a ten year old activist group based in San Francisco, California. In a recent video, Snyder tells his story and discusses the impact bullying has had in his life..
Snyder grew up and attended school in the small Pennsylvania town where two weeks ago, 14 year old Brandon Bitner died after committing suicide having suffered from relentless bullying in the same high school Snyder attended a decade ago.
Here is Mark in his own words:
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
Just how unpleasant are US high schools? There need to be staff in the hallways???
What kind of civilised schooling system is this, exactly?
This kid, and he still looks like a kid though he has a steel core, this kid was the victim of violence every day of his high school life.
He spent an hour holding a gun to his head trying to be brave enough to pull the trigger.
This is the same school that Brandon Bitner died because of, and, while I have given a rational argument that bullycide is a somewhat incorrect neologism elsewhere, the cause and the effect are only too plain in this young man's voice.
Location: U.S.
Registered: November 2009
Messages: 630
Yes, teachers in the hallways, it is quite common in schools that care about their students.
Our shopping malls are increasingly heading towards banning teenagers from the premisis without a parent in attendance.(some of them already have!) There are already laws that ban kids from congregating on street corners, and some towns have curfews for kids during night hours.
But in too many schools the teachers are overworked, and in others they are afraid of their students. To counter much of the worry school authorities have of outsiders entering the school there is a police guard hired or assigned at the door. A "resource officer" they are called. A policeman with a badge and a gun. I'm not sure if anyone knows what they are supposed to do.
I would imagine the schools of an inner city would be rife with violence if there wasn't firm control, but in rural small town Pennsylvania? Mark Snyder's description of the bullying in his former high school ought to send shock waves through that community, but I bet it doesn't.
His description of the students reactions to the anti-bullying assembly at the school rings true. Most kids don't give a crap. I may be cynical but I would imagine many of the students enjoy the show in the hallways. Watching someone else get abused is so much better than being the target themselves.
Local schools will soon find themselves disembowled of the major funding that has poured out of the federal government for decades. Budget cuts will likely remove even the resource officer and dozens of teachers in every school. We are in for a hard tme ahead, and bullying will only flourish in that kind of environment.
But there is hope which ought to come in a very political way. I shall play the devil's advocate and say one of these bullied kids is going to make political change. With the return of so many soldiers from the wars in the Middle East, many of them will enter the civilian marketplace seeking work. And here we will find an army of well disciplined minders who might find jobs standing in the hallways of our schools.
I would start with the Marines who are well trained in hand to hand combat. There isn't a high school bully who could stand up to one of these men. I could only hope that many of these men are gay, we do know they are there and they must be the toughest men in uniform...the whole government is afraid of them!
[Updated on: Wed, 17 November 2010 21:00]
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
Location: Massachusetts and Florida...
Registered: June 2003
Messages: 354
Bravo, Chris!
Yes, the schools in most communities are very much like how Chris and the young man in the video portray them. It seems that our American students have become very arrogant,spiteful and fearless in the face of most authority and quite a large number of them don't respect or appreciate the educational opportunities presented to them. Most view high school as just a place for the jocks to excell and everyone else to cheer. More than a few think of high schools in our country as little more than adolescent day care centers where they can engage in social grouping. It isn't pretty, but the truth rarely is.
I'd love to see some marines in pink camo walking the halls of my old high schools. The intimidation factor alone might be enough to silence the immoral majority from using high school as a way to glorify themselves at the expense of the weaker or different.
And to those young enough to still be enduring the soul forge that is American high school, let me give you a word of encouragemet. About 80% of those that were either popular or bullies in the schools I went to have the worst jobs, most are divorced at least once, they dont' connect with their own kids and many have criminal records that show they keep making the same mistakes as adults that they never learned from as adolescents. By comparison, those that were the object of bullying, whether over perceived mating status or orientation or just because one kid was bigger than the other but not as smart as his target, those that survived went on to have good families, success in their careers, beautiful homes and lives of respect in the community.
Keep your flags flying, guys.
;-D
It's not the wolf you see you should fear, but all the ones he howls with. Don't be afraid of the song, but don't piss off the choir.
Location: U.S.
Registered: November 2009
Messages: 630
Yes...Yes, D'Artagnon...I should have included those facts.
In general those who bully are headed for a life of ruin. The prisons are full of them and that's where they belong. Sociopathic behavior warrants removal from society, we just don't focus on those who begin at such a young age, but we should.
Statistically there are dozens of examples of those in the LBGT community who are well educated, wealthy and secure in life. These are important factors that the young LBGT kids should discover.
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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The Founder Of Queer Today Discusses Bullying 
Re: The Founder Of Queer Today Discusses Bullying 