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Sabrina Rubin Erdely, writing for Rolling Stone:
Six weeks after her son's death, Aaberg became the first to publicly confront the Anoka-Hennepin school board about the link between the policy, anti-gay bullying and suicide. She demanded the policy be revoked. "What about my parental rights to have my gay son go to school and learn without being bullied?" Aaberg asked, weeping, as the board stared back impassively from behind a raised dais.Anti-gay backlash was instant. Minnesota Family Council president Tom Prichard blogged that Justin’s suicide could only be blamed upon one thing: his gayness. “Youth who embrace homosexuality are at greater risk [of suicide], because they’ve embraced an unhealthy sexual identity and lifestyle,” Prichard wrote. Anoka-Hennepin conservatives formally organized into the Parents Action League, declaring opposition to the “radical homosexual” agenda in schools.
There is nothing about the situation described in this article that isn’t disgusting. The board, the teachers, the outside influences. All played a role in this. And who are the victims?
Kids. 13-17 year-old kids.
How could these people (collectively) allow this to happen? If you read the article, even the students asked this question. How can we, as a society, allow this to happen to our children?
I think the most heart-breaking part of the article was the story of the 9 year-old brother of one of the suicide victims. His mother, obviously having been through a living hell I don’t wish on anyone, found him in a bath tub, trying to drown himself. The reason?
He wanted to see his big brother again.
via Rolling Stone
