Does Anti-Bullying Equal Pro-Gay? Student Kicked Out Of Class...

[Basilisa Marie]

Right...because Catholic kids totally get more persecution than gay kids. Oh wait.

This kid shouldn't have been kicked out of class. I hope the courts rule in his favor. Yes, lots of kids get bullied for being different. As Catholics we're supposed to make sure that no one is bullied to the point where they feel like suicide is the only answer. We're supposed to be better than all of this lukewarm, hypocritical society - not sit around, cry martyr and pat each other on the back.

[AudreyGrace]

All I can say is that I've witnessed FAR more kids and teens being bullied because they were overweight, had acne, had mental retardation, were handicapped, were poor, and were religious than I have ever seen being bullied for being gay. A lot of the time, gay people are the ones doing the bullying. It's okay for them to hurt others, but if they're being hurt...look out! Nobody should be bullied, but not for nothing...what makes them so special? Why aren't there celebrities crying out about the kids in the halls who get shoved into lockers because they're fat? Or what about the ones who sit alone at lunch because they're alienated since they can't afford the same clothes as everyone else? What about the ones who are forced to compromise their religious beliefs to sit and class and discuss homosexual rights, when meanwhile there are thousands of their own kind being persecuted and killed in China this very minute? (Talking about the Catholics here). Quite frankly, I think they should take a good look around and realize that they're not the only ones being bullied. In fact, they probably get bullied a hell of a lot less than other people do. Not to mention the fact that being gay is "fabulous" in the world today. Gay men and women host tv shows, star in movies, etc. Do you see magazine covers littered with advice on "how to be less gay?" I don't. Personally, the only ones I see are "how to lose that fat" and "how to clear up your nasty skin". Tons of teens experiment with being gay, or simply live that way because they think it's fun. Do you see teens experimenting being fat? Having acne? Being poor? Do you see those people shining in the Hollywood limelight? Truth be told, gay people have a hell of a lot more support from the world than many others do. Sure, they have their opposition, but don't we all? I might sound harsh here, but from one girl who was bullied a ton in middle school and some of high school, I say: get over yourselves. Not everyone is going to be your number one fan, and not everyone is going to respect you or treat you the way you deserve. Someday, they'll be judged on their behavior and they will receive justice for what they did. Sheesh.

[Basilisa Marie]

I agree that many gay activists need to look around and realize that loads of kids get bullied, and for many unglamorous reasons. Sure, more kids get bullied for being fat and pimply and poor than for being gay. I won't discount your experiences of seeing gay kids doing the bullying. But we can't say anything that makes it okay in any way for people to bully gay kids, when we've seen many take it to the point of suicide. Other kids have committed suicide because they were cyberbullied, or bullied because they were poor. Others brought a gun to school. I agree that bullying is a problem, but it's a problem no matter who is bullied. We can't run around discounting the experiences of some kids who were bullied because they were gay just because there's a bunch of problem with the pro-gay rights movement.

And as a kid who grew up in the northwest, with the highest concentration of atheists and agnostics in the US, I've had my fair share of experiences involving being the only one on one side of a pro-life or gay marriage debate, with thirty rabid teenage peers arguing down my throat while the teacher just sat back and watched. My experiences of these situations probably heavily colors my perspective on the "Catholics are bullied too" issue - I fully admit that. But I couldn't sit there and be scandalized. I had to put on my big girl boots and stand up for what I believed in. Good things can come out of those discussions. By the grace of God one of the most vocal atheists ended up becoming my friend, later joined the Church and is now a novice with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara. I'm not saying that my experiences are typical - at all. I'm also not saying that my experience was one of bullying - it wasn't. There's a difference between bullying and having to sit through people espousing the wonders of homosexual rights. What happened in the classroom in the original article is tantamount to discrimination because the kid was kicked out for his beliefs. What I'm saying is that high school Catholic kids could learn a lot about their faith if they participate in apologetics. Are we called the Church Militant for nothing?

[Ice_nine]

[quote name='Basilisa Marie' timestamp='1325105261' post='2358675']
I agree that many gay activists need to look around and realize that loads of kids get bullied, and for many unglamorous reasons. Sure, more kids get bullied for being fat and pimply and poor than for being gay. I won't discount your experiences of seeing gay kids doing the bullying. But we can't say anything that makes it okay in any way for people to bully gay kids, when we've seen many take it to the point of suicide. Other kids have committed suicide because they were cyberbullied, or bullied because they were poor. Others brought a gun to school. I agree that bullying is a problem, but it's a problem no matter who is bullied. We can't run around discounting the experiences of some kids who were bullied because they were gay just because there's a bunch of problem with the pro-gay rights movement.

And as a kid who grew up in the northwest, with the highest concentration of atheists and agnostics in the US, I've had my fair share of experiences involving being the only one on one side of a pro-life or gay marriage debate, with thirty rabid teenage peers arguing down my throat while the teacher just sat back and watched. My experiences of these situations probably heavily colors my perspective on the "Catholics are bullied too" issue - I fully admit that. But I couldn't sit there and be scandalized. I had to put on my big girl boots and stand up for what I believed in. Good things can come out of those discussions. By the grace of God one of the most vocal atheists ended up becoming my friend, later joined the Church and is now a novice with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara. I'm not saying that my experiences are typical - at all. I'm also not saying that my experience was one of bullying - it wasn't. There's a difference between bullying and having to sit through people espousing the wonders of homosexual rights. What happened in the classroom in the original article is tantamount to discrimination because the kid was kicked out for his beliefs. What I'm saying is that high school Catholic kids could learn a lot about their faith if they participate in apologetics. Are we called the Church Militant for nothing?
[/quote]

let's be friends

[Katiebobatie94]

All I know is a girl in my school just committed suicide for being bullied. Its horrible! She wasn't gay, her boyfriend was a couple years older than her and she was tortured for it!! But she was apart of the GSA at my school. Its really horrible.

As far as the topic goes, I don't think that Anti-bullying means Pro-gay. I was bullied for most of my elementary & jr high school years. And in jr high I was apart of the anti-bullying campaign at my school- that was mostly like discrimination && bullying of kids with disabilities because we worked closely with the Hungerford School.

[Ice_nine]

Of course being against bullying is not in itself pro-gay ideology but I think the question we're asking is has the gay culture been inextricably attached to the rhetoric surrounding the anti-bullying movement. I think in some ways it has. To compound the problem people have such a narrow-minded approach when it comes to such issues. For example people may assume that because I am against homosexual "marriage" that I don't mind that gay kids get picked on/ beat up and kill themselves. When people impose all of these artificial dichotomies it's hard living in a sound-byte culture to talk about these issues with people.

I guess "sexual-orientation is a cultural invention of the post-Freudian Western world and therefore does not, and in my mind should not, have any bearing on one's identity, but regrettably we live in a hypersexualized society that has given genitalia full reign on morality and reason" doesn't fit on a bumper sticker like one of those neat little equal sign logos.

[Amppax]

[quote name='Ice_nine' timestamp='1325943179' post='2364412']
Of course being against bullying is not in itself pro-gay ideology but I think the question we're asking is has the gay culture been inextricably attached to the rhetoric surrounding the anti-bullying movement. I think in some ways it has. To compound the problem people have such a narrow-minded approach when it comes to such issues. For example people may assume that because I am against homosexual "marriage" that I don't mind that gay kids get picked on/ beat up and kill themselves. When people impose all of these artificial dichotomies it's hard living in a sound-byte culture to talk about these issues with people.

I guess "sexual-orientation is a cultural invention of the post-Freudian Western world and therefore does not, and in my mind should not, have any bearing on one's identity, but regrettably we live in a hypersexualized society that has given genitalia full reign on morality and reason" doesn't fit on a bumper sticker like one of those neat little equal sign logos.
[/quote]

Can't hurt to try. I'd totally put that on my car.