The World’s Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!

11-Year-Old Hangs Himself after Enduring Daily Anti-Gay Bullying

11-Year-Old Hangs Himself after Enduring Daily Anti-Gay Bullying

NEW YORK, April 9, 2009 - An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself Monday after enduring bullying at school, including daily taunts of being gay, despite his mother’s weekly pleas to the school to address the problem. This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to bullying this year.

Carl, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 on April 17, the same day hundreds of thousands of students will participate in the 13th annual National Day of Silence by taking some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment at school. The other three known cases of suicide among middle-school students took place in Chatham, Evanston and Chicago, Ill., in the month of February.

"Our hearts go out to Carl’s mother, Sirdeaner L. Walker, and other members of Carl's family, as well as to the community suffering from this loss," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "As we mourn yet another tragedy involving bullying at school, we must heed Ms. Walker’s urgent call for real, systemic, effective responses to the endemic problem of bullying and harassment. Especially in this time of societal crisis, adults in schools must be alert to the heightened pressure children face, and take action to create safe learning environments for the students in their care. In order to do that effectively, as this case so tragically illustrates, schools must deal head-on with anti-gay language and behavior."

Two of the top three reasons students said their peers were most often bullied at school were actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression, according to From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, a 2005 report by GLSEN and Harris Interactive. The top reason was physical appearance.

"As was the case with Carl, you do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT language," Byard said. "From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don’t know how to intervene."

Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2%) reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half (44.1%) reported being physically harassed and about a quarter (22.1%) reported being physically assaulted, according to GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students.

In most cases, the harassment is unreported. Nearly two-thirds of LGBT students (60.8%) who experience harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school. The most common reason given was that they didn’t believe anything would be done to address the situation. Of those who did report the incident, nearly a third (31.1%) said the school staff did nothing in response. While LGBT youth face extreme victimization, bullying in general is also a widespread problem. More than a third of middle and high school students (37%) said that bullying, name-calling or harassment is a somewhat or very serious problem at their school, according to From Teasing to Torment. Bullying is even more severe in middle school. Two-thirds of middle school students (65%) reported being assaulted or harassed in the previous year and only 41% said they felt very safe at school.

Carl's suicide comes about a year after eighth-grader Lawrence King was shot and killed by a fellow student in a California classroom, allegedly because he was gay.

GLSEN recommends four simple approaches schools can take to begin addressing bullying now.

Said Walker in the Springfield Republican: "If anything can come of this, it's that another child doesn't have to suffer like this and there can be some justice for some other child. I don't want any other parent to go through this."

Source

Another article: Mom: Son Bullied At School Before Suicide

I am saddened beyond belief by this. You don't have to be gay to be picked on, just perceived to be gay. Can't people see that bullying affects everyone? Who could raise their child to be so cruel and callous? I never acted like this as a child. Will this ever end?

Tags: bullying, discrimination, gay, suicide, teenager, tragedy

0 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of Atheist Nexus to add comments!

Join Atheist Nexus

Comment by Dallas Gaytheist on April 13, 2009 at 10:21am: Good points Dre. The problem must be addressed at both ends. Bullying needs to stop, but when it does occur, we should try to teach our children that these bullies are really insecure, and they don't matter. But that is easier said than done. This poor boy should not have had to put up with that, and the school is to blame by and large. They are supposed to monitor these kids.

Comment by Dre Smith on April 13, 2009 at 10:16am: Kids especially have to realize not everyone is going nor wants to be your friend. Simply put. The faster they realize that, the faster we can eliminate the false hope that is out there. I don't condone bullying. But I realize the limitations of constantly trying to suggest that teaching them at school about respecting others is a failsafe. Because those kids are still going to get those same ideas of being ok at home from mom and dad. And thats what you have no control over. Does no good to teach a kid about respecting others, when mom and dad support or dont care if their child is bullying. Often times it's the parents who allow and accept this kind of behavior from their children. You could have parents and kids directly homophobic and be non violent and there is nothing you can do to stop them from expressing their views without running into first amendment problems. We start curtailing this kind of "unpopular" speech, what then happens for the rest of us that have similar ideas that are UNPOPULAR with the general public?? A slipperly slope I don't wish to get on.

Comment by Dre Smith on April 13, 2009 at 10:10am: Personally I am sad this kid had to die over being associated with being "gay" when he was not. Nor am I stating if he actually was gaythis would be alright either. This just seems like an unsustainable situation to be honest. Christians who are homophobic are always going to be able to cling to their bible in defense and support of their views, the question then becomes do they have a right to make these views known and public...indeed they do. What they do not have a right to do is incite violence in accordance with these views. Granted if someone decides to take these views and exercise violence no one can reasonably forsee whose going to just shout out their views and whose going to engage in violent support of them. Bullying is a real problem always has been, but to think we are going realistically get rid of this problem I think is foolish. Kids are always going to tease eachother most times in pure jest, but teasing none the less. I think these kids now are raised to be far too sensitive. People are not always going to like you, people will make fun of you, they will scoff at you. These are facts of life that cannot be disputed. I think we have to teach these kids that those who would do this are simply not educated enough and have their own self esteem issues that largely come from bad parenting in the total aftermath. Words are powerful, but if you dont teach your kids they are just words something there is also wrong. I was teased for being overweight many years in JHS...I dealt with it as best I could at the time it hurt but I never let it break me down to the point where I needed counseling or anything like that, just concentrated on my studies and realized these people were idiots.

Comment by Cheryl on April 12, 2009 at 4:27pm: This is such a sad story. There is too much hate in the world. I agree that hate is spurred on by religion. It doesn't help that parents don't raise these children properly. Why can't people not discriminate and accept others for who they are? The schools need to take more action in protecting these children. Being harrassed in school is such a frightening experience for kids. I remember when my son was in 3rd grade, there was a child who threatened my son in school. This kid even showed my son a knife one day. It took a long time to get this kid out of the school. My son is now 21 but he still remembers that kid. He is scarred with that memory, but at least he is alive. No child should have to fear for his life.

Comment by Sentient Biped on April 12, 2009 at 5:22am: One additional comment. IN addition to supporting homophobic bullying, the christian churches promote self-hatred of homosexuals. The teach that gays are despiciable, immoral, depraved animals, and deserve to die. The teachings of the christian churches in promoting self hatred have a direct role in teen and child suicide, with or without the bullies. Those christians shojuld hand their heads in shame. But they dont.

Comment by Sentient Biped on April 12, 2009 at 5:18am: On the child who was found in a suitcase in california, with the sunday school teacher having been arrested, I'm not yet ready to blame religion - for a number of reasons. As far as I know, for all of its evils, christian teaching does not currently promote killing little girls, putting them into suitcases, and throwing them into ponds. (The bible is pro child-murder in a number of places, and Yahweh freely murdered and supported murder of children, but the modern CHristians don't promote that tradition). As horrible as that is.

In this case however, you can squarely put the blame on American Christianity and its followers and proponents. The American Christian churches and their public speakers frequently, routinely, and loudly vilify homosexuals. Their public antigay campaigns, scapegoat ethic, and recurrent election campaigns support an environment that validates homophobic behavior. This is a success story for the homophobe agenda - be gay and you will be bullied to death.

Even if those little assholes are not christian, they are exposed to constant media reports of homophobic campaigns and live in an environment where homophobic statements and behavior are the social norm. Bullying is a hate crime.

Probably some PTSD speaking here, as well as preaching to the choir, but I think my comments are valid. I hope that the identities of the bullies, their parents, and the teachers who did not intervene in this behavior, are at least made public. A lawsuit would accomplish that task.

Comment by unholyroller on April 12, 2009 at 1:48am: Just finished reading your expanded thoughts on the matter. Could not agree with you more. What a fine axample of xtian lolve and charity these disgusting little xtian larvae are showing! Their parents must be so proud. I hope Carl's mother sues the school and the little brats' parents!

Comment by Dallas Gaytheist on April 11, 2009 at 7:17pm: @Buffy: Thanks for sharing that. These people are dispicable.

Comment by Buffy on April 11, 2009 at 6:46pm: The RRRW bastards who actively support bullying by taking active steps to oppose the Day of Silence only work to ensure more children like Carl will die. Read my expanded thoughts on the matter if you wish.