I always thought that anti-bullying laws sprung from concerns about another Columbine.

10/4/2010 8:13:19 PM

We're not talking about the anti-bullying law.

We're talking about the anti-anti-bullying sentiment, which sprung in large part from concerns about gays being accepted and eventually getting married.

Here's an article that documents it, 1337 b4k4:

http://tinyurl.com/2b377wj

And here's a website that gets up in arms about it:

http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2009/05/north_carolina_to_make_being_m.php



Anyway, I thought the whole "Columbine kids killed cause they were bullied!" thing was a lazy narrative the news used fleetingly.

10/4/2010 8:21:26 PM

I'm not so sure that one news article and one blog post constitute evidence that

Quote :

"conservative anti-anti-bullying sentiment revolves entirely around their socially "conservative" (fucked up) views on homosexuality. "

or that

Quote :

"[anti-anti-bullying sentiment] sprung in large part from concerns about gays being accepted and eventually getting married."

To be fair I haven't lived in NC long enough to really know conservative politics, and don't spend enough time around their sites to have gaged how much or little that phrase meant to anyone, but it seems to me that sort of pandering could equally have been simply attacking anything about the bill because you can't get on TV in front of your voters and say "Tell your kids to grow a pair and teach them to punch back" without getting a bunch of busy bodies butt hurt.

10/4/2010 10:49:08 PM

Quote :

"how many thousands of girls get duped into getting their nudes posted online? i feel bad for the guy for getting embarrassed like that, but that's no reason to take your life. and the fact that he felt it did just makes me sad he didn't have the courage to live with his true self "

and

Quote :

"and ultimately, this guy was ashamed or otherwise couldn't deal with being exposed as gay. that's sad b/c people shouldn't be embarrassed about being gay if that's who they are. "

10/4/2010 11:13:43 PM

Why don't people do all this over the top shit for a soldier who gets severe PTSD and commits suicide.

I mean shit this kid selfishly took his own life leaving his family and best friends to pick up the pieces and he is now some kind of martyr for gay rights.........committing suicide is quite possibly the most fucked up thing you could ever do to anyone that cares about you and everyone is putting this guy on a pedestal he does not deserve.

10/4/2010 11:25:40 PM

NC conservatives are, overall, in favor of anti-bullying measures in the schools. While there is a difference along political ideologies, most people of all stripes in NC are for anti-bully measures. This is an area where the NC GOP that votes unanimously against anti-bulling efforts & unanimously comprehensive sex ed & the like do not reflect the values of conservative voters well.

10/5/2010 1:11:35 AM

Quote :

"1337 b4k4: I'm not so sure that one news article and one blog post constitute evidence that"

So Republican politicians have to say over and over again that they think it's a gay conspiracy for you to believe that's what motivated them?

They came out and said it and then almost all of them voted against the bill.

Quote :

"It’s not about protecting children. It’s about accepting the term sexual orientation and gender identity and how they define human sexual behavior. That’s the whole point of it."

Quote :

"Iowa’s] constitution, which is the same as ours, its defense of marriage, which is the same as ours, and used the fact that the legislature had put sexual orientation in the statute as a reason to declare unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act."

What more do you want?

And, yes, absolutely, when pollsters called people or stopped by their houses, and read people the bill and people heard the stuff about gay kids, you can bet your ass some conservatives (a good chunk of the 45% opposed) reeled at the gay stuff. This whole, "Ohhh, the conservatives are just independent types who think kids should handle their own business." Please.

Some of the people you vote with are bigots. And a lot of the people you elect are bigots. Deal with it.

[Edited on October 5, 2010 at 11:38 AM. Reason : I gotta stop cursing.]

10/5/2010 11:10:39 AM

http://bluenc.com/north-carolina-house-republican-uses-anti-gay-slurs-call-democrats-fruitloops

"According to the News & Observer's Under the Dome Blog, North Carolina House Republican Larry Brown "referred to gays as 'queers' and 'fruitloops'" an e-mail to Republican caucus members:"

Quote :

"Brown was responding to an e-mail House Minority Leader Paul Stam of Apex sent to members of his caucus about House Speaker Joe Hackney getting an award from the Equality NC Foundation, a gay-rights group. Brown sent his reply to nearly 60 e-mail addresses. "I hope all the queers are thrilled to see him," said the message dated Sept. 27. "I am sure there will be a couple legislative fruitloops there in the audience.""

In addition to unanimous NC GOP opposition to comprehensive sex ed, & unanimous opposition to anti-bullying measures, and trying to amend the NC constitution to ban gay couples from getting married every freaking year, they are now just being openly derogatory which would might be almost understandable if it was tdub's chit chat, but not for elected representative communications. These are the people who put into place laws that make it even harder to be gay, then block any measures to prevent these suicides.

All I have to say to the NC GOP is:

10/5/2010 3:12:25 PM

How did you guys let BridgetSPK take this from a thread about invasion of privacy concerns to a thread about bullying or anti-bullying or anti-anti-bullying or whatever the hell she is talking about.

To my knowledge there has been not discussion that there was on going bullying from the roommate - this guy clearly had his own set of problems and decided this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Nothing quoted from his roommate showed anything resembling hate or malicious intent towards his sexual preference like "watch me out this faggot - hahahahahaah"

Quote :

"everyone is putting this guy on a pedestal he does not deserve."

seems the Rutgers Student News Paper shares these views...
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2010/10/rutgers-student-newspaper-says-gay-activists-media-exploit-tyler-clementi-suicide-relentless-agendas-took-his-death-and-tur.html

Quote :

"Rutgers student newspaper says gay activists, media exploit Tyler Clementi suicide: 'Relentless agendas took his death and turned it into a cause'"

[Edited on October 6, 2010 at 1:01 PM. Reason : .]

10/6/2010 12:57:59 PM

see, now plenty of people have gone to jail for taping someone.

for example, this guy had a camera setup so he could check in on his dog whenever he was at work. if the dog was on the couch, he would call home, and yell at the dog using the answering machine and the dog would get off.
when this same man was going out of town for a week, he moved the camera into his bedroom and angled it so it could see into the master bathroom. He also asked a cute girl he knew if she would house sit for him and watch the dog. he did not tell her about the camera though and he was able to check her out while at the house, understandable if he puts a camera to watch if she steals. but the purpose was to catch her naked while she showered or dressed or got into bed. she also fucked her bf at the house and so he was able to see that.
That man was then charged and taken to court, i dont know however whether or not they were criminal or civil stuff.

really, anyone who fucking decides the best thing to do is to kill yourself do to something like that really has a problem. if its that bad, you shouldnt be doing it or your backbone to support your lifestyle is nill. so i have no sympathy for them, especially because suicide is such a selfish thing. not like he was jumping on a grenade to help fellow soldiers out.
he should have gotten back at him and fucking sued or gotten him into jail.

10/7/2010 12:53:28 AM

http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/01/18/Gay_Minn_Teen_Dies_in_Apparent_Suicide/
Posted on Advocate.com January 18, 2011

Quote :

"Lance Lundsten, a gay 18-year-old student at Jefferson High School in Minnesota, took his own life Saturday after being bullied at school. "

Its unfortunate to see events like this continuing to happen.

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/01/trevor_project_joins_hrc_in_milks_camera_shop.php

Quote :

"The Trevor Project has officially announced that they will be joining HRC in establishing an LGBT action center at the site of Harvey Milk's former camera shop. The group will be operating a crisis and suicide prevention Trevor Lifeline call center out of the location. After HRC announced they were going to put a store and action center at the spot of Milk's famous headquarters"

Looks like Harvey Milk's old campaign headquarters will be used for the Trevor suicide prevention operation along with HRC, and that they are getting more funding too, so at least something is being done to address this continuing problem.

1/19/2011 3:16:59 AM

I'm not quite sure this is going to work as intended. I forsee high school couples or early college couples moving in together and creating an epic shit storm.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Rutgers-To-Allow-Co-Ed-Dorm-Rooms--117121553.html

Quote :

"Rutgers Dorms Going Co-Ed After Student's Suicide New pilot program set to start in the fall Rutgers University is set to launch a pilot program this fall that would allow students living in campus dorm rooms to pick roommates of the opposite sex. The move intends to welcome more gay students to the campus. A call from NBC New York to Rutgers wasn't immediately returned. The school's decision to test the concept comes about five months after the death of student Tyler Clementi. Clementi, a talented violinist from Ridgewood, N.J., committed suicide after two students -- his male roommate and another female student -- streamed video of him engaging in a sexual encounter with another man. While the 18-year-old's tragic leap off the George Washington Bridge could not be directly linked to the privacy issues he experienced at Rutgers, the gay freshman's plight captivated the nation and brought renewed attention to bullying and harassment of gays in schools. Gay campus groups have pressed the university for gender-neutral housing options for years to no avail, according to NJ.com. The pilot program will involve more than 100 undergraduate students, including gay, lesbian and transgender students and be limited at first to housing in Demarest Hall on College Avenue, New Gibbons on the Douglass Campus and Rockoff Hall in downtown New Brunswick. Many self-described LGBT individuals, including Rutgers senior Aaron Lee, eagerly await the opportunity to participate. "I'm really glad they did it, although I wish it wouldn't have taken as long," Lee told NJ.com. "We live in a world where in order to be considered a human being you have to be male or female, and not everyone fits into that kind of binary. It's important to have spaces where people don't necessarily have to worry." The program will also be open to heterosexual students, who will be given the option to live with their significant others or friends of the opposite sex. First-year students will not have access to the program, but LGBT freshmen will have the prerogative to ask for a roommate who respects their sexual preferences, reports NJ.com. Housing assignments will be determined by a lottery, and those students assigned to any of the three buildings offering gender-neutral housing will be able to choose the sex of their roommates. Parents cannot overrule a student's choice to live with a roommate of the opposite sex, reports NJ.com. The university won't ask students about their sexual identities. "We're not asking students their relationships," Joan Carbone, Rutgers residence life director, told NJ.com. "People should not have to declare their sexual preference to us." Several changes will be made to the gender-neutral dormitories to accommodate the program, including replacing shower curtains with doors and restricting access to the mixed-sex bathrooms to residents with special key cards, reports NJ.com. Rutgers joins a burgeoning list of colleges and universities offering mixed-sex housing to students. At least a dozen colleges, including SUNY Stony Brook and Ramapo College in the tri-state area, have begun implementing or already offer gender-neutral housing, and the trend appears to be on the rise, reports the National Student Genderblind Campaign, a grassroots organization that aims to "pioneer a movement for broader gender equality," according to its website. Rutgers' Newark campus will launch a similar program this fall, according to NJ.com, but the gender-neutral housing will be limited to three rooms in one of two dormitories."

3/1/2011 2:48:41 PM

Quote :

"Parents cannot overrule a student's choice to live with a roommate of the opposite sex"

Mmmmm....they CANNOT pay that tuition bill when it comes in next semester.

This sounds like a great idea...

3/1/2011 2:52:34 PM

^ That's for parents/children to discuss. The university is absolutely right to give full power to the student if they're going to implement a policy like this. They are adults in the eyes of the law.

3/1/2011 3:44:24 PM

Does housing information fall under FERPA?

3/1/2011 4:33:01 PM

i predict that many LBGT students will be "trying new things"

3/1/2011 4:55:41 PM

Quote :

"for example, this guy had a camera setup so he could check in on his dog whenever he was at work. if the dog was on the couch, he would call home, and yell at the dog using the answering machine and the dog would get off."

haha that's awesome.

3/1/2011 5:24:04 PM

http://news.advocate.com/post/15753265844/ericjames-borges-19-leaves-behind-message-of-love

Quote :

"Friends say EricJames Borges, 19, killed himself Wednesday after having endured a traumatic coming-out experience. Borges had worked for the Trevor Project, which described him as “a dedicated, trained volunteer” in its mission of preventing suicide among LGBT youth. And he’d taped an It Gets Better video that tells the story of how he “was raised in an extremist Christian household” and was kicked out of his parents’ home. “My mother knew I was gay and performed an exorcism on me in an attempt to cure me,” he said in his video. His family told him he was “disgusting” and “damned to hell.” Borges also described growing up bullied and eventually dropping out of high school. “I was stalked, spit on, ostracized, and physically assaulted,” he said. “My name was not Eric but faggot.”"

1/13/2012 8:06:37 PM

^ This is a damn shame. This young man was actually contributing to society by volunteering in an organization
to improve things, and he still felt the pressure and ostracism that led him to suicide.

I hope his biological family are content that their outright rejection contributed to his passing....I am not a parent,
but I cannot imagine rejecting a child over something that is inherent to the core of their identity, and does not cause harm to themselves or others.

If one of my (future) children came to me and declared they were coming out, I would be like "where's my PFLAG membership?"

1/13/2012 8:19:15 PM

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/01/17/Teen_Killed_Himself_on_New_Years_Day/

Quote :

"If one of my (future) children came to me and declared they were coming out, I would be like "where's my PFLAG membership?""

There are 16 chapters all across the state in case any North Carolinians ever have need of one:
http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=803

1/17/2012 8:24:46 PM

http://news.advocate.com/post/16361234246/tennessee-teen-is-states-second-suicide-in-two-months

Quote :

"In Tennessee, where lawmakers are once again considering the “don’t say gay” bill aimed at schools, a 14-year-old Gordonsville student named Phillip Parker killed himself Friday."

1/23/2012 7:41:24 PM

And some people still refuse to see that there is something wrong with kids being bullied.

1/23/2012 10:02:18 PM

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/02/06/Teens_death_fourth_LGBT_suicide/

Quote :

"Friends and family gathered Friday to mourn a 14-year-old student from Cashmere, Wash., who committed suicide last week after he was bullied for being gay. His death is at least the fourth suicide reported this year among LGBT youth."

Averaging about a dead kid a week.

2/7/2012 1:18:20 AM

it's trendy for gay teens to kill themselves.

2/7/2012 8:17:35 AM

meh

suicide is a selfish act

They are just doing it to get back at their homophobic parents.

2/7/2012 8:19:55 AM

^^arent you a teacher? even for TWW that makes your comment pretty disgusting.

2/7/2012 12:03:19 PM

What a bunch of drama queens.

Eh, eh, get it.

2/7/2012 1:46:02 PM

When are they going to realize that the root of all this bullying is from school administrators who aren't willing to risk their job in order to intervene, and angry parents who refuse to believe that tommy the school badass isn't a sweet angel?

2/7/2012 1:55:16 PM

No, the root of it is that there are a lot of people who are just shitheads. That really starts to reveal itself right around adolescence. Some of it is because they were raised by parents who are shitheads themselves, sometimes it's because they're too fucking stupid to think things out or consider how others might feel.

Yes, school administrators should be more aware of the behavior of their students, but people, especially kids and young adults ages 12-20 can be cruel.

2/7/2012 2:12:20 PM

The New Yorker did a lengthy piece on the story. Basically supports the idea that the guy who taped it was 'a jerk' more than anything.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/02/06/120206fa_fact_parker?currentPage=all

2/7/2012 4:23:34 PM

^I read the whole thing, good read.

I feel like the guy got more caught up in being "cool" than hateful

2/7/2012 5:50:37 PM

Life is a game. You either play it or you don't.

You can kill yourself or you can wait for life to kill you. They both lead to the same worst outcome.


I support these kid's decisions to end their lives. Live is survival of the fittest, not survival of the weakest.

I support being there for these children when they ask for help, but I'm never going to support a person who refuses to help themselves.

2/11/2012 2:02:49 PM

man...sounds like both ravi and clementi were just victims of growing up. I'm not sure that ravi deserves any more punishment than what he has to live with for the rest if his life anyway, unless it's suddenly illegal to just be a stupid kid.

2/13/2012 12:49:32 PM

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/16/10718569-former-rutgers-student-convicted-in-webcam-case

Quote :

"Former Rutgers student convicted in webcam case By msnbc.com news services A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate's love life has been convicted of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy in a case that exploded into the headlines when the victim of the snooping committed suicide. The case put a national spotlight on gay bullying when the roommate committed suicide days later. Indian-born Dharun Ravi, 20, could face 10 years in prison when he's sentenced on May 21 and be deported after he's finished serving his time. He shook his head slightly after the guilty verdicts were read for all 15 counts, including bias intimidation, a hate crime, and invasion of privacy. Ravi's former roommate, Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010, after finding out that Ravi saw him kissing another man and appeared to encourage others to watch through a camera on his computer. Advertise | AdChoices The panel deliberated for 10 hours total on Wednesday and Thursday and began anew about 9 a.m. on Friday before announcing around 11 a.m. that it had a verdict. The seven women and five men on the jury, who appear to range in age from their 20s to 70s, were urged in summations by defense lawyer Steven Altman to dismiss Ravi's actions as those of a foolish child trying to impress others rather than a bully who harbored a prejudice against gays. Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure in her closing statement said Ravi's messages about Clementi on Twitter and other social media, including one inviting others to a "viewing party" through a webcam aimed at Clementi's bed after he asked for the room alone, showed his animosity toward his gay roommate. Clementi checked Ravi's Twitter account 38 times in the two days before he killed himself, the prosecution told the jury."

3/16/2012 12:23:20 PM

Quote :

"Ravi turned down a plea deal offered by Middlesex County prosecutors that would have allowed him to avoid jail time in exchange for undergoing counseling, doing 600 hours of community service and disposing of any information that could identify the man who appeared in the web video with Clementi. Prosecutors also offered to help Ravi avoid deportation, though they said they could not guarantee it."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/16/justice/new-jersey-rutgers-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

3/16/2012 12:42:46 PM

After reading the new yorker article ShinAntonio posted earlier on this page (which has A LOT of information), I'm disappointed he was convicted on the bias intimidation charge. I'm a little worried about the precedent the verdict on that particular charge sets. I'm not saying he didn't do anything wrong or that I think he deserves no punishment at all, but I think the "bias intimidation" thing is being stretched a little beyond it's original intent here. Especially considering the type of sentencing that comes along with that charge.

It's extremely difficult to argue that there was no bias here, but I really don't think this is what was in mind when that went into the books. Physically beating someone (or committing any crime) because the victim is a member of a group (orientation, race, etc.) that the offender genuinely dislikes is one thing, but this seems like something different. It really seems like this could have just as easily happened if the kid was hooking up with a girl instead of a guy. I'm not confident the kid truly had a problem with homosexuals so much as he was just being a nosy douche. And he had some knee jerk reactions about living with a gay male, and said some smart ass remarks using some colorful language... that's not that crazy. A lot of people have used those types of words, or have made or laughed at gay jokes. I'm not saying that's something to be proud of or anything, but those comments he made seem to be a big part of what supports this as a "bias intention" crime and not just an invasion of privacy crime.

[Edited on March 16, 2012 at 5:57 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2012 5:53:46 PM

Ravi gets 30 days, 300 hours of community service.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/21/11791131-former-rutgers-student-dharun-ravi-sentenced-to-30-day-jail-term-in-webcam-spying-case?lite

5/21/2012 2:13:28 PM

Sounds fine to me. To claim the death on this guy was a pretty big stretch.

5/21/2012 4:45:45 PM

$10,000 fine will give him something to think about

5/22/2012 5:08:45 PM

I think having the felony on his record and having what he popping on Google being even bigger issues.

5/22/2012 6:01:14 PM

Quote :

"After reading the new yorker article ShinAntonio posted earlier on this page (which has A LOT of information), I'm disappointed he was convicted on the bias intimidation charge. I'm a little worried about the precedent the verdict on that particular charge sets. I'm not saying he didn't do anything wrong or that I think he deserves no punishment at all, but I think the "bias intimidation" thing is being stretched a little beyond it's original intent here. Especially considering the type of sentencing that comes along with that charge. "

That article seems to exonerate Ravi almost entirely to me, which makes me think it's leaving a lot out.

He did seem remorseful about it and clementis message board comments don't seem that distraught, and it seems the school was handling it appropriately, and perhaps if clementi didn't kill hmself, maybe they would have made up.

It's unclear, to me, why clementi killed himself based on that article.

5/23/2012 12:22:52 AM

What about bullying fat or kids with glasses?

Kids are cruel....but nothing more than a product of their parents.



If I want to call someone a fag, fattie, or cracker


That's my right. It sucks, I know. My heart is sadden by this...mostly because these kids have no support system at home. Life is like TWW, cruel and unrelenting. Making regulations to stop me from saying something is what's on trial here.


I prefer freedom.

5/23/2012 7:50:27 AM

Quote :

"If I want to call someone a fag, fattie, or cracker That's my right."

Quote :

"I prefer freedom."

just out of curiosity...where does it end? there is, quite frankly, no reason whatsoever to call anyone by any derogatory term...it serves no purpose but to make the insecure feel better about themselves

and to that end, why not...hit them? i mean, just a little...don't break any bones or anything, but a bruise or two is just part of growing up, right?

i'm truly unclear as to why more folks don't live by the golden rule...the world would be a better place for everyone

[Edited on May 23, 2012 at 8:25 AM. Reason : .]

5/23/2012 8:06:19 AM

Why not hit them? Because your right to swing your arms ends at another person's nose. That's why. Free speech is free speech.

5/23/2012 8:37:32 AM

You want to legislate morality, and you can't.

Being told people can't be gay, with the passing of amendment 1 is a prime example of this.

First amendment rights protects my right to say controversial things, and calling some fat four eye cracker is controversial, just like saying nappy headed ho, or calling a girl a slut.

5/23/2012 8:42:43 AM

For some strange reason I've been thinking about parenting a lot lately (maybe it's because my sister is about to have her first kid)...and the one thing I think about the most is making sure my kid isn't a bully. If I ever hear my kid has been making fun of someone because they are fat/"ugly"/gay/whatever...I will wear their ass out.

I did a lot of verbal bullying when I was younger. 99% of the time it was in response to someone saying something to me...but I was usually much better at it and I cut deep on several occasions. I feel bad about it to this day. Kids are fucking assholes.

5/23/2012 8:44:07 AM

Fair punishment. Ultimately, the roommate can't know that the guy is going to kill himself.

5/23/2012 9:14:01 AM

Quote :

"Why not hit them? Because your right to swing your arms ends at another person's nose."

here's the thing, though..."rights" are an extension of morality, which, unless you are a religious person, is whatever each individual perceives it to be

because of this, the simplest thing to do is to limit one's actions so as to avoid negatively impacting the lives of others...to this end, not being a dick is an extremely simple way of respecting the "rights" of others

you are guaranteed nothing...to say one has the right to say derogatory things to another but cannot go so far as to hit them is downright silly

don't mistake me...i'm not suggesting that verbal and physical abuse are the same thing, because they're not...but they're both abuse and to justify one as acceptable and the other unacceptable is retarded

5/23/2012 9:31:13 AM

Quote :

"Kids are fucking assholes."

Truth.

My coworker last week got a phone call from her kindergarten-aged son's school. He got in trouble for shoving a kid to the ground. Then it turns out that the kid who was shoved was one that had been verbally and physically bullying her son all school year. Her son finally snapped and decided to stick up for himself. When my coworker asked the school, "Why the hell didn't you take care of this bullying situation when it first cropped up and why is my kid the one now getting into trouble?" the principal replied, "Well that kid comes from a bad home so if we punished him for bullying nothing would come of it. Your son comes from a good home so we know that you will take care of the situation."

What kind of backwards ass logic is that? My coworker literally told the principal to fuck off (yay for speaker phone when other people leave their door open during drama llama phone calls)

But it makes you wonder, if that's the sort of logic that is being applied all over the place, no wonder anti-bullying measures don't seem to work at all.

5/23/2012 9:47:06 AM

How is protesting saying, "GODS HATE FAGS" or "BABY KILLERS" or even worst "HE GOT WHAT HE DESERVED!"

most of this maybe related to that west baptist group...but they are protected under the 1st amendment....

Stoping people from being dicks is one thing...but that should be a society thing...not a regulation. Having acceptance for diversity, whether it be sexuality, race, or whatever is what we should shoot for...not more regulation.

Think about demolition man movie where they got tickets for cursing...thats where I feel you want to take it.

5/23/2012 10:20:52 AM